Powell Ranch emphasizes safety and ethical hunting. Please read these rules so you have a good understanding of what is expected of you during your time on our private ranch. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We are excited to welcome you to our historic ranch.

1)      At all times, remember to be a good sportsman and abide by the strictest safety rules. It is not the harvest that we seek as much as the enjoyment of the hunt.

2)      Hunter safety is our highest priority and hunter safety is entirely the responsibility of each person and guest. Always unload your gun before climbing onto or off a stand. All stands are dangerous. Therefore, be sure that you have checked to see that your selected stand is in good condition and safe to climb. We do not guarantee your safety or the safety of any stand. Climb and descend at your own risk. Always use a double safety harness when using a climbing tree stand.

3)      We encourage hunters to wear, at least, an orange cap during hunting season while on the ranch property especially when traveling to and from hunting blinds.

4)      Never shoot in the direction of another stand. To reduce crippling loss, mark the spot where the deer was standing before you shoot. Mark the tree or rock it ran by when it left the area or food plot. Except when it is raining, wait 30 minutes before going to look. Find the blood trail and stay strictly with it until you find the deer. Do not meander around. No shooting past legal shooting hours or past 150 yards with rifles lower than .243 caliber is allowed. Do not assume you missed even if the deer shows no sign of being hit. Be patient, take your time and find your deer. Be a hunter and conservationist.

5)      Please “sight-in” rifles before hunting (not just bore sighted). No target practice or random shooting is permitted as a courtesy to other hunters.

6)      All hunters and guests agree to assume all risks associated with hunting, riding ATVs and all other activities while on the Powell Ranch, and further agree to indemnify and hold Powell Ranch, its owners, members, managers and agents free and harmless from any and all causes of action, damages, costs, and expenses, including attorney’s fees, arising from or related to any accident or activity while on the ranch. Prior to recreation and/or hunting, all guests must sign a “Hold Harmless, Indemnity and Warning Against an Inherently Dangerous and Hazardous Activity” form.

7)      Prior to each hunt, hunter must check in at the Ranch House and designate his/her stand with a tack on the camp base map. Stands will be selected on a first come, first serve basis. Deer hunting hours will be from daylight until the end of legal shooting hours. Hunter should avoid disturbing other hunters on stands during these hours. After a hunt has been completed be sure and log out and remove your tack from the camp base map.

8)      No damage to oak trees is allowed.

9)      State and federal hunting rules and regulations must be strictly followed. Accurate accounting of all deer harvesting is required. Any guest who intentionally violates a game law or these rules will be subject to dismissal. Deer must be tagged. Each deer must be weighed and recorded in the log before it is removed from the Ranch. Complete deer data, names and license numbers shall be recorded by the hunter. The deer data form must be filled out on the day of the kill and before leaving the Ranch. We must always have these records available for inspection and verification. All guests will be expected to provide full cooperation to an agent of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TP&WD) if checked while in the field. Possession tags are required if a deer or parts of a deer are left unattended hanging or in an ice chest. This applies also if parts of a deer are in transport or in storage other than at home. Photographs of buck harvests are required for Ranch records, submittal to the wildlife biologist and may be published on the Ranch website.

10)   Each hunter is solely responsible for cleaning his or her deer, cleaning the skinning area, and hauling off remains to the designated dumpsite. Do not field dress a deer at the kill site if it may affect other hunters who may subsequently hunt from the same stand.

11)   The harvesting of fawn or yearling deer approximately 6 months of age is not permitted since one-half of these are bucks that we want to grow to older age classes. A spike will count as an antlered buck. The taking of does early in gun season is encouraged. These rules are subject to change from year to year depending upon the deer population, sex ratios, lactation rates, deer health and habitat conditions. Any wounded deer that is in obvious distress should be harvested. Does accompanied by fawns should not be taken.

12)   All hunters must agree, sign, and acknowledge their agreement to comply with all State and federal laws, regulations, ranch rules/waivers.

13)   No artifacts or sheds shall be removed from the Ranch.

14)   Open fires are only allowed when no Coryell County burn ban is in effect.

15)   No consumption of alcohol or illegal substances will be permitted on the Ranch. You will be asked to leave and be denied access for the remainder of your hunt.

16)   All hunters and guest(s) assume all responsibility for their own safety including stand inspection and climbing in and out of hunting stands.

17)   Motor vehicles such as pickup trucks, SUVs, and ATVs must stay on existing Ranch roads. Limited off-road travel is permitted for animal recovery except in periods of rainfall.

18)   No brush clearing allowed without prior consent.

19)   Hunters must abide by Ranch road closures when in effect. Individual roads may be closed due to weather, personal safety, property destruction, or quality of hunt at the discretion of the Ranch.

20)   Hunting is enjoyed more when it is shared with a friend, and it sure does help to have them along when it comes to packing time. So, we are happy to welcome one non-hunting guest with each hunter. NOTE: THEY MUST ALSO SIGN A WAIVER AND ACCEPT ALL RANCH RULES. Both the hunter and the non-hunting guest must display their executed waiver and Ranch Rules dash of your vehicle.

21)   No dogs, or other pets allowed on the Ranch.

22)   No trash or foreign objects will be left on the Ranch by any person or groups. Please help us keep the Ranch clean by packing out anything you pack in.

23)   You may gut your animal wherever it dies. The only exception to this is if it dies in or near a water hole or creek bottom. You must get the guts away from the water, so you don’t negatively impact the water source.

24)   We invite you to use our cleaning station. Carcasses and bones may not be left on the property. Please drop the carcass in the ditch space we have identified. If your animal dies in a location where you cannot physically recover it whole and you need to pack it out, you can leave the carcass and non-edible portions where it died. We do not allow carcasses to be dumped from vehicles.

25)   All gates will be left as you find them. If a gate is closed and locked, you must close it and lock it prior to walking or driving away from it. Current gate codes can be found on our online portal.

26)   Hunting License and Hunter's Safety Card (if applicable) must be on your person at all times while on the Ranch, unless verified on license or exempt.

27)   Hunters must take shots within ethical ranges. To determine what an ethical hunting shot distance is, a hunter should practice shooting from field positions at the ranges he or she intends to hunt. Hunters who wound, injure, and/or draw blood from an animal must make a reasonable attempt to locate, take, and recover that animal before continuing to hunt.

28)   Hunters must abide by all rules, written or verbally expressed by Ranch representatives or TP&WD officers.