Deer hunting season bringing business to gun ranges

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (TNN) - Hunting season for white tail deer and turkey begins November 2 and that means gun ranges are seeing more business.

The Northwest Texas Field and Stream Association starts getting pretty busy this time of year from all the hunters making sure they’re all sighted in and ready to go for opening day.

“By the second we'll see an uptick of membership crank up a little bit because they want to make sure that their guns are sighted in, that type of thing,” director of the Texas Field and Stream chapter said.

Leading up to opening weekend of gun season is when they see the biggest spike in new memberships.

“After that, that's when people sign up some more because they find out that their guns not shooting exactly where they want it to be shooting,” Jones said.

A gun hunter himself, he got his rifle sighted in a few months ago, and enjoys getting to spend this pastime with his grandkids.

“The hunt part is not the thrill, it’s the being out, watching the game and that type of thing. Watching my grandkids, I like taking my grandkids out, they really enjoy it,” Jones said.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Division wants to make sure everyone is staying safe and Game Warden Brandon Rose says a large number of accidents happen during dusk and dawn.

“It’s easy to struggle and see something out there and we get people just shooting whatever moves. Mainly my recommendation would be to make sure you know what your target is,” Rose said.

What can also happen in low light is hunters not being able to tell if a buck’s antlers are wide enough to be considered legal. That's at least 13 inches apart at their widest point. A tip that can be found in the Outdoor Annual is to make sure that the deer’s antlers reach beyond the ends of their ears.

The full listing of the hunting rules and regulations can be found in the outdoor annual and on their app that once downloaded, you can use as a reference even when you don’t have service.

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