I have also encountered this nonsense in our great state of Texas. Of course it is nonsense! I think the intent was to prevent dudes from bringing their 12s and using 1 1/4 oz of #9s or whatever. And on that point I agree. It would be so much nicer if the landowner said something like maximum of 1 oz shot and nothing smaller than #8 shot (my rules). But thats too complicated for most folks so they restrict the gauge. One extremely large ranch in South Texas allowed me to use my 12 gauge Parker when I convinced them the payload and lethality in mine was the same as their 20s.
