White-tailed deer season opens Saturday, Nov. 4 in both the North and South Zones. The forecast is excellent, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department expects another record year. They say habitat conditions were good this spring, setting the stage for robust antler and population growth. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department encourages all hunters to take the full bag limit in counties that have an overpopulation of deer.
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Update to CWD Regulations
The South-Central CWD Zone now has the mandatory sampling of hunter-harvested deer or other CWD-susceptible species, as well as carcass movement restrictions. It is required that hunters in the South Central, Panhandle and Trans-Pecos Zones bring deer to one of the check stations within 48 hours of harvest to have a sample collected for CWD testing.
Even if you hunt outside these zones, consider submitting your harvest for CWD sampling. You can locate check stations online, or refer to the more detailed and downloadable CWD manual (PDF) for hunters.
Download the free My Texas Hunt Harvest app to find CWD check stations and test results. You can also use it to report your harvest in real time. Your reporting contributes to ongoing game management, which helps create better Texas hunting.