In order for me to legally dove hunt in Texas, I need to follow some rules regarding the means by which I take the dove.

From TPWD on “means”:

Game animals and game birds may be hunted with any legal firearm, EXCEPT:

…

• a shotgun is the only legal firearm for hunting migratory game birds  (see Definitions – Legal Shotgun).

Magazine Capacity (number of shells/cartridges allowed): There are no restrictions on the number of shells or cartridges a legal firearm may hold when hunting game animals or game birds (except migratory game birds, see Legal Shotgun).

And when you look up Legal Shotgun:

Legal Shotgun: Shotguns not larger than 10 gauge, fired from the shoulder, and incapable of holding more than three shells (shotguns capable of holding more than three shells must be plugged with a one-piece filler which is incapable of removal without disassembling the gun, so the gun’s total capacity does not exceed three shells).

So since I’m going to be hunting with a Mossberg 500 12 gauge (pump action), I need to plug my magazine to only hold 2 shells (2 in the mag, 1 in the chamber). No problem there, the shotgun came with a special dowel, which actually was so long it prevented anything from going into the magazine, so I just cut it down to size and there we go.

However, this particular shotgun happens to double as a home-defense tool, so it has a TacStar SideSaddle bolted onto the side of it. Hrm…. how does TPWD define “incapable of holding more than 3 shells”? Because that saddle sure lets the gun hold 6 shells. I’d hate to have a visit from the Game Warden and get nailed on a technicality. So I called TPWD and spoke to whomever answered the phone. He told me that yes, this is perfectly legal. What matters is the ability to keep rattling off shots… you really only get 3 shots per “run”, and that’s the intent. But a way to just carry more ammo? Not a problem.

So based upon TPWD’s guidance, I’m going ahead and I’ll leave the saddle on there. Meantime, I will also drop them a line to ask if they could clarify the wording.

Updated: So when you have a question, it won’t get answered if you don’t ask it to the right people.

Tho I had called, it’s nice to get things in writing. I sent TPWD an email to 1. ask 2. request they clarify the documents. I’m not sure they groked my request to actually update the documentation, but they did write back saying:

The firearm itself chamber or magazine included may not hold more than 3 shotshells at any time while hunting any migratory birds.

So there you go.