Fall weather has arrived just in time to kick off the opening of white-tailed deer season on Nov. 1.

The Pineywoods and portions of the Post Oak Savannah and Cross Timbers received timely spring rainfall and should expect above-average antler quality.

The Edwards Plateau and South Texas regions had summer rainfall and a late growing season that benefited fawn survival. But rain came too late to greatly benefit antler development in those regions. 

4 good regions for white-tail hunting: 

• Edwards Plateau is expected to continue giving the highest hunter success rate in the state.
• South Texas Plains is considered the premier big buck destination.
• Rolling Plains in recent years this region has been a hotbed for mature bucks, and 2025 is expected to be another great season.
• Cross Timbers Region has the second-highest deer population.

Get more information about this season in our press release Thriving Fawns, Thriving Hunt: Texas Deer Numbers Stay Strong. Find out more about white-tailed deer in our new resource White-tailed Deer Management. 

Good luck this fall, and enjoy your time hunting with friends and family.

Refer to the Outdoor Annual online or the free app for bag limits and all other regulation information.

You must carry the following in the field:

• Hunter Education Certification 
• Hunting License get your license and endorsements online or at retailers

Wild turkey hunters:

• You must report ALL harvested wild turkey within 24 hours – it's quick and easy with the free Texas Hunt & Fish app or online 
• Know the proper way to tag turkey

Deer hunters: 

• Know the proper way to tag deer
• Review current information about CWD 
• Review statewide carcass disposal requirements. 
• You must report harvested white-tailed deer within 24 hours in certain counties using the free Texas Hunt & Fish app or online

If you plan to hunt on the more than 1 million acres of Texas Public Hunting Lands, you'll need an Annual Public Hunting Permit. Use the Texas Hunt & Fish app for on-site registration at public hunting areas.

NEW for the 2025-26 Season:

• Mule deer season has been extended
• Wild turkey hunting is now open in Lubbock County, North Zone regulations apply
• Wild turkey hunting in the Hill Country: IH35E now serves as the zone boundary line

New World Screwworm: If you observe a live animal infested with maggots, quickly report the observation to a local TPWD biologist. Through active surveillance, hunters can help protect Texas' wildlife and livestock from this pest. 

You can hunt 3 species of quail in Texas: bobwhite, Gambel's and scaled (blue). The daily bag limit is 15 and possession is 45 birds for all 3 species. View quail regulations for your county in the Outdoor Annual.

Our biologists expect good hunting opportunities for bobwhites in most regions due to above average rainfall and improved habitat conditions across most of their range. South Texas remains a stronghold, and bobwhite populations appear to increase the further south you go.

Scaled quail populations appear to be increasing across their range, with the average number of scaled quail seen per route above the 15-year mean in all ecoregions. 

Find quail population and habitat details for all 6 regions in the Bobwhite Quail Forecast and the Scaled Quail Forecast. 

If you are on public lands during daylight in gun-hunting season, you're required to wear blaze orange (hunter orange) for your own safety. If you hunt on private land, protect yourself by wearing blaze orange. 

Your blaze orange attire must include headgear and it must cover your chest and back. If you hunt with a dog, put blaze orange on it. 

Correct use of blaze orange is one of the many skills taught in Hunter Education. Anyone born after Sept. 1, 1971, must have proof of Hunter Ed when in the field.