(a) General.
(1) No person may exceed the applicable county bag
limit or the annual bag limit of five white-tailed deer (no more than
three bucks) and two mule deer (no more than one buck), except as
provided by:
(A) §65.29 of this title (relating to Managed
Lands Deer Programs (MLDP));
(B) use of an antlerless mule deer permit issued under §65.32
of this title (relating to Antlerless Mule Deer Permit);
(C) use of a special permit under the provisions of
Subchapter H of this chapter (relating to Public Hunting Proclamation);
or
(D) use of special antlerless permit issued by the
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for use on USFS lands that are part of
the department's public hunting program.
(2) During an archery-only open season, deer may be
taken only by the means described in §65.11(2) and (3) of this
title (relating to Lawful Means).
(3) The issuance and use of MLDP tags is prescribed
by §65.29 of this title.
(4) Except as provided in Subchapter H of this chapter
and subsections (b)(2)(E) and (b)(4) and (5) of this section, the
take of antlerless deer is prohibited on USFS lands.
(5) In the counties or portions of counties listed
in subsection (b)(2)(G) of this section, antlerless deer harvested
on properties not subject to the provisions of §65.29 of this
title (relating to Managed Lands Deer (MLD) Programs) must be reported
via the department's internet or mobile application within 24 hours
of the time of kill, including antlerless deer harvested during the
special seasons established by subsection (b)(4) and (5) of this section.
This paragraph does not apply to antlerless deer harvested under a
digital license issued by the department pursuant to §53.3(a)(12)
of this title (relating to Super Combination Hunting and Fishing Packages),
a valid license with digital tags issued under §53.4 of this
title (relating to Lifetime Licenses), or a valid digital license
issued under §53.5(a)(3) of this title (relating to Recreational
Hunting License, Stamps, and Tags), which must be reported as required
under §65.10 of this title (relating to Possession of Wildlife
Resources).
(b) White-tailed deer. The open seasons and bag limits
for white-tailed deer shall be as follows.
(1) South Zone. The general open season for the counties
listed in this subparagraph is from the first Saturday in November
through the third Sunday in January.
(A) In Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Dimmit,
Duval, Frio, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kinney (south of
U.S. Highway 90), Kleberg, LaSalle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen,
Medina (south of U.S. Highway 90), Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio,
Starr, Uvalde (south of U.S. Highway 90), Val Verde (south of a line
beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239
to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), Webb, Willacy,
Zapata, and Zavala counties, there is a general open season. The bag
limit is five deer, no more than three bucks.
(B) In Atascosa County there is a general open season.
(i) The bag limit is five deer, no more than two bucks;
and
(ii) the antler restrictions described in paragraph
(3) of this subsection apply.
(2) North Zone. The general open season for the counties
listed in this paragraph is from the first Saturday in November through
the first Sunday in January.
(A) In Bandera, Baylor, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Callahan,
Coke, Coleman, Comal (west of Interstate 35), Concho, Crockett, Edwards,
Gillespie, Glasscock, Haskell, Hays (west of Interstate 35), Howard,
Irion, Jones, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney (north of U.S. Highway
90), Knox, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Medina (north of U.S. Highway
90), Menard, Mitchell, Nolan, Pecos, Real, Reagan, Runnels, San Saba,
Schleicher, Shackelford, Sterling, Sutton, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton,
Tom Green, Travis (west of Interstate 35), Upton, Uvalde (north of
U.S. Highway 90), Val Verde (north of a line beginning at the International
Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to
the Kinney County line), and Wilbarger counties, the bag limit is
five deer, no more than two bucks.
(B) In Archer, Bell (west of IH 35), Bosque, Brown,
Clay, Coryell, Hamilton, Hill, Jack, Lampasas, McLennan, Mills, Palo
Pinto, Somervell, Stephens, Wichita, Williamson (west of IH 35) and
Young counties:
(i) the bag limit is five deer, no more than two bucks;
and
(ii) the antler restrictions described in paragraph
(3) of this subsection apply.
(C) In Armstrong, Borden, 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,
the bag limit is five deer, no more than one buck.
(D) In Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Presidio, and
Reeves counties, the bag limit is four deer, no more than two bucks.
(E) In Comanche, Cooke, Denton, Eastland, Erath, Hood,
Johnson, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise counties:
(i) the bag limit is four deer, no more than two bucks
and no more than two antlerless;
(ii) the antler restrictions described in paragraph
(3) of this subsection apply; and
(iii) on USFS lands in Montague and Wise counties,
antlerless deer may be taken only from Thanksgiving Day through the
Sunday immediately following Thanksgiving Day.
(F) In Anderson, Angelina, Bell (East of IH 35), Bowie,
Brazoria, Burleson, Brazos, Camp, Cass, Chambers, Cherokee, Delta,
Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Galveston, Goliad
(south of U.S. Highway 59), Gregg, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Harrison,
Henderson, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jackson (south of U.S. Highway
59), Jasper, Jefferson, Kauffman, Lamar, Leon, Liberty, Limestone,
Madison, Marion, Matagorda, Milam, Montgomery, Morris, Nacogdoches,
Navarro, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Rains, Red River, Robertson,
Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Trinity,
Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria (south of U.S. Highway 59), Walker,
Wharton (south of U.S. Highway 59), Williamson (east of IH 35), and
Wood counties:
(i) the bag limit is four deer, no more than two bucks
and no more than two antlerless;
(ii) the antler restrictions described in paragraph
(3) of this subsection apply; and
(iii) antlerless deer may be taken from opening day
through the Sunday immediately following Thanksgiving Day.
(G) In Austin, Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Comal (east
of IH 35), DeWitt, Fayette, Goliad (north of U.S. Highway 59), Gonzales,
Guadalupe, Hays (east of IH 35), Jackson (north of U.S. Highway 59),
Karnes, Lavaca, Lee, Travis (east of IH 35), Victoria (north of U.S.
Highway 59), Waller, Washington, Wharton (north of U.S. Highway 59),
and Wilson counties:
(i) the bag limit is four deer, no more than two bucks
and no more than two antlerless;
(ii) the antler restrictions described in paragraph
(3) of this subsection apply; and
(iii) antlerless deer may be taken from Thanksgiving
Day through the Sunday immediately following Thanksgiving Day.
(iv) In the counties or portions of counties listed
in this subparagraph, antlerless deer harvested on properties not
subject to the provisions of §65.29 of this title (relating to
Managed Lands Deer (MLD) Programs) must be reported via the department's
internet or mobile application within 24 hours of the time of kill,
including antlerless deer harvested during any special seasons established
by subsection (b)(5) - (7) of this section.
(H) In Collin, Dallas, Grayson, and Rockwall counties
there is a general open season:
(i) the bag limit is four deer, no more than two bucks
and no more than two antlerless;
(ii) the antler restrictions described in paragraph
(3) of this subsection apply;
(iii) lawful means are restricted to lawful archery
equipment, including properties for which MLDP tags have been issued;
and
(iv) all deer harvested on properties not subject to
the provisions of §65.29 of this title (relating to Managed Lands
Deer (MLD) Programs) must be reported via the department's internet
or mobile application within 24 hours of the time of kill, including
deer harvested during any special season established by subsection
(b)(5) - (7) of this section.
(I) In Andrews, Bailey Castro, Cochran, Dallam, Dawson,
Deaf Smith, Gaines, Hale, Hansford, Hartley, Hockley, Lamb, Lubbock,
Lynn, Martin, Moore, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Sherman, Swisher,
Terry, and Yoakum counties, the bag limit is three deer, no more than
one buck and no more than two antlerless.
(J) In Crane, Ector, Loving, Midland, Ward, and Winkler
counties:
Cont'd... |