Texas Deer Season Opens Nov. 7: 2026-27 Dates by Zone

Texas general deer season opens Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in both zones. In the North Zone it closes on Jan. 3, 2027, and in the South Zone it runs two weeks longer, to Jan. 17, 2027. Each zone then has a two-week special late season, and there are youth-only seasons and a muzzleloader-only season around the general dates. Every date in this post comes from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), from its 2026-2027 season dates page, its white-tailed deer page and its county pages, which we checked on Oct. 21, 2026. If TPWD changes anything, its pages are the ones that count.

Still looking for ground for the opener? Browse our leases or call (804) 424-5233, 9am to 10pm Eastern, seven days a week.

White-tailed deer dates by zone

Season	North Zone	South Zone
Archery only	Oct. 3 – Nov. 6, 2026	Oct. 3 – Nov. 6, 2026
Youth-only, early	Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2026	Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2026
General	Nov. 7, 2026 – Jan. 3, 2027	Nov. 7, 2026 – Jan. 17, 2027
Special late	Jan. 4–17, 2027	Jan. 18–31, 2027
Youth-only, late	Jan. 4–17, 2027	None listed

All of these are on TPWD's white-tailed deer page. The muzzleloader-only season runs Jan. 4–17, 2027, but only in 90 of the state's 254 counties, and archery is open in the 252 counties that have a deer season at all. TPWD's white-tailed deer page lists the late youth-only season under the North Zone only.

What each season allows

These are the main rules TPWD prints on its white-tailed deer page:

• Special late season. In counties that have one, harvest is limited to antlerless deer and unbranched antlered bucks, meaning a buck with at least one antler that has no more than one point.
• Youth-only seasons. Only licensed hunters 16 years old or younger may take part.
• Archery only. TPWD requires the archery endorsement for archery hunting.
• Bag limits. The statewide annual limit is five white-tailed deer, no more than three of them bucks. TPWD sets limits county by county, so a county's limit can be lower, and some counties carry special antler restrictions that change what counts as a legal buck.
• Tagging and reporting. Except where special tags such as MLDP tags are issued, the tag comes from the hunting license of the person who killed the deer, and TPWD requires it to be filled out, including the property name and county, and attached right away. In the counties TPWD names on that page, antlerless deer, and in four counties bucks as well, have to be reported within 24 hours through its mobile app or online.
• Managed Lands Deer Program. On a property where MLDP tags have been issued, harvest is by those tags only, the landowner or a designated agent provides them, and the statewide annual bag limit does not apply.

Which zone is your lease in?

TPWD draws the line between the North and South zones on a map on its white-tailed deer page, and each county's own page states the zone along with that county's bag limit and seasons. County rules such as antler restrictions show up there too.

Take Edwards County, where we have a lease listed. TPWD's Edwards County page puts it in the North Zone, so for 2026-27:

• archery only runs Oct. 3 to Nov. 6, 2026;
• the general season runs Nov. 7, 2026, to Jan. 3, 2027;
• the youth-only seasons are Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, 2026, and Jan. 4 to 17, 2027;
• the special late season runs Jan. 4 to 17, 2027;
• the bag limit is five deer, no more than two of them bucks, all seasons combined.

The same page lists no muzzleloader-only season for the county. Fall turkey there runs alongside deer, Nov. 7, 2026, to Jan. 3, 2027, and the spring turkey season runs Apr. 3 to May 16, 2027.

Mule deer

Mule deer run on their own calendar in two zones. In the Panhandle, archery runs Oct. 3 to Nov. 20 and the general season Nov. 21 to Dec. 6, 2026. In the Trans-Pecos, archery runs Oct. 3 to Nov. 26 and the general season Nov. 27 to Dec. 13, 2026. Both are on the same TPWD season dates page.

When the deer are moving

Season dates tell you when you may hunt, while deer movement follows the rut. Our post on when the rut peaks in 2026 has peak breeding dates for the regions it covers.

A 21-acre lease in Edwards County

Our 21-acre lease in Edwards County is on the western Edwards Plateau, and it lists whitetail, turkey and wild hogs. A brushy draw runs the length of the tract with juniper and oak cover in the bottom and more open, rocky slopes on the high side, and a blind is already marked near the southern corner. It is a seasonal lease, so one party holds the ground at a time, and it is set up as a 12-month lease counted from the day you take it. The listing page always shows the current price and whether it is still open.

This is how booking works with us. We spoke with the landowner by phone before the land was listed, and the landowner sets the price and the rules. Booking takes an active membership ($150 a year), and you pay by card through our checkout. Every hunter signs our Access Agreement and Liability Waiver, which carries the landowner's rules, before access. Before a booking is confirmed, we go to the landowner, and it goes ahead only if they say yes. The exact location and access details appear in My Leases once the landowner confirms, so a booking made the night before a hunt may not be confirmed in time for it.

Ask about this lease, browse every lease we have, or call (804) 424-5233.

Before you commit to a lease

If you are still comparing ground, our guides on what a hunting lease costs and how to evaluate a hunting lease before you sign cover price, access and the questions hunters ask before they pay. When you have found the right place, book it or call us at (804) 424-5233 and we will talk it through.

Own hunting land in Texas? See what it could lease for with our free estimate, or book a call and we will walk you through how it works.