TexasCHLforum.com

I would recommend the friend contacting an attorney and paying for him to do the research for accurate information. A big part of the question will be the exact crime and sentence, and which court handled it. Juvenile court in Texas is not considered a conviction but the could certify to adult court. At 17, if the offense was committed before his birthday, he might still have ended up in juvenile court even though legally an adult for other crimes. If he had a clean record when the offense occurred, it is also possible he got some form of deferred adjudication, which would mean no conviction on his record now. The only person who will know for sure is the friend, and even he might need the research done to be 100% accurate (not many people are paying attention to the legal minutiae when they are standing there facing the judge, especially at 17.

As I understand the law, under both state and federal law, most (not all) black powder guns are not considered firearms. Even felons could have them for a hobby, home defense, or hunting. The reason i say most is that I think there was a legal question on the new in-line black powder guns that are not a replica of the antiques at all (and the law usually says made before 1899 or a replica of one - or words like that).

But, if he is more interested in hunting than in firearms, he can always try bow hunting. To the best of my knowledge, there are no restrictions on bows, including crossbows, based on conviction rates. And it can be much more challenging than hunting with a rifle. Of course, crossbows are now legal too, so it can be almost as easy as using a single shot rifle.