AUSTIN – White-tailed deer hunters in 41 Texas counties in the Blackland Prairies and Post Oak Savannah ecoregions will see expanded opportunities to take antlerless deer during the 2019-20 season, following changes adopted recently by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.
The decision to liberalize harvest restrictions on antlerless deer comes after several years of whitetail population growth within these ecoregions, combined with a relatively conservative doe harvest. Wildlife biologists with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recommended the expanded opportunity to reduce the deer herd impacts to the habitat, help balance buck-doe sex ratios, and relieve buck harvest pressure.
In 21 counties in south central Texas, hunters will be able to harvest antlerless deer from Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 28, through Sunday, Dec. 1. The counties include: Austin, Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Dewitt, Fayette, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Lavaca, Lee, Waller, Washington, and Wilson. In addition to these counties, Goliad, Jackson, Victoria, and Wharton counties north of U.S. Highway 59 and Comal, Hays, and Travis east of IH-35. The bag limit on antlerless deer in these counties is two, and hunters are reminded that all doe harvests during archery, muzzleloader, youth-only seasons, and the 4-day doe season are required to be reported within 24 hours through the TPWD website or the My Hunt Harvest mobile app. The four doe days are not for properties enrolled in the Managed Lands Deer Permit (MLDP) program.
TPWD is also expanding doe days in 20 other counties from four to 16 days beginning with the start of the general hunting season on Nov. 2. Those counties include: Bell (east of IH 35), Burleson, Delta, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Franklin, Freestone, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Limestone, Milam, Navarro, Rains, Smith, Titus, Van Zandt, Williamson (east of IH 35), and Wood.