TSRA Shares Presence on Hunting Matters Podcast
Together with Joe Betar (Houston Safari Club Executive Director) and Ramon Robles (Houston Media Personality), TSRA Executive Director John Poole represented every aspect of TSRA within the one-hour Hunting Matters podcast.
John, Joe, and Ramon discussed the history of TSRA for viewers who have not heard of our organization. This included the history and information on the TSRA Legislative Team. The Legislative Team is currently at work on the 89th Texas Legislative Session.
“Here in Texas, we are the only state association – not just in Texas, but in the country – that runs a full-time legislative team,” said Poole. “We’re in the 3rd week of the session and there’s already almost 100 2A bills that have been filed. We anticipate a lot more, and to follow and fend off a lot more.”
The Texas Legislative Session allows for bills to be filed until March 14, 2025. However, a large range of topics has already been seen by TSRA. “Everything from restrictions to confiscation, to red flag laws, to the age,” John shared with Joe and Ramon. He detailed more of the bigger cases during the podcast.
National Reciprocity was among the bigger topics involving legislation. Robles emphasized an opinion shared by all TSRA Members. “We take road trips a lot and I look at the states that reciprocate Texas laws,” shared Robles. “I can’t imagine going into California and going, ‘Well, I guess I can’t have this. Wish me luck, guys.’ It’s an inherent right to be able to protect yourself.”
Topics also included the TSRA Youth and Women hunts. “We’re supporting everything that’s within the youth shooting areas, including hunting,” shared Poole. The first Youth Hunt raffle of 2025 is open for entries now.
The conversation included work being done to bring TSRA back into the spotlight. “A simple word,” said John. “PRESENCE.” TSRA is working to rebuild relationships and start new relationships with like-minded organizations. John shared some of the bigger announcements of these partnerships with HSCF listeners.
Member benefits such as the TSRA Sportsman and TSRA Recruiting were included in the conversation. John also shared that TSRA is always looking for volunteers. “Be a member, and then be a volunteer,” he said.
John is a retired U.S. Border Patrol Agent. This led to talk of the current and future state of Border Patrol Agents. TSRA Member and the President of the TSRA Hill Country Chapter, Austin L. Skero is familiar with the Border Patrol too. Skero is a retired Border Patrol Chief. He is currently the Border Liaison Officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Last year, Chief Skero was a guest speaker during the TSRA Annual General Meeting (“AGM”). During his presentation, he spoke on issues at the border. This included his estimate on how long it would take to repair the issues at the border. We are happy to announce that Chief Skero will attend and speak again at the 2025 AGM. The event will be held on February 29-March 1 at Cabela’s in Buda. For more information and to register, please visit our website.
We are thankful to the Houston Safari Club Foundation for having us on their podcast. To learn more about their organization, please visit their website. For more episodes of Hunting Matters, visit their dedicated page or their YouTube channel.
John, Joe, and Ramon discussed the history of TSRA for viewers who have not heard of our organization. This included the history and information on the TSRA Legislative Team. The Legislative Team is currently at work on the 89th Texas Legislative Session.
“Here in Texas, we are the only state association – not just in Texas, but in the country – that runs a full-time legislative team,” said Poole. “We’re in the 3rd week of the session and there’s already almost 100 2A bills that have been filed. We anticipate a lot more, and to follow and fend off a lot more.”
The Texas Legislative Session allows for bills to be filed until March 14, 2025. However, a large range of topics has already been seen by TSRA. “Everything from restrictions to confiscation, to red flag laws, to the age,” John shared with Joe and Ramon. He detailed more of the bigger cases during the podcast.
National Reciprocity was among the bigger topics involving legislation. Robles emphasized an opinion shared by all TSRA Members. “We take road trips a lot and I look at the states that reciprocate Texas laws,” shared Robles. “I can’t imagine going into California and going, ‘Well, I guess I can’t have this. Wish me luck, guys.’ It’s an inherent right to be able to protect yourself.”
Topics also included the TSRA Youth and Women hunts. “We’re supporting everything that’s within the youth shooting areas, including hunting,” shared Poole. The first Youth Hunt raffle of 2025 is open for entries now.
The conversation included work being done to bring TSRA back into the spotlight. “A simple word,” said John. “PRESENCE.” TSRA is working to rebuild relationships and start new relationships with like-minded organizations. John shared some of the bigger announcements of these partnerships with HSCF listeners.
Member benefits such as the TSRA Sportsman and TSRA Recruiting were included in the conversation. John also shared that TSRA is always looking for volunteers. “Be a member, and then be a volunteer,” he said.
John is a retired U.S. Border Patrol Agent. This led to talk of the current and future state of Border Patrol Agents. TSRA Member and the President of the TSRA Hill Country Chapter, Austin L. Skero is familiar with the Border Patrol too. Skero is a retired Border Patrol Chief. He is currently the Border Liaison Officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Last year, Chief Skero was a guest speaker during the TSRA Annual General Meeting (“AGM”). During his presentation, he spoke on issues at the border. This included his estimate on how long it would take to repair the issues at the border. We are happy to announce that Chief Skero will attend and speak again at the 2025 AGM. The event will be held on February 29-March 1 at Cabela’s in Buda. For more information and to register, please visit our website.
We are thankful to the Houston Safari Club Foundation for having us on their podcast. To learn more about their organization, please visit their website. For more episodes of Hunting Matters, visit their dedicated page or their YouTube channel.
Story by Marissa Brinkman (sportsman@tsra.com)
February 10, 2025