Hunting bobcats in Texas is legal year-round on private property, with no closed season, no bag limit, and no possession limit. You still need a valid Texas hunting license, the landowner’s permission, and a CITES tag if the pelt is leaving the state. Texas Parks and Wildlife classifies bobcats as non-game animals, which is what gives hunters the wide latitude on timing and method.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Nongame, Exotic, Endangered, Threatened and Protected Species
The License You Need
Every person hunting bobcats in Texas needs a valid hunting license, regardless of age, residency, or whether you’re on your own land.2Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Licenses, Permits and Endorsements A resident hunting license costs $25. Non-residents pay $315.3Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Recreational Hunting and Fishing Licenses
Here’s where people get tripped up: bobcats do not have a depredation exception. Landowners sometimes assume they can shoot a bobcat going after their chickens without a license, the same way they can with a coyote or a feral hog. They can’t. You need that $25 license even if a bobcat is actively causing problems on your property.
If you were born on or after September 2, 1971, you also have to complete a hunter education course before hunting. Hunters aged 9 through 16 can hunt without the course if a licensed, education-certified adult is with them. Hunters 17 and older can buy a one-time $10 Hunter Education Deferral that lets them hunt accompanied for the rest of the license year.4Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunter Education
Season and Bag Limits
On private land there is no closed season, no daily bag limit, and no possession limit for bobcats.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Nongame, Exotic, Endangered, Threatened and Protected Species You can hunt them in any month.
Public hunting lands are a different animal. Wildlife Management Areas and other public tracts set their own seasons, species lists, and bag limits, and some don’t permit non-game take at all. Check the current TPWD Outdoor Annual and the specific property’s map booklet before you go.5Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. What You Need to Know Public Hunting in Texas 2025-26
Legal Methods on Private Land
Bobcats can be taken with firearms, archery equipment, and traps. There is no caliber restriction for firearms used on non-game animals.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Nongame, Exotic, Endangered, Threatened and Protected Species Electronic calls, mouth calls, and recorded sounds are all legal, and there is no restriction on amplification for non-game species.6Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Means and Methods Predator calls imitating an injured rabbit are the most popular approach.
Night hunting is legal on private property. TPWD asks that you contact your local game warden as a courtesy before heading out after dark.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Nongame, Exotic, Endangered, Threatened and Protected Species The artificial light restriction some hunters mention applies to locating reptiles and amphibians from a motor vehicle, not to bobcats. TPWD’s nongame regulations don’t explicitly prohibit thermal optics or night vision on private land.
Texas generally bans hunting from a motor vehicle, powerboat, or sailboat. Non-migratory animals like bobcats are an exception on private property, provided you make no attempt to hunt on any part of the public road system.7State of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 62-003 – Hunting From Vehicles Discharging a firearm on or across a public road is a separate offense under the Penal Code.8Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Frequently Asked Questions – Law Enforcement (Hunting)
One boundary worth flagging on traps: bobcats are non-game, not fur-bearing, so the fur-bearer trap season and the 400-yard school buffer don’t automatically apply.9Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Means and Methods – Fur-bearing Animals Non-game animals may be taken by any lawful means on private land, but that language doesn’t override local ordinances. Call your local game warden before setting traps.
Methods That Are Off-Limits
- Using smoke, explosives, or chemical irritants to flush a bobcat out of cover.
- Taking a bobcat from a boat on public waters.
- Computer-assisted remote hunting, where a computer or software remotely aims and fires the weapon. This is a Class B Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor, and Class A on repeat.10State of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 62-002 – Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting
Selling or Shipping the Pelt
Any bobcat pelt or carcass leaving Texas must carry a CITES tag before it crosses the state line. CITES stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and the tagging requirement covers all legally taken bobcat pelts moving out of state. Mounted bobcats do not need a tag.11Texas Parks and Wildlife. Bobcat CITES Tag FAQ
You can get tags by taking the pelt and your hunting license number to a TPWD Regional or Field Law Enforcement Office, or by emailing wpoffice@tpwd.texas.gov.12Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. CITES (Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species) Mail-in requests take two to four weeks. Anyone buying or trading untagged bobcat pelts commercially needs a separate bobcat dealer permit.
Access and Trespass on Private Land
You need the landowner’s permission. Hunting on someone else’s private property without consent is criminal trespass, whether or not the land is posted.
Texas also recognizes purple paint marks on trees and fence posts as legally equivalent to “No Trespassing” signs. The marks must be vertical lines at least 8 inches long and 1 inch wide, placed 3 to 5 feet above the ground, and spaced no more than 100 feet apart in forested areas or 1,000 feet apart on open land. If you see purple paint, stay out.
If You’re Hunting Public Land
Most Wildlife Management Areas and national grasslands require an Annual Public Hunting Permit ($48), which you can only purchase if you already hold a valid hunting license.13Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Annual Public Hunting Permit/Walk-in Hunts – Public Hunting in Texas Each property has its own map booklet with season dates, species lists, and rules. Some WMAs list bobcats as an allowable predator; others don’t allow non-game take at all.
Commercial take of any non-game species from public lands or waters is illegal. You cannot harvest bobcats on public land for sale, barter, or trade.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Nongame, Exotic, Endangered, Threatened and Protected Species
Anyone on public hunting lands during daylight hours when firearm hunting is allowed must wear at least 400 square inches of hunter orange, including orange headgear, with at least 144 square inches visible on both the chest and back.14Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Texas Blaze Orange Laws The exemption for turkey and migratory bird hunters does not cover you if you’re calling bobcats on a WMA with a rifle.
What Violations Cost
Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanors run in three tiers:15Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Laws, Penalties and Restitution
- Class C: $25 to $500
- Class B: $200 to $2,000
- Class A: $500 to $4,000
State jail felonies carry fines of $1,500 to $10,000 and up to two years in jail. A conviction can also trigger automatic suspension or revocation of all your hunting licenses for up to five years and forfeiture of the gear used in the violation, firearms included.15Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Laws, Penalties and Restitution Skipping the $25 license is cheap in the moment and expensive when a warden shows up.