THERE ARE OVER FOUR MILLION DEER IN TEXAS. Over half are does. Most will have been bred by the end of deer seasons. Over half will have twins – a male and a female. Each year, more bucks are harvested than does, leading to an imbalance between the sexes. As this imbalance continues, overpopulation of does increases. TPWD encourages hunters to take significant numbers of does each year to bring the buck/ doe ratio closer to 1:2. Some hunters call the late doe and spike season the sausage season for good reason. Much high protein venison is harvested each January, helping to feed homeless people as well as healthy Texas hunters and their families. (Photo by John Jefferson)
By John Jefferson
Deer season is over.
No; Wait! Which deer season are we talking about?
The white-tailed deer “General Season” (some call it the “Regular Season”) for the northern part of Texas did end on January 6, the first Sunday in January. Check the TPW Outdoor Annual (TPWOA) for the particular county in which you usually hunt. There’s an alphabetical chart of the county regulations starting on page 82. It may cause a little eye-strain due its small print and layout, but it saved space in the regulations booklet. Checking it could save readers some violation money, too!
The South Zone General White-tailed Deer Season doesn’t end until January 20.
But there are also several seasons still open. Although they could all be called “late seasons”, which they are, the only ones the regulations specifically call the “Special Late Season” are the seasons following the General Season in which only antlerless deer (usually meaning does) and antlered deer having at least one unbranched antler (formerly called a spike) may be shot. In the North Zone, that season runs Jan. 7-20. In the South Zone, it is Jan. 21-Feb. 3.
There are also Youth-Only and a Muzzleloader-Only season running concurrently with the “Special Late Season” in the North Zone. ONLY licensed kids 16 years and under may hunt bucks during the Youth-Only Season. Only hunters with a muzzle loading rifle may hunt bucks in the Muzzleloader Season. Simple enough? And that season is Jan. 7-20 in the North Zone. There is no Muzzleloader-Only season in the South Zone and in a number of other counties. Check the regulations!
Some ranches have qualified for Managed Lands Deer Permits (MLDPs). Those ranches can still legally hunt both bucks and does through the end of any legal fall hunting season. That means through the end of quail season on February 24. Landowners can tell you if they have MLDPs.
Throughout most of the state, the rut has ended, and hunting interest is on the wane. But some still hunt successfully in South Texas until Jan. 20, this year. Adan Alvarez hunted on King Ranch one January 16 and shot a double-drop-tined buck that scored 239-5/8 on the Boone and Crockett scale. Minnie Dora-Bunn Haynes waited until the last day of a season a few years ago and took down another double-drop-tined buck that scored 229-6/8, B&C. It happens.
With mesquite trees and other brush having lost leaves, deer are now easier to see. Most does have been bred by now, too, causing bucks to move more in search of any remaining estrous ones, making bucks more vulnerable.
As far as the Special Late Season, that’s a good way to remove does from overpopulated areas and have fun doing it. Some call it the “sausage season”. There’s less pressure since bucks won’t be legal, and it’s good hunting practice. The more you shoot, the better shot you become. Even snipers practice. And with over four million deer in Texas and a large fawn crop expected, the herd needs to be thinned.
JJ
