The 2026-27 Texas hunting season opened Sept. 1 with the statewide dove opener, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is urging hunters to review a set of license and regulation changes before heading into the field.
Several of the changes expand opportunity, most notably a longer antlerless deer season across a broad band of Central and South Texas. In a Sept. 4 news release, the department said “doe days” grow from four days to 16 in 21 counties.
The expanded season applies in Austin, Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Comal east of Interstate 35, DeWitt, Fayette, Goliad north of U.S. Highway 59, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hays east of I-35, Jackson north of U.S. 59, Karnes, Lavaca, Lee, Travis east of I-35, Victoria north of U.S. 59, Waller, Washington, Wharton north of U.S. 59 and Wilson counties. It runs Nov. 14-29, 2026, from the second Saturday of November through the Sunday immediately following Thanksgiving.
Other rules also changed, according to the release. The South Zone dove season starts earlier, special white-winged dove days have been eliminated, Matagorda and Wharton counties are now closed to wild turkey hunting, harvest of unbearded wild turkey hens is prohibited statewide, and the definition of a muzzleloader has been modified to allow newer muzzleloading technology. Chachalaca season dates now match quail season, running Nov. 1 through Feb. 28, 2027.
Regular dove seasons run Sept. 1 through Nov. 8 and resume Dec. 18 through Jan. 7, 2027, in the North Zone; Sept. 1 through Oct. 25 and Dec. 11 through Jan. 14, 2027, in the Central Zone; and Sept. 1 through Oct. 25 and Dec. 18 through Jan. 21, 2027, in the South Zone.
On the licensing side, the department said updated identity verification rules are now in effect for hunting and fishing license purchases, a step intended to combat residency fraud and support agency law enforcement. All recreational licenses and endorsement stamps also carry a digital option available only through online purchase; digital license holders receive no printed license or tags and must keep their license accessible on a mobile device in the field, using digital tags through the Texas Hunt & Fish app.
Turkey hunters have a new Turkey Harvest App that uses mandatory harvest reporting to display county-scale results through the fall and spring seasons. The department also asked hunters to stay alert for New World screwworm, a parasitic fly that lays eggs in open wounds of live animals, by reporting animals with suspicious wounds, inspecting harvested game for larvae and managing carcasses so no viable larvae remain.
Full season dates and regulations are posted at outdoorannual.com and in the free Outdoor Annual mobile app, which the agency said works without internet connectivity in remote areas.