Texas

Texas is the whitetail deer capital of the nation, boasting an estimated population of over 5.4 million deer. Governed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Texas offers both extensive private lease hunting and competitive public drawn hunts.

World-renowned hunting regions include the South Texas Brush Country ("Golden Triangle" of Dimmit, LaSalle, and Webb counties) famous for heavy-horned mature bucks feeding on high-protein mesquite and prickly pear; the Edwards Plateau (Hill Country) with the highest deer density in the nation; and the Pineywoods of East Texas. The rut peaks in late December in South Texas, offering exhilarating rattling and safari-style blind hunting.

In the rugged desert mountains and canyonlands of West Texas (Trans-Pecos) and the prairie canyon breaks of the Panhandle, Texas offers challenging desert mule deer hunting.

TPWD manages mule deer through general seasons in designated counties alongside public drawn hunts on big game Wildlife Management Areas like Black Gap and Elephant Mountain. Spot-and-stalk tactics across rocky desert slopes and yucca flats require high-end optics and patience to locate wide-framed desert bucks.

The shortgrass prairie and expansive ranchlands of the Texas Panhandle and Trans-Pecos support wild herds of pronghorn antelope.

Hunts are regulated by TPWD through landowner permits and public drawings. Fast-paced spot-and-stalk rifle hunting across vast open plains demands steady rests, accurate rangefinding, and proficiency with flat-shooting calibers in strong Texas winds.

Common throughout the South Texas brush country and the Trans-Pecos, javelina provide thrilling close-range hunting.

TPWD classifies javelina as a game animal with generous bag limits and a year-round or long fall/winter season in designated counties. Stalking squadrons feeding in prickly pear flats with bow, handgun, or lightweight rifle is an iconic Texas hunting tradition.

Texas is the epicenter of wild boar hunting in North America, with an estimated population exceeding 3 million feral hogs. Hogs are classified as non-game unprotected exotic pests, allowing year-round hunting with no bag limits and no closed seasons.

Methods of pursuit range from traditional night vision and thermal optic spot-and-stalk hunts, stand hunting over corn feeders, helicopter aerial depredation hunts, and hound hunting through dense river bottom thickets.

Originating from India and released onto historic South Texas ranches in the 1930s, free-ranging herds of Nilgai (Blue Bull) now dominate the coastal sand plains of Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy counties.

Mature bulls weigh over 600 to 700 pounds and possess exceptionally thick hides and dense bone structure. Running hunts on specialized safari trucks followed by fast-paced foot stalks across coastal oak mottes require heavy magnum calibers (.300 Win Mag minimum, with .375 H&H preferred) and stout bonded partition bullets.

Celebrated for their striking white-spotted coats, lyre-shaped antlers, and world-class venison quality, free-ranging Axis deer thrive in massive wild populations across the Texas Hill Country (Edwards, Kerr, and Real counties).

Because axis deer breed and shed antlers on varying schedules, trophy hard-horned bucks can be pursued year-round, with the peak rut occurring during the hot summer months of June and July. Spot-and-stalk hunting across live oak valleys provides non-stop hunting excitement.

Texas supports healthy wild alligator populations in the coastal marshes, bayous, and river drainages of southeastern Texas.

TPWD regulates alligator hunting through a 20-day September core season in coastal counties and a general season in non-core counties. Hunters utilize hook-and-line sets suspended from overhanging cypress limbs, followed by safe dispatch with a centerfire rifle or bangstick once secured.