Where do I buy a Texas hunting license?

Texas hunting licenses and tags are sold by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department through its official licensing site. Buy direct from the agency rather than a reseller, and complete hunter education first if your birth year requires it.

When is Texas hunting season?

Seasons differ by species, weapon and zone, and the Texas season dates change every year. Our Texas deer guide summarizes the 2025-26 deer season structure; for every other species, check the current Texas Parks & Wildlife Department regulations before you plan a hunt.

What can you hunt in Texas?

Besides white-tailed deer, mule deer, our species guides single out Texas for whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, wild hog, javelina, northern bobwhite quail, mourning dove, sandhill crane, coyote. Each species guide explains tags, seasons and tactics.

Where is public hunting land in Texas?

Good starting points include Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area, Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area, James Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area. Confirm access rules, closures and special regulations with the managing agency before you go.

Hunting · State by State

Texas Hunting Guide

What to hunt in Texas, what it costs, the laws that matter and where the public land is — with the official Texas Parks & Wildlife Department links.

More deer, more land, and more trophy management programs than any other state — if you can find a place to hunt them.

Texas deer hunting looks completely different depending on region: the Edwards Plateau (Hill Country) and South Texas brush country hold the state's densest deer populations and best-known trophy management ranches, the Pineywoods of East Texas are classic Southern hardwood-bottom whitetail country, and the arid Trans-Pecos and Panhandle hold most of the state's mule deer.

Agency: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Region: Great Plains
Deer rank: #4 of 50
Species guides: 9

Texas hunting license and tag costs

Deer license and tag prices as last reviewed. Other species' permits are listed in the agency fee schedule.

License / tag	Price
Resident hunting license (Super Combo)	$68
Nonresident general hunting license	$315
Nonresident special nonresident hunting license (limited)	$48
Annual Public Hunting (APH) permit	$48
WMA drawn hunt application	$3-$10 per hunt category

Texas hunting laws to know

Rules that catch hunters out most often. Not a substitute for the regulations book.

Topic	Rule
Blaze orange	Texas has no statewide mandatory hunter orange law, though it is required on some public hunting lands and WMAs during gun season — check unit-specific rules.
Baiting/feeding	Baiting and feeding deer is legal on private land in most of Texas, except in the High Fence-restricted or CWD-specific counties where feeding restrictions apply; it is generally prohibited on public hunting lands.
Crossbow legality	Crossbows are legal for any hunter during archery and general seasons statewide, no special permit required.
Sunday hunting	Sunday hunting is legal statewide, including on most public hunting lands.
Legal firearms	Centerfire rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders and crossbows are legal during general season; specific counties may restrict rifle calibers or require shotgun-only rules near urban areas.
Tagging/harvest reporting	Deer must be tagged immediately upon harvest using the license's tag, and hunters must complete mandatory harvest reporting for certain species/counties through the My Texas Hunt Harvest app or TPWD website.
CWD carcass transport	Whole carcasses from CWD zones and CWD containment/surveillance counties are subject to movement restrictions; deboned meat, cleaned skulls/antlers, and hides can generally be moved out of the zone.
Hunter education	Anyone born on or after Sept. 2, 1971 must complete a hunter education course before hunting alone in Texas.

Texas deer season structure (2025-26)

Texas splits into North and South deer zones with different open dates, and MLDP properties can run extended seasons and different bag limits — always confirm dates for your specific county in the TPWD Outdoor Annual.

Season	Weapon	Typical window
Archery (North & South Zones)	Bow / crossbow	Oct. 4 – Nov. 2, 2025
General season, North Zone	Rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader, crossbow	Nov. 1, 2025 – Jan. 4, 2026
General season, South Zone	Rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader, crossbow	Sept. 27 – Jan. 4, 2026 (special late opener in parts)
Late/Special Late season, South Zone	Firearms, antlerless & spike only in many counties	Jan. 5 – 18, 2026
Muzzleloader-only	Muzzleloader	Early Jan. in select East Texas counties
Youth-only seasons	Any legal firearm/archery	Weekends before archery opener and in early January
MLDP extended seasons	Varies by property	Often extends well past general close, into February on some properties

What you can hunt in Texas

Deer — White-tailed deer, Mule deer
Elite · ranked #4 of 50 for deer.
Whitetail Deer
Highest deer population in the U.S.; long season and generous limits
Access: Over-the-counter; most hunting is leased or on managed private land
Pronghorn Antelope
Panhandle and prairie populations
Access: Mostly private land in Texas; South Dakota is a resident-heavy draw
Wild Hog
Millions of hogs; year-round, day and night, on private and some public land
Access: Hunting license only on private land; landowner permission is the real currency
Javelina
Widespread in south and west Texas brush country
Access: No closed season or bag limit on private land in many areas; access is mostly through landowners
Northern Bobwhite Quail
Strong wild-bird populations in South Texas brush country in good rain years
Access: Over-the-counter license; access mostly through leased land
Mourning Dove
Enormous dove population and an early opener with widespread field access
Access: Over-the-counter license plus federal HIP number
Sandhill Crane
Large wintering population with generous permit availability in most zones
Access: Over-the-counter or easy-draw permit depending on zone
Coyote
Huge coyote population and largely unrestricted year-round hunting on private land
Access: Over-the-counter license; no closed season in most areas

Public hunting land in Texas

Public deer hunting in Texas runs through TPWD's wildlife management areas and the Annual Public Hunting permit program, which bundles access to more than a million acres of leased and public land.

Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area
WMA · Panhandle
A large public tract along the Canadian River known for both whitetail and some mule deer hunting opportunities in the northern Panhandle.
Official page
Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area
WMA · Trans-Pecos
A rugged desert-mountain WMA near Alpine offering drawn mule deer and desert bighorn hunts in classic Trans-Pecos terrain.
James Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area
WMA · South Texas
Brush country habitat representative of the trophy-management region, with drawn hunts for whitetail.
Sam Houston National Forest (public hunting units)
National forest · East Texas
Part of the Annual Public Hunting program, offering Pineywoods bottomland habitat for whitetail hunters.
Angelina National Forest (public hunting units)
National forest · East Texas
Another East Texas national forest tract enrolled in the APH program with classic Southern hardwood deer habitat.
Kerr Wildlife Management Area
WMA · Hill Country
A research-oriented WMA in the Edwards Plateau demonstrating deer habitat management, with limited public hunts.
Chaparral Wildlife Management Area
WMA · South Texas
A large brush-country WMA offering drawn whitetail hunts representative of South Texas trophy management.

Official Texas links

Last reviewed 2026-09.

Nearby state hunting guides

Questions

Frequently asked

Where do I buy a Texas hunting license?: Texas hunting licenses and tags are sold by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department through its official licensing site. Buy direct from the agency rather than a reseller, and complete hunter education first if your birth year requires it.
When is Texas hunting season?: Seasons differ by species, weapon and zone, and the Texas season dates change every year. Our Texas deer guide summarizes the 2025-26 deer season structure; for every other species, check the current Texas Parks & Wildlife Department regulations before you plan a hunt.
What can you hunt in Texas?: Besides white-tailed deer, mule deer, our species guides single out Texas for whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, wild hog, javelina, northern bobwhite quail, mourning dove, sandhill crane, coyote. Each species guide explains tags, seasons and tactics.
Where is public hunting land in Texas?: Good starting points include Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area, Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area, James Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area. Confirm access rules, closures and special regulations with the managing agency before you go.