Texas wildlife managers are proposing expanding opportunities for hunters in 41 counties

Citing expanding whitetail deer populations and a skewing of buck/doe ratios, Texas wildlife managers are proposing significantly expanding opportunities for hunters in 41 counties of the Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah region to take antlerless deer beginning with the 2019-20 hunting season.

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This would be great for where I hunt in Van Zandt. That four day window for antlerless just sucks. Plus, I swear that’s all I ever see when I go out to hunt. Antler restrictions already make it difficult for the very rare buck that I get to see.

I hunted in these counties this year and the "Doe" season of a few days was bad weather and right in the middle of the rut, when the doe could actually become useful in towing along a giant. I am hopeful this change gets made due to my preference to take a doe late season after I realize that I probably won't take a monster buck.

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Glad to see the doe during general season in Freestone county

Glad to see even the 4 day doe season in those counties noted. I hunted last year at the last minute on a tiny lease that had always had a MLDP Permit, and the Permit connection was lost when my BiL passed in September + the family controlling the MLDP program for this area was tending the "manager's" hospitalization...total confusion at both ends of the pipeline reigned.
We had lots of does and were told not to shoot them, but no bucks anywhere when we were down there right before Thanksgiving, and.the SiL has been sending pics of 10-12 bucks at a time still trying to breed in her 5 acre backyard adacent to the Lease area for the last month or so...so anything that will make things Mo Simple is a big time bonus.
Ron

Proposed change makes does legal the first 16 days of the general season in counties that currently have the 4 doe days......not late season. If I want to thin out one or 2 doe I grab the muzzleloader for the special late season.

Sounds good but most folks don't take does where they should. Everyone wants a buck... I agree with the changes though. There are plenty of deer in those areas now.

I'd love to see this take place as their last doe situation really sucked. I sure wish they would get it all together and make a reasonable deer season, with rules that make sense. I would also like to see some changes whereas a person could do reasonable buck culling. I see bucks every year that should be culled, and just have to watch them on the cameras every day.

I wish they would consider deer changes in the rolling plains area that I'm in. Right now my county is 1 buck and 4 does. I feel in my area that the does have been almost shot out. Opening weekend of deer season this past season I saw 17 different buck and 2 does. I always see way more bucks than does. We have not killed a doe on my property since I bought it in 2015. I wish they would go 2 bucks and even 2 does. What stinks is Stonewall county borders two 2 buck counties but I can't convince our biologist to add us to that harvest limit.

Our does a;ways make themselves scarce on the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend. This will help get one in the freezer.

JR

Just remember.....if the land you hunt on has been issued MLD tags for does.....then you CANNOT hunt does with your hunting license tags during this 4 day Thanksgiving weekend. Its either one way OR the other!

Bout time someone made a sensible decision....For my county anyway!

What area of VZ county are you hunting? I’m in in SW corner about a mile off county line and seen more doe than bucks. Let 1 buck walk 2 seoerate times that was greater than 13”. Hoping he’ll get as big as the one I killed last year.

We are in Lamar county, missed it by that much.....