Rifle Whitetail Hunt

Big Game

Texas’s big game species include White-tailed deer, Mule deer, Pronghorn antelope, Desert bighorn sheep, Javelina, and Alligator, as well as Wild turkey. (Texas also has feral hogs and exotic species like axis deer, which are free-ranging but not classified as game and can be hunted year-round with a license.)

Deer (White-tailed & Mule): Texas does not require drawing a tag for deer – deer licenses are available to all, OTC. When a hunter buys a Texas hunting license, deer tags are included as part of the license. These allow the harvest of deer up to the county-specific bag limits. Hunters must also complete the harvest log on the license for deer and report harvests via Texas’s app or online.

Turkey: Wild turkey (Eastern and Rio Grande) are hunted with over-the-counter tags as well. A Texas license provides turkey tags. Turkey fall under “upland game bird” regulations: to hunt turkey, you need an Upland Game Bird endorsement on your license. There is no extra turkey permit to buy (the tags are on the license). Non-residents who only want to hunt turkey can use the special non-resident Turkey license (which provides turkey tags but no deer tags).

Pronghorn (Antelope): Pronghorn hunting in Texas is limited and possible with drawn permits for public lands or with landowner allocated pronghorn permits.

Desert Bighorn Sheep: Texas has a very limited bighorn sheep season. Tags are extremely few (~2–3 per year) and are allocated by draw only to residents.

Javelina: They have a bag limit of 2 per license year in the allowed counties There is no draw – javelina are included under the general hunting license.

Alligator: Texas allows alligator hunting in certain counties and seasons. Alligator hunting on public properties (like WMAs or public waters) often requires a drawn permit or an assigned quota. On private lands, alligator hunting is managed by a tag system: landowners in core alligator counties receive a number of hide tags from TPWD based on population assessments.

Hogs & Exotics: While not “game,” it’s worth noting Texas has feral hogs everywhere and exotic species (axis deer, nilgai antelope, blackbuck, etc.) on many ranches. These can be hunted year-round with no bag limit. A hunting license is required to hunt them, but no tags or permits are needed – they are unregulated beyond having landowner permission.

Small Game

Texas does not have a separate small-game license for residents – the standard hunting license covers all legal game species (Dove, Squirrels, Rabbits, etc.), provided you have the required endorsements for certain species.

Dove & Migratory Birds: To hunt doves, ducks, geese, sandhill cranes, or any migratory game bird in Texas, a hunter needs the Migratory Game Bird endorsement on their license. In addition, waterfowl hunters need the Federal Duck Stamp and must be HIP-certified. Texas also requires a free Sandhill Crane Permit for crane hunting.

Upland Game: Texas requires the Upland Game Bird endorsement to hunt any upland game birds: this includes Wild turkey, Quail, Pheasant, and Chachalaca.

Other small game like Squirrel, Rabbits, Hares, Prairie dogs, and predators/furbearers (coyote, raccoon, bobcat) do not require any special stamp – just a valid hunting license.

Documents needed

• Hunting license and species tags
• Hunter Education proof
• Necessary endorsements and stamps per species
• Archery Endorsement – to hunt during Archery-only season for deer or turkey

Minimum Hunter Age

Texas does not set a minimum age to hunt; any child can participate under supervision. Youth hunter education and license is available from 9 years old.

More information

• https://tpwd.texas.gov/ - Texas Parks and Wildlife