Texas Deer Season 2026-27: Dates, Zones & What to Know

The 2026-27 Texas white-tailed deer general season runs November 7, 2026 – January 3, 2027 in the North Zone and November 7, 2026 – January 17, 2027 in the South Zone, with archery season October 3 – November 6, 2026. These dates are confirmed — the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved the 2026-27 statewide hunting regulations in April 2026, and TPWD has published the full calendar.

012026-27 white-tailed deer season dates (TPWD-confirmed)

The North/South zone line roughly follows the southern edge of the Hill Country and I-10/US-90 corridor — South Zone is the brush country south of San Antonio, where the rut runs later and the season follows it. If you hunt near the line, confirm your county's listing in the TPWD Outdoor Annual before you go; a handful of counties also carry doe-day restrictions or closed archery seasons.

02Bag limits and county rules

The statewide annual bag limit is 5 deer, no more than 3 bucks, but the county listing is what actually governs: many counties cap you at 1 buck, restrict antlerless harvest to specific doe days, or require antlerless permits on managed lands. Antler restrictions (13-inch inside spread or at least one unbranched antler) apply in a large block of eastern and central counties. Always check your specific county in the Outdoor Annual — Texas regulates deer at the county level more than almost any other state.

Harvest reporting: in a growing list of counties, every whitetail tagged with a hunting license tag during any season must be reported within 24 hours via the Texas Hunt & Fish app or online. Check whether your county is on the mandatory-reporting list.

03License basics

Residents need a Texas hunting license (the Super Combo covers most hunters); non-residents need the general non-resident hunting license. Tags come with the license — tag the deer immediately upon kill and log it on your harvest record. Public-land hunters need the Annual Public Hunting permit for walk-in areas, and drawn hunts run on their own schedule through TPWD's system.

04Check the official source

Dates and county exceptions come from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department — verify before you hunt:

• 2026-2027 Hunting Season Dates — TPWD
• White-tailed deer regulations — TPWD Outdoor Annual

Accessed July 1, 2026. County-level exceptions (doe days, antler restrictions, mandatory reporting) are in the Outdoor Annual county listings.

05Plan the season

With dates locked, the question becomes when to burn your best days. November 7 opens the general season squarely ahead of the North Texas rut, while South Zone hunters get their prime chase weeks in mid-December:

• Texas Rut Prediction 2026 — regional rut timing from the Panhandle to the Brush Country
• Texas Solunar Calendar — moon-driven feeding windows by date
• Best Time to Hunt Today in Texas — hour-by-hour scoring for today's sit
• Trail Pro Intel's free Hunt Forecast blends fronts, wind, pressure, and solunar peaks into one huntability score — useful in a state where a 30-degree cold front changes everything overnight.

Archery opens October 3. That leaves the summer for cameras, protein, and stand work — and the county listing double-check that keeps the season legal.