Nutria hunting in Texas

[OC_]

Has anyone done this? Do they really have a presents in Texas? I'm in far east Texas and I have heard of them in Lake O the Pines and also Caddo, but they dont seem all that common. I'd love to try hunting these and it seems like our air guns are pretty much made for them!

 

[dv8eod]

They are probably in the corner next to Louisiana, since they are being overrun with them.
I've wanted to give them a try ever since I watched Larry the Cable Guy hit them with a rimfire. They were everywhere. And the guys he was hunting with were getting paid for it also. $2 a tail and $5 a body.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Has anyone done this? Do they really have a presents in Texas? I'm in far east Texas and I have heard of them in Lake O the Pines and also Caddo, but they dont seem all that common. I'd love to try hunting these and it seems like our air guns are pretty much made for them!

@OC_ I’ve never heard of nutria being an issue in those lakes you mentioned. If you turn up some info on them being a problem in those areas, please post what you find. I’m interested in reading about it.

There are AGN threads on this from Louisiana. In this thread there is a long running nutria hunting thread. Look for the “Backyard Nutria Hunting” thread by @Chris_Hoek https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/dont-sleep-on-older-agn-hunting-threads.1317547/

 

[OC_]

From the research I have been doing, it seems like they are down in the Huston area, which is quite far and would be a trip for me. They also don't seem to be nearly as populated as they are in Lousanna.

 

[Ezana4CE]

From the research I have been doing, it seems like they are down in the Huston area, which is quite far and would be a trip for me. They also don't seem to be nearly as populated as they are in Lousanna.

@OC_ Let them keep those things where they are. We don’t need them in the ArkLaTex. Where have you been researching? Can you share a link or two?

 

[OC_]

@OC_ Let them keep those things where they are. We don’t need them in the ArkLaTex. Where have you been researching? Can you share a link or two?

Just internet searches. One of the articles I found was talking about Katy Texas, which is down by Huston.

 

[c_m_shooter]

They are in some ponds in Fort Worth. No hunting in city parks though.

 

[Airgunner79]

I’m from Louisiana. It is fun shooting never done it with air rifle though. Next time I go home for visit p3 going with.

 

[techna]

They used to be numerous in Anauach and we’d spotlight them in the roadside canals back in 79 and 80 when I was in high school. Of course times were different then and 2 teenagers standing in the back of a truck with a Q-beam and an old school Colt AR and a Marlin .22 while a 3rd drove, would only earn you mosquito bites and maybe an admonishment to be careful from the game warden who wanted to make sure you weren’t shooting deer…

 

[KatoKevin454]

I heard they're here in Lake-o-the pines too, I'm in Daingerfield just north of the lake, I want to go down there at night and see if I can spot some with the night vision, there might be some up in the public land off the side of the 259, just north of Omaha Tx and Hwy 30, there are some ponds off the side of the Highway and the creek that runs under the Highway, you will need a public land hunting permit for the area, but there are so many creeks and ponds around here, you just need land owners permissions.

 

[KatoKevin454]

I wish Texas would lower the power requirements for most of these fur bearers and smaller game animals, 250 fpe is a lot of power for smaller critters, .25 cal and 60fpe is more than sufficient for Nutria and other small game animals, but they want .30 cal 150gr 250fpe or above, I haven't found a .30 cal air gun producing those specs factory stock, .357 and over, yes, but that seems over kill to me....

 

[3Crows]

Nutria can be quite large and tough to kill (and recover). While I have killed them with a Crosman 140 as a child, point blank and in the eye, a strong rifle or RF rifle is in order.

 

[Ezana4CE]

I heard they're here in Lake-o-the pines too, I'm in Daingerfield just north of the lake, I want to go down there at night and see if I can spot some with the night vision, there might be some up in the public land off the side of the 259, just north of Omaha Tx and Hwy 30, there are some ponds off the side of the Highway and the creek that runs under the Highway, you will need a public land hunting permit for the area, but there are so many creeks and ponds around here, you just need land owners permissions.

I was able to locate some info pertaining to Nutria being established in Lake O' The Pines. First time this was brought to my attention was on AGN.

nutria - Collections

I wish Texas would lower the power requirements for most of these fur bearers and smaller game animals, 250 fpe is a lot of power for smaller critters, .25 cal and 60fpe is more than sufficient for Nutria and other small game animals, but they want .30 cal 150gr 250fpe or above, I haven't found a .30 cal air gun producing those specs factory stock, .357 and over, yes, but that seems over kill to me....

@KatoKevin454 The wording on the furbearer regs was confusing in years past. It did used to state the same regs as deer hunting with air guns. It appears that this has been cleared up. Note how it specifies which animals need to meet the 215 FPE requirement. Nutria aren't mentioned there.

Air Gun and Arrow Gun Regulations — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

tpwd.texas.gov

The regs in this season's "Outdoor Annual" states that you need a .30 cal (or greater) airgun. There are no power stipulations. I was looking over an older "Outdoor Annual" and I can see the difference in the wording. Here's a TPWD link for reference to that regulation

https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/.../fur-bearing-animal-regulations/means-methods

I hope this helps clear up any confusion. If it appears that I'm misinterpreting something, please let me know.

 

[KatoKevin454]

thanks for the info,

 

[Ezana4CE]

@KatoKevin454 No problem. If in doubt, don’t hesitate to contact your local TPWD office or game warden. Some are located within the county courthouses. They‘re usually pretty easy to find. Ours has been pretty responsive to questions and clearing up confusion.