Numerous Reg Changes This Season
If there ever was a year for deer hunters to keep a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Outdoor Annual handy, this is it.
Thanks to a three-year cycle for deer-hunting regulation changes, Texas deer hunters face more new rules this fall than in recent years. Changes include an additional 52 counties to the list with antler restrictions, expansion of doe days, including the first for some Northeast Texas counties and expanded days for others.
Here's a look at some of those changes:
New counties with an antler restriction of one with forked antlers and an inside spread of at least 13 inches or a spike include: Anderson, Angelina, Archer, Atascosa, Brazos, Brown, Chambers, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Ellis, Falls, Freestone, Grayson, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hunt, Jack, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Liberty, Limestone, Madison, McLennan, Milam, Mills, Montague, Montgomery, Navarro, Newton, Orange, Palo Pinto, Parker, Polk, Robertson, San Jacinto, Smith, Stephens, Tarrant, Trinity, Tyler, Van Zandt, Walker, Wichita, Wise and Young.
Northeast Texas counties with four doe-days, Nov. 26-29 include: Anderson, Henderson, Hunt, Leon, Rains, Smith and Van Zandt.
East Texas counties going from four to 16 doe, Nov. 7-22 include: Bowie and Rusk.
East Texas counties from four to 30 doe days, Nov. 7-29 include: Cherokee and Houston.
East Texas counties added to the late muzzleloader season, Jan. 4-17 include: Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Gregg, Marion, Morris, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk and Upshur.
Cross Timbers and Prairies and eastern Rolling Plains counties increasing from three deer (no more than one buck, no more than two antlerless) or four deer (no more than two bucks and no more than two antlerless) to five deer (no more than two bucks) include: Archer, Baylor, Bell (West of IH35), Bosque, Callahan, Clay, Coryell, Hamilton, Haskell, Hill, Jack, Jones, Knox, Lampasas, McLennan, Palo Pinto, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Taylor, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson (west of IH35) and Young.
Trans Pecos counties increasing from four deer to five include: Pecos, Terrell and Upton counties.
Rolling Plains counties increasing from three deer to five deer (no more than one buck) include: Armstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens, Donley, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hall, Hardeman, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Kent, King, Lipscomb, Motley, Ochiltree, Roberts, Scurry, Stonewall and Wheeler.
Counties with a white-tailed deer hunting season expanding from 16 days to the full general season include: Dawson, Deaf Smith and Martin counties (three deer, no more than one buck, and no more than two antlerless).
Counties adding a season-long open antlerless deer season include: Cooke, Dallam, Denton, Hardeman, Hartley, Hill, Johnson, Moore, Oldham, Potter, Sherman, Tarrant, Wichita and Wilbarger counties.
Hunters should consult Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's 2009-10 Outdoor Annual for additional changes.
