AUSTIN — Drought-quenching spring rains and productive habitats have led biologists to predict another year of plentiful opportunities for hunters to fill their bellies and freezers with their harvests.
As hunters dust off their firearms and plan trips to their favorite hunting spots, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) asks hunters to be aware of new statewide carcass disposal regulationsand to help biologists monitor for the presences of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) by having their harvest tested for free at a TPWD check station or by a local biologist.
“The expectation of another bountiful year of hunting opportunities is great news for the nearly one million white-tailed deer hunters gearing up to enter the field next month,” said Blaise Korzekwa, TPWD White-tailed Deer Program Leader. “The excitement of a new season brings the opportunity for hunters to also get involved in helping secure the health of Texas’ native deer herd. As hunters, we have a responsibility to care for our state’s natural resources and pass our strong hunting traditions to future generations.”
The general deer season will kick off Nov. 2 and run through Jan. 5 in the North zone and Jan. 19 in the South zone, giving folks plenty of chances to go from field to table with their harvest.
Additional new white-tailed deer hunting regulations for this season include the expansion of doe days to a 23-day season for those 43 counties in the Post Oak Savannah and Pineywoods ecoregions that previously had a 16-day doe season. This extension of doe days now encompasses Thanksgiving weekend, which is a time when many hunters already spend the weekend hunting. The early youth-only season will now include Friday for those hunters 16 years of age or younger at the date of license purchase.
Harvest Opportunities
Similar to last year’s hunting season, TPWD biologists expect deer hunters throughout most of the state to have ample opportunities to fill their freezers. Much of the state received drought-quenching rain in the spring, which allowed for excellent habitat growth during the initial part of the growing season. Spring forb (weeds and flowering plants) production, which is a critical component of a deer’s diet coming out of winter, was abundant and offered essential nutrients to growing bucks, nursing does and newborn fawns.
Additionally, the improved habitat conditions earlier this year helped keep fawns healthy enough to survive their first few months (also known as fawn recruitment). Although this spring provided lush vegetation, with current drought conditions impacting most of the state, hunters should have plenty of opportunities to encounter deer as they search for native and supplemental food sources.
The few areas of the state that missed the spring rainfall should expect average antler quality.
“Texas has one of the top deer herds in the nation, so be sure to pull the bow or rifle out and spend time hunting this season,” said Korzekwa. “Whether you’re looking to fill the freezer with venison or harvest the trophy of a lifetime, it will be time well spent.”
Hunters taking advantage of Texas Public Hunting Lands must have an Annual Public Hunting Permit. It’s also important for public land hunters to consult the Public Hunting Lands Map Booklet to review regulations that may apply to specific areas. The My Texas Hunt Harvest app can be used to complete on-site registration electronically at a public hunting area.
Below is the White-tailed deer forecast by ecological region:
Cross Timbers
The Cross Timbers ecoregion in North Texas has the second-highest deer population in the state, behind the Edwards Plateau region. With more than 750,000 deer estimated, harvest opportunities should be ample. The highest deer densities occur in the Northern portion of this region.
Recently, harvest rates have significantly increased in this ecoregion, but population growth has remained relatively stable due to fawn crops averaging 46 percent over the last five years. Because of the relatively consistent fawn production, buck age structure is generally well distributed across all age classes. However, hunters will likely see fewer two-and-a-half-year-old bucks this year due to poor fawn recruitment in 2022.
Hunters focusing on mature bucks can look forward to an exciting upcoming season. Harvest trends from 2023 indicate that 41 percent of bucks harvested were four-and-a-half years or older. Timely spring rainfall should yield similar harvest rates for this year and historical fawn recruitment should produce an above-average mature buck harvest.
Edwards Plateau/Hill Country
The Edwards Plateau, widely known as the Hill Country, has the highest deer population in the state, estimated at 1.5 million. Hunters looking for opportunities to see lots of deer this fall should put this area on their priority list.
The combined impact of severe drought and an already high deer population in this ecoregion over recent years has reduced the population by about 25 percent, yet it still maintains the highest deer density in the state.
The area around Llano and Mason counties has the highest deer density in the region, with an estimated 413,000 deer in this area alone. Doe harvest is especially important in this area to relieve browsing pressure on habitats by lowering deer densities and balancing an appropriate doe to buck ratio.
Hunters should expect an increase in the number of bucks in the three-and-a-half to five-and-a-half-year-old age classes due to improved fawn recruitment in 2019 – 2021.
Below-average fawn crops in 2017 and 2018 have kept the number of mature bucks lower than desired, but there should still be a solid population of five-and-a-half-year-old deer, providing ample opportunities to harvest a mature buck.
Hunters looking for older age class bucks should focus on the southern part of this region, in the area between Hondo to Del Rio and north of Highway 90. The three-year average indicates that 64.6 percent of the bucks harvested are four-and-a-half-years old or older.
Despite the current drought conditions, the Edwards Plateau is a great deer hunting region, especially for hunters looking for a quantity of animals. It consistently produces one of the highest hunter success rates in the state.
Pineywoods
The latest survey data estimates the Pineywoods deer population at 331,522, which is right in line with the previous three years. Deer density estimates in this region range from a low of 4.6 deer per 1,000 acres in the area between Houston and Beaumont, to a high of 31.8 deer per 1,000 acres around the Tyler area.
Habitat management is critical in the Pineywoods to help sustain deer populations and TPWD biologists work with numerous landowners and timber companies to restore and maintain quality deer habitat in the region. Based on previous year’s fawn production, hunters should expect a decent cohort of four-and-a-half to five-and-a-half-year-old bucks, but below average two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half-year-old bucks.
Hunters should continue to practice quality deer management and allow bucks to reach at least four-and-a-half years old, especially with the lower number of young bucks on the horizon. Data from the 2023 buck harvest shows that 51 percent of harvested bucks were three-and-a-half years or older, with 24 percent reaching four-and-a-half years or older – a positive outcome of antler restriction regulation and hunters’ growing awareness of the antler potential in older bucks.
Post Oak Savannah
In the Post Oak Savannah region, the highest deer populations can be found in the southern part of the region, generally anywhere along the Interstate 10 corridor from San Antonio to Houston.
Deer densities gradually decline moving northward, with the lowest densities found in areas facing significant habitat fragmentation challenges. Similar to many areas of the state, the Post Oak Savannah ecoregion has enjoyed a good spring which should contribute to average or above average fawn production this year.
Age and antler surveys indicate that 39 percent of bucks harvested in 2023 were represented by bucks four-and-a-half years old or older.
Hunters experienced a good harvest last season, with success at around 70 percent. With adequate rainfall this spring, hunters should have opportunities to harvest a quality buck that is at least four-and-a-half years old based on previous fawn crops.
Rolling Plains
The Eastern and Western Rolling Plains ecoregions generally have lower deer populations compared to other ecoregions, with deer densities ranging from 30 to 48 deer per 1,000 acres in the Eastern Rolling Plains and 18 to 25 deer per 1,000 acres in the Western Rolling Plains. Long-term population trends indicate a stable white-tailed deer population, however sporadic fawn production the last several years may create age gaps in some of the middle and mature age classes.
Five-and-a-half-year-old buck numbers are predicted to remain steady. In 2023, 61 percent of the buck harvest in the Western Rolling Plains was represented by bucks four-and-a-half years or older, the second highest in the state.
In the Eastern Rolling Plains, bucks four-and-a-half-year-old or older represented 53 percent of the harvests in 2023, which is the highest on record for this ecoregion.
Due to larger property sizes and relatively light hunting pressure in both Rolling Plains ecoregions, as well as more interest in deer management, harvest trends of older age class bucks are expected to continue in 2024.
South Texas Plains
The South Texas Plains ecoregion is known for mature bucks and above average antler quality relative to most other areas of the state. For hunters seeking a once-in-a-lifetime trophy, south Texas is often regarded as the premier big buck destination.
Three deer management units are represented in south Texas, with deer densities ranging from 24 to 52 deer per 1,000 acres. Estimates show a population of nearly 605,000 white-tailed deer and that number has been slowly growing over the last several years.
Periodic drought conditions in South Texas have led to erratic fawn crops that slow population growth and require good habitat and population management practices to produce the quality of deer South Texas is known for.
The three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half-year-old age classes will be abundant and offer plenty of mature bucks in the coming years.
Many ranches in the region manage specifically for mature bucks and the five-and-a-half to six-and-a-half age class should be well represented this year. Properties “stacking” bucks into the mature age classes over the last several years should see a good pool of mature bucks available for harvest.
Bucks four-and-a-half years or older represented 64 percent of the buck harvest in 2023 and was the greatest percentage of mature buck harvest in the state last season. This trend of harvesting older age class bucks is expected to continue this season.
The Eastern region of south Texas has received quality springtime rainfall and should expect an above-average season, while the western region of South Texas has experienced severe drought conditions and will likely be average or slightly below average.
CWD
Landowners and hunters play a critical role in managing CWD and reducing its impact by harvesting deer to manage populations, properly disposing of inedible carcass parts, reporting sick deer, and supporting testing efforts.
“The data collected from hunter harvested samples is essential to helping us track CWD across the state,” said Ryan Schoeneberg, Big Game Program Specialist. “This helps us know where CWD is and isn’t found. Both are useful in helping us understand how to better manage this insidious disease.”
More information about zone boundaries and requirements, carcass disposal regulations, and check station dates and hours of operations can be found on TPWD’s CWD webpage.