🦆 Goose · Hunting gear
Texas Goose Hunting Gear Guide and 2026-27 Season Dates
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This guide contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We do not accept payment for recommendations. Details.
Texas winters bring big flocks of snow geese, Ross's geese, white-fronted geese (specklebellies) and Canada geese to the coastal prairie, rice country and the Panhandle. Goose hunting rules here changed recently, so check the dates and limits below before you plan a trip.
2026-27 Texas goose season dates
| Season | Western Zone | Eastern Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Light geese (snow, blue, Ross's) | Nov. 7, 2026 – Feb. 7, 2027 | Nov. 7, 2026 – Feb. 19, 2027 |
| Dark geese (Canada, white-fronted) | Nov. 7, 2026 – Feb. 7, 2027 | Nov. 7, 2026 – Jan. 31, 2027 |
| Early Canada geese | — | Sept. 12–27, 2026 (closed) |
Youth may also take geese during the youth-only waterfowl days for each duck zone. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.
Bag limits
| Zone | Light geese | Dark geese |
|---|---|---|
| Western | 5 a day | 5 a day |
| Eastern | 5 a day | 5 a day, no more than 2 white-fronted |
Possession limit is three times the daily bag. Zone line: the Western Zone is west of a line from the International Toll Bridge at Laredo north along IH-35 and IH-35W to Fort Worth, northwest along U.S. 81/287 to Bowie, then north on U.S. 81 to the Oklahoma line. The rest of the state is the Eastern Zone. Check your county.
Source: TPWD Goose 2026-2027 Seasons & Regulations and 2026-2027 Hunting Season Dates, checked Oct. 24, 2026.
No more spring conservation order
If you remember unplugged guns, electronic calls and no bag limit on snows in February and March, those days are over in Texas. In April 2024 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission:
- Eliminated the Light Goose Conservation Order in both zones because of continuing declines in wintering light geese in Texas.
- Extended the regular Eastern Zone light goose season by 19 days to make up for it.
- Cut the light goose daily bag from 10 to 5.
- Simplified the Western Zone dark goose bag to 5 in the aggregate.
Some older articles and forum posts still describe the conservation order. Go by the current TPWD dates above.
Source: TPWD news release, April 16, 2024.
Legal must-haves
- Texas hunting license, Migratory Game Bird Endorsement, HIP certification, and a Federal Duck Stamp for hunters 16 and older.
- Non-toxic shot only. You can't even possess lead shotshells while hunting waterfowl in Texas.
- Shotgun no larger than 10-gauge, fired from the shoulder, holding no more than three shells.
- No electronic or recorded calls, no live decoys, and no hunting over bait or from a motor vehicle.
- Keep one fully feathered wing or head on dressed geese while transporting them home, unless they're processed at a cold storage or processing facility.
- Know your white birds. Endangered whooping cranes winter on the Texas coast and are white with black wingtips, like snow geese, but are far larger, with long legs and necks. TPWD flags some public units with a whooping crane caution symbol.
Source: TPWD migratory game bird means and methods.
Snows vs. specks: two different hunts
Light geese (snows, blues and Ross's) usually travel in large, noisy flocks, and older birds have seen plenty of decoy spreads. Hunters who target them tend to run bigger spreads, hide carefully and expect many flocks to look and leave. White-fronted geese, called specklebellies or specks, often come to smaller, realistic spreads and respond well to calling, which is a big reason they are popular on the Texas prairie. Canada geese are more common in some areas than others, so scout before you buy a Canada-heavy spread.
Because the Eastern Zone allows only 2 white-fronted geese a day within the 5 dark geese, know your birds before you shoot. Specks have a white patch at the base of the bill and dark barring on the belly. Canadas have a black neck and a white cheek patch.
The gear checklist
1. Decoys
Snow geese travel in big flocks, so snow goose hunters often use large spreads, and windsock or "rag" style decoys are a lighter, cheaper way to add numbers. Full-body decoys look the most realistic for specklebellies and Canadas, which often decoy in smaller groups. Match your spread to the birds using your area.
2. Layout blind or white camo
Texas goose hunts usually happen in open fields where there is nowhere to hide. Low-profile layout blinds, brushed in with field stubble, are the standard. In big snow goose spreads, many hunters wear white and lie among the decoys instead.
3. Calls
A specklebelly call is worth learning on the Texas prairie, and snow goose and Canada goose calls cover the rest. Mouth and hand calls only: electronic callers are illegal for migratory birds.
4. Choke and shell pouch
Geese are big, tough birds. Use a choke rated for steel or the non-toxic shot you hunt with, and pattern your load before opening day. A shell pouch keeps larger goose loads separate from your duck loads.
5. Decoy cart and bags
Field hunts mean hauling a lot of decoys across muddy rice stubble. A wheeled cart or large decoy bags save trips.
6. Binoculars
Scouting is half of goose hunting. Glass fields from the road in the afternoon to find where birds are feeding, then get permission to hunt where they want to be. Waterproof binoculars stand up to coastal rain and fog.
Where to start
Geese favor open country: the rice and farm country of the upper and middle coastal prairie, coastal marshes, and the playa lakes and grain fields of the Panhandle. Most goose hunting in Texas happens on private farmland, through leases, outfitters or landowner permission. Some TPWD public units also list waterfowl. See our Texas public land duck hunting guide for how to find them, and our duck hunting gear guide for waders, calls and cold-weather clothing.
Track flocks, fields and winds in a Texas Field & Tide logbook, and find gifts for the waterfowl crew in our Etsy shop.
TPWD goose regulations · TPWD migratory game bird regulations
FAQ
Is there a spring snow goose conservation order in Texas?
No. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission eliminated the Light Goose Conservation Order in both zones starting with the 2024-25 season, citing continuing declines in wintering light geese. Light geese can only be hunted during the regular season.
How many geese can I shoot in Texas?
For 2026-27 the daily bag in both zones is 5 light geese and 5 dark geese. In the Eastern Zone, no more than 2 of the dark geese may be white-fronted geese. Possession is three times the daily bag.
Can I use an electronic call or an unplugged shotgun for snow geese in Texas?
No. Recorded or electronically amplified calls are illegal for all migratory game birds, and your shotgun must hold no more than three shells. These were only allowed during the old conservation order.
Where is the line between the Eastern and Western goose zones?
Roughly IH-35 and IH-35W: from the international toll bridge at Laredo north along IH-35 and 35W to Fort Worth, then northwest along U.S. 81/287 to Bowie and north on U.S. 81 to Oklahoma. West of that line is the Western Zone.
What shot size do people use for geese?
Larger non-toxic shot than for ducks is common, such as BB or No. 1 and No. 2 steel. Whatever you choose, it must be non-toxic, and you should pattern it through your choke before the season.
Regulation details checked against the TPWD 2026-27 Outdoor Annual on October 23, 2026. Regulations can change mid-year. Confirm at tpwd.texas.gov before you go.
New from Texas Field & Tide
Texas hunting & fishing logbooks
Paperback journals made for Texas: log stands, wind, moon phase, sightings and harvests, or tides, water temp, lures and every catch.
Texas Deer Hunting Log
Hunting journal for whitetail season: stands, wind, weather, moon phase, deer sightings, trail cameras and harvests. 6x9 in, 100 pages.
Find it on Amazon ↗
Texas Fishing Log
Fishing journal for bay, surf, lake and river: tides, wind, water temperature, lures, spots and every catch. 6x9 in, 100 pages.
Find it on Amazon ↗Official shop
Tees & mugs for Texas hunters and anglers
Original designs: box blinds, brush country bucks, Gulf Coast reds and wade-fishing specks. Printed to order and shipped through Etsy.
