Texas · 2026-27
Shooting hours in Texas
For game animals and nonmigratory game birds, Texas legal shooting hours run 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset — the TPWD rule is quoted below. Sunrise and sunset shift every day and with every county, so the lookup here turns the rule into your exact minutes.
Legal light for
Game animals and nonmigratory game birds
Travis County · Aug 20, 2026
Legal start
—
sunrise − 30 min
Legal end
—
sunset + 30 min
Hunting from exact coordinates instead
These minutes apply the statewide rule at your chosen spot — they can’t see zone, season, or species exceptions. Always verify in the current TPWD regulations before you hunt — rules change annually. Rule checked against TPWD Aug 20, 2026.
The rule, straight from the regs
“Legal shooting hours are the period from one-half hour before official sunrise to one-half hour after official sunset.”
— Texas Outdoor Annual 2026–27, General Regulations — Definitions, checked Aug 20, 2026
The official times
Exceptions the regs call out
The window above — 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset — is the rule for game animals and nonmigratory game birds. These run on different clocks:
- Migratory game birds
- For migratory game birds the window is one-half hour before official sunrise to official sunset — and during the Special White-winged Dove Days it is noon to sunset (Outdoor Annual definitions).
- Mountain Time counties
- El Paso and Hudspeth counties run on Mountain Time. Pick either county below and the times come out in Mountain Time.
Opening day, worked out
General Season opens Nov 7, 2026 in Texas. In Travis County that morning, sunrise is 6:49 AM — so legal light starts at 6:49 AM − 30 min = 6:19 AM CST. Sunset is 5:38 PM, so the day ends at 5:38 PM + 30 min = 6:08 PM CST. A county line east or west moves those minutes, and the TPWD official times are the ones that count — check them before you go.
More Texas, more states
The whole Texas board · Deer season in Texas · Straight-wall cartridge states
Shooting hours elsewhere: GA · MI · MN · MO · NY · OH · PA · WI