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Dock Line
The red-brick Nacogdoches City Hall with a white columned balcony and a row of flags
Nacogdoches City Hall, where the council meets Tuesday evening. (Photo: Michael Barera / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Politics & Government

Sidney Sherman

October 19, 2026 · 2 min read

Nacogdoches May Let Residents Get a Police Permit to Shoot Wild Hogs Inside City Limits

Firing a gun inside Nacogdoches city limits is illegal with no listed exceptions. On Tuesday, the council considers adding three: on-duty officers, approved reenactments and police-permitted shooting of nuisance animals like wild hogs.

In Nacogdoches, it is against city law to fire any gun inside the city limits, including an air rifle or a BB gun. The rule has no listed exceptions. On Tuesday, the City Council will consider adding three.

The meeting

The council meets Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 202 E. Pilar St., according to the agenda. The meeting will be streamed live, and residents who want to speak must turn in a public comment form to the city secretary before the meeting starts. Comments are limited to three minutes.

What would change

A memo from City Attorney Jerry Baker in the agenda packet says Section 70-51 of the city code makes it "unlawful for any person to shoot or discharge any firearm, to include air rifles, or BB guns, within the city." The city's authority comes from Section 229.001 of the Texas Local Government Code and from its charter.

The amendment would keep that ban but exempt three kinds of shooting:

  • By a law enforcement officer performing official duties.

  • As part of a special event approved under Chapter 74 of the city code, for demonstrations or reenactments.

  • By a person with a permit from the chief of police to get rid of "certain animals and pests, including wild hogs, which are creating a nuisance or causing damage to property in the city limits."

The amended section also defines a firearm. It keeps a separate rule against shooting any weapon on or across a public street, including a firearm, spring gun or slingshot. The memo lists no cost to the city. The ordinance would take effect 10 days after passage and publication.

Why it matters

East Texas homeowners know what a few hogs can do to a yard overnight. The ordinance does not open the city to hunting. It sets up a narrow, permitted way for someone to deal with animals causing damage, with the police chief deciding who gets a permit. Residents who want to know how permits would work, including where, when and with what, should ask on Tuesday. The ordinance text does not say.

Spelling out that on-duty officers and approved reenactors are exempt also brings the written rule in line with what common sense already assumed.

Also on the agenda

The consent agenda includes five equipment purchases through cooperative contracts:

  • A $497,000 high-track dozer.

  • A $496,313 side-load garbage truck.

  • A $306,244.30 asphalt paving machine.

  • A $291,882.55 brush truck.

  • A $276,131.64 roll-off truck.

By my count, those five add up to about $1.87 million. The council will also consider up to $140,000 for playground design and construction at Lakeside Park and Lake Nacogdoches East Park.

The council is also set to adopt the city's 2027 legislative priorities for the session that opens Jan. 12, 2027. The packet says the full list will be attached to the resolution, but the posted copy does not include it.

Related on Dock Line: Nacogdoches Has a Full Late October: Harvest Festival, Homecoming and a Downtown Crawl; No Lease? A $48 Permit Opens Over a Million Acres of Texas Public Hunting Land; 149 Texas Counties Are Under Burn Bans as Hunting Season Heats Up. Here Is How Not to Start a Fire