Texas public hunting: WMAs, state parks and public hunting lands
Texas is mostly private land, so public hunting runs through TPWD's $48 Annual Public Hunting Permit: more than a million acres of wildlife management areas, state parks, public hunting lands and leased dove fields, by TPWD's count. FilledTag has a page for 55 of the areas in TPWD's 2026-27 map booklet (789,673 acres) and 12 more WMAs. Statewide, TPWD estimates hunters took 782,405 white-tailed deer in 2025-26.
Data updated October 2026. Areas, legal game and dates: TPWD's 2026-27 Map Booklet for Public Hunting Lands. Harvest: TPWD's 2025-26 harvest surveys.
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Which public hunting areas are in Texas?
Each area's page has TPWD's 2026-27 legal game and dates, its rules, a map with its no hunting zones, and the public land nearest it. 23 of them list a deer season.
WMAs with drawn hunts only or no public hunting: Kerr WMA, Sierra Diablo WMA, Powderhorn WMA, Welder Flats WMA, Keechi Creek WMA, D.R. Wintermann WMA, M.O. Neasloney WMA, Paul and Toni Fox Burns WMA, Atkinson Island WMA, Redhead Pond WMA, Candy Cain Abshier WMA, Playa Lakes WMA Dimmitt Unit.
Source: TPWD 2026-27 Map Booklet for Public Hunting Lands. Acres are TPWD's where the booklet prints them, otherwise measured from TPWD's boundaries.
How does the Annual Public Hunting Permit work?
The $48 permit, bought with a Texas hunting license, gives full hunting privileges on every area in TPWD's booklet for the license year, September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027. Hunters under 17 hunt free with a permitted adult. Most areas require on-site registration each day, now done in the Texas Hunt & Fish app (eOSR) on many of them. Some hunts, like deer and hogs on several WMAs, are drawn through TPWD's E-Postcard and drawn hunt system instead.
The booklet sets each area's own seasons, which are often shorter than the county's. 2026-27 is the last season TPWD prints the booklet; after this its website carries the schedule.
How many deer, mule deer and javelina are harvested in Texas?
TPWD's big game harvest survey covers the whole state; it does not report by public hunting area.
| 2025-26 estimate | White-tailed deer | Mule deer | Javelina |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunters | 714,424 | 27,980 | 30,398 |
| Harvest | 782,405 | 10,704 | 25,777 |
| Bucks or males | 412,513 | 9,630 | |
| Does or females | 369,893 | 1,074 | |
| Hunters who took one | 63.36% | 36.82% | 55.79% |
| Hunter days | 8,195,470 | 172,414 | 244,679 |
Small game and turkey, 2025-26
| Species | Hunters | Hunters who took one | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dove (all species) | 323,420 | 87.20% | 8,500,549 |
| Duck | 61,593 | 79.90% | 498,045 |
| Quail (all species) | 49,893 | 90.30% | 786,364 |
| Squirrel | 43,491 | 86.80% | 316,577 |
| Rabbit | 36,426 | 80.60% | 131,355 |
| Goose | 13,246 | 75.00% | 41,945 |
| Turkey, spring | 59,960 | 35.50% | 22,021 |
| Turkey, fall | 52,041 | 22.10% | 11,010 |
Source: TPWD Harvest Surveys, 2025-26 statewide estimates.
How much is Texas public hunting land used?
TPWD surveyed permit buyers after the 2025-26 season: 65.50% of them, about 43,334 people, used an area, for 542,979 area days and 465,628 visits. The most common things they did:
| Activity | Permit buyers (estimate) |
|---|---|
| Scouting | 49,436 |
| Wildlife viewing | 25,368 |
| Dove hunting | 22,079 |
| Waterfowl hunting | 18,852 |
| Deer gun hunting | 18,692 |
| Deer bow hunting | 15,706 |
| Camping | 12,578 |
| Hiking | 12,548 |
| Hog hunting | 12,453 |
Source: TPWD Public Hunting Area Use survey, 2025-26.
What are TPWD's dove and small game leases?
TPWD leases 99 private tracts for dove and small game, 44,211 acres in 43 counties. The dove leases page lists every one by region and county.
Hunting seasons by county
Pages for the 53 counties that hold a public hunting area, each with TPWD's 2026-27 seasons for that county: Anderson, Brazoria, Brewster, Brown, Calhoun, Cameron, Cherokee, Cottle, Delta, Dimmit, Donley, Falls, Fannin, Foard, Freestone, Harrison, Hemphill, Hidalgo, Hopkins, Hunt, Jasper, Jefferson, La Salle, Lamar, Lee, Lipscomb, Marion, Mason, Matagorda, McMullen, Mitchell, Montague, Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Orange, Palo Pinto, Panola, Refugio, Robertson, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Starr, Taylor, Tom Green, Trinity, Van Zandt, Walker, Willacy, Williamson.
Questions hunters ask
How do you hunt public land in Texas?
Buy the $48 Annual Public Hunting Permit with a Texas hunting license. It opens TPWD's wildlife management areas, the state parks and public hunting lands in its booklet, and its leased dove and small game areas, each on its own dates. A $12 Limited Public Use Permit opens the same areas for everything except hunting.
How many deer are harvested in Texas?
TPWD estimates 714,424 white-tailed deer hunters took 782,405 white-tailed deer in the 2025-26 season, 412,513 bucks and 369,893 does, with 63.36% of hunters taking at least one. Mule deer hunters took 10,704.
Which Texas public hunting areas allow deer hunting?
23 of the 55 areas with a FilledTag page list a deer season in TPWD's 2026-27 booklet. The table above marks each one.
How many people use Texas public hunting land?
TPWD's survey estimates 43,334 permit buyers (65.50%) used a public hunting area in 2025-26, for 542,979 area days, and took 116,501 youth along.
Get a Texas hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Texas are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Texas included.
Where these numbers come from
- Areas, legal game, dates and rules: TPWD Annual Public Hunting Permit and 2026-27 Map Booklet.
- Boundaries: TPWD Public Hunt Locator map; TPWD WMA boundaries.
- Harvest and area use: TPWD Harvest Surveys. County seasons: TPWD Outdoor Annual.
FilledTag is not part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. TPWD's booklet and Outdoor Annual are the final word on every rule.