Texas Deer Hunting Season

The pursuit of Texas deer

Texas is home to some of the finest deer hunting available, with no shortage of huge, trophy whitetails and mule deer to track down. There are separate seasons for whitetail deer and mule deer and, depending on where you are, the dates will change. For updated information on seasons be sure to consult current regulations through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department before venturing out in pursuit of game.

Archery

Unlike many northern jurisdictions, which have prolonged archery seasons for deer hunting, the Texas archery season generally runs from late September or early October to the end of October or early November for both mule and whitetail deer. The 2009 archery season, for example, ran from September 27-October 31.

Youth

There are typically two youth seasons open for young apprentice hunters who are accompanied by a licensed adult hunter. The youth season is usually only available for whitetail deer and runs for a few days in October and then in a few more in January. In 2009-10 the seasons were October 25-26 and January 17-18. respectively, but in other years there have been longer seasons for youth hunters. Consult current regulations to be certain of dates.

Whitetail Seasons

The whitetail seasons are broken into separate categories and a complete list of counties that fall into each category is available through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The season in north Texas, which in 2009 included 200 counties, runs from early November into the first week of January. In South Texas, which included 30 counties in 2009, the season typically begins at the same time as the north but runs longer into mid-January. Again, consult current regulations to be certain of dates.

Late Antlerless and Spike Whitetail season

There is usually a late season that opens for antlerless and spike bucks (bucks with antlers measuring three inches or shorter) running throughout January--usually the first half of January in the north and the last half in the south. The muzzle-loader season also runs during January, typically during the first half of the month.

Mule Deer

The mule deer seasons are also broken down by location with fewer counties open to hunting because the strength of the mule deer population is not nearly as strong as Whitetails. The seasons are generally broken down into three regions: The Panhandle, Southwestern Panhandle and Trans-Pecos.
All three seasons generally run different lengths from four days to upwards of two weeks from late November into December. Consult current regulations to be sure of available counties for mule deer hunting and specific dates.

References

• Upcoming Texas Hunting Season Dates by Animal: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
• Texas Hunting Seasons: Texas Hunting Adventures