With dry weather persisting throughout much of the state, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) biologists expect hunters to see deer consistently frequenting feeders during the start of the general whitetailed deer season.
“A number of hunters and landowners report seeing lots of deer, especially younger deer,” said Alan Cain, White-Tailed Deer Program Leader for TPWD. “Part of that is a result of good fawn crops the last couple of years so there’s more bucks in those younger age classes relative to bucks in that four- to six-year-old range. As we move into November and closer to the rut, those older bucks should increase movement activities in search of does, hopefully presenting an opportunity for a lucky hunter.”
Harvest has been light to this point, Cain noted, but that’s not unexpected with the warm weather we’ve had in October.
Additionally, drought impacts on deer habitats have impacted antler quality heading into October’s archery season.
“Overall antler quality is down a bit, but there’s still some great bucks being harvested during archery and Managed Lands Deer Program season,” said Cain.
For the four counties that remain dedicated to archery-only hunting (Dallas, Grayson, Rockwall and Collin), hunters are now required to report all whitetailed deer harvests within 24 hours through the My Harvest Hunt App. Accurate reporting allows agency wildlife biologists to properly study hunting impacts on local herds and develop more hunting opportunities.
The general white-tailed deer season runs Nov. 5 through Jan. 1, 2023 in the North Zone and Jan. 15, 2023 in the South Zone. A special youth-only gun deer season is set in both zones for Oct. 29-30 and Jan. 2-15, 2023. For additional late season deer hunting opportunities, county specific regulations and information on how to properly tag and report a harvest, consult the 2022-23 Outdoor Annual.
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