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Big game · 2026-27

Mule Deer Hunting in Texas

Mule deer seasons cover 74 counties split into three areas: the Panhandle (55 counties), the Trans-Pecos (16) and Brewster, Pecos and Terrell. Dates, limits, county lists, rules and public ground for mule deer, all from TPWD.

Mule deer dates Bag Mapped land

Oct 3Opening

Jan 31Latest close

74Counties with dates

14Areas listing it

Photo: USFWS Mountain Prairie (CC BY 2.0)

Archery-only mule deer hunting opens Oct. 3 in all three areas, ahead of a short general season of a little over two weeks. 29 counties hold mule deer bucks to a 20 inch outside spread. The 2026-27 Outdoor Annual lists only three mule deer areas: Panhandle, Trans-Pecos, and Brewster/Pecos/Terrell. No separate Southwest Panhandle zone appears.

TractsMule Deer on public land14 areas with mule deer DrawDraw permits for mule deer2 categories

Mule Deer at a glance

74 counties.
Panhandle general Nov. 21 – Dec. 6, 2026; Trans-Pecos Nov. 27 – Dec. 13, 2026.
1 buck all seasons combined; 20-inch outside spread rule in 29 counties.

Mule Deer opening and closing days

TPWD sets 7 segments for mule deer this license year; the last column compares each one with today.

Zone	Season type	Begins	Ends	Days
Panhandle	Archery Only	Oct 3, 2026	Nov 20, 2026	49
Panhandle	General Season	Nov 21, 2026	Dec 6, 2026	16
Brewster, Pecos, Terrell Counties	Archery Only	Oct 3, 2026	Nov 26, 2026	55
Brewster, Pecos, Terrell Counties	General Season	Nov 27, 2026	Dec 13, 2026	17
Trans-Pecos	Archery Only	Oct 3, 2026	Nov 26, 2026	55
Trans-Pecos	General Season	Nov 27, 2026	Dec 13, 2026	17
MLDP-enrolled properties	MLDP Conservation Option mule deer	Oct 3, 2026	Jan 31, 2027	121

Dates from the TPWD Outdoor Annual 2026-27 (species page), checked October 11, 2026.

Mule Deer bag and possession limits

These mule deer numbers are the ones a game warden will check against.

1Mule deer bucks, Panhandle

1Mule deer bucks, Trans-Pecos

2Mule deer, Brewster/Pecos/Terrell

29Spread rule counties

Mule deer limit

TPWD

Panhandle and Trans-Pecos: 1 buck all seasons combined. Brewster, Pecos, Terrell: 2 (no more than 1 buck); antlerless by MLDP tag or antlerless mule deer permit only.

Zone	Limit type	Amount
Brewster, Pecos, Terrell Counties	Bag Limit	2 (no more than 1 buck, all seasons combined)
Panhandle	Bag Limit	1 buck all seasons combined
Trans-Pecos	Bag Limit	1 buck all seasons combined

Mule Deer zones and county lists

Mule deer are open in 74 counties. Where a mule deer zone line splits a county, TPWD’s boundary text sits beside the name.

Zone	Full counties	Split
Panhandle	55	0
Brewster, Pecos, Terrell Counties	3	0
Trans-Pecos	16	0
20 inch rule counties	29	0

Panhandle: 55 counties

Brewster, Pecos, Terrell Counties: 3 counties

Show the 16 Trans-Pecos counties

20 inch spread rule counties (29)

Mule deer counties side by side

The 74 counties open to mule deer, with region and ecoregion; 14 have a public tract listing mule deer.

County	Zone	Hunting region	Ecoregion	Tracts	Deer bag
Andrews	Panhandle	Central Texas	High Plains	0	3 deer
Armstrong	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	1	5 deer
Bailey	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Borden	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Brewster	Brewster, Pecos, Terrell Counties	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	3	4 deer
Briscoe	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	1	5 deer
Carson	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	5 deer
Castro	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Childress	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Cochran	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	1	3 deer
Coke	Panhandle	Central Texas	Edwards Plateau	0	5 deer
Collingsworth	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Cottle	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	1	5 deer
Crane	Trans-Pecos	Central Texas	Trans Pecos	0	3 deer
Crockett	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Edwards Plateau	0	5 deer
Crosby	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	5 deer
Culberson	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	1	4 deer
Dallam	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Dawson	Panhandle	Central Texas	High Plains	0	3 deer
Deaf Smith	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Dickens	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Donley	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Ector	Trans-Pecos	Central Texas	High Plains	0	3 deer
El Paso	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	0	Closed
Fisher	Panhandle	Central Texas	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Floyd	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	5 deer
Foard	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Gaines	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Garza	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Gray	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	1	5 deer
Hale	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Hall	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Hansford	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Hardeman	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Hartley	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Hemphill	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	1	5 deer
Hockley	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Hudspeth	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	1	Closed
Hutchinson	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Jeff Davis	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	0	4 deer
Kent	Panhandle	Central Texas	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
King	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Knox	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Lamb	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Lipscomb	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Loving	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	0	3 deer
Lubbock	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Lynn	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Martin	Panhandle	Central Texas	High Plains	0	3 deer
Midland	Trans-Pecos	Central Texas	High Plains	0	3 deer
Moore	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Motley	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Ochiltree	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Oldham	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	3 deer
Parmer	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Pecos	Brewster, Pecos, Terrell Counties	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	0	5 deer
Potter	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	1	3 deer
Presidio	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	1	4 deer
Randall	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	1	3 deer
Reagan	Trans-Pecos	Central Texas	Edwards Plateau	0	5 deer
Reeves	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	0	4 deer
Roberts	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Scurry	Panhandle	Central Texas	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Sherman	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Stonewall	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Swisher	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	0	3 deer
Terrell	Brewster, Pecos, Terrell Counties	Trans-Pecos	Edwards Plateau	0	5 deer
Terry	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	1	3 deer
Upton	Trans-Pecos	Central Texas	Edwards Plateau	0	5 deer
Val Verde	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Edwards Plateau	0	5 deer
Ward	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	0	3 deer
Wheeler	Panhandle	Panhandle	Rolling Plains	0	5 deer
Winkler	Trans-Pecos	Trans-Pecos	Trans Pecos	0	3 deer
Yoakum	Panhandle	Panhandle	High Plains	1	3 deer

Mule Deer hunting rules in Texas

Before going after mule deer, check these license, hour and method rules.

Licenses and fees

Fees mule deer hunters should expect this license year.

$25Resident license

$7Archery endorsement

$315Nonresident general

$7Youth license

$48APH permit

When to shoot

For mule deer, TPWD allows shooting from one-half hour before official sunrise until one-half hour after official sunset.

Safety orange

Orange for mule deer is required only on TPWD public hunting lands: 400 square inches total, 144 front and back, and an orange hat.

Safety course

Mule deer hunters born on or after Sept. 2, 1971 need hunter education; certification starts at age 9 and costs $15 in person.

20 inch mule deer rule

Legal buck must have an outside spread of the main beams of 20 inches or greater; bucks with at least one unbranched antler are not legal unless the outside spread is at least 20 inches. It applies in Andrews, Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe and Castro and 24 other counties.

Antlerless mule deer

In Brewster, Pecos and Terrell, antlerless mule deer are taken only by MLDP tag or antlerless mule deer permit.

Mule deer on MLDP land

Conservation Option ranches run mule deer from Oct. 3, 2026 to Jan. 31, 2027 on MLDP tags, which replace license tags.

Tagging a mule deer

Tag a mule deer with a license tag right after the kill; the harvest log on the back of the license is not required for mule deer.

Nonresident mule deer hunters

Only non-resident license valid for white-tailed or mule deer (incl. MLDP tags), pronghorn, bighorn sheep. It costs $315.

Texas Big Game Awards

2025-26 TBGA rules

Texas keeps no official state record book for mule deer; the Big Game Awards program and its standings fill that role.

145/160Trans Pecos

145/160Panhandle

From the TPWD Outdoor Annual general regulations, license and species pages (endorsements, hunting regulations), checked October 11, 2026. All Texas hunting laws · License guide.

Mule Deer on WMAs, APH units and refuges

14 areas name mule deer, most of them WMA tracts (6), with Panhandle holding the largest share of mule deer ground.

Panhandle (10)

Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge (7,664 ac) · Caprock Canyons State Park · Cross Bar Management Area (11,883 ac) · Gene Howe WMA (5,394 ac) · Lake Meredith National Recreation Area · Matador WMA (28,183 ac) · McClellan Creek National Grassland (Lake McClellan Recreation Area) (1,449 ac) · Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge (6,449 ac) · Palo Duro Canyon State Park · Yoakum Dunes WMA

Trans-Pecos (4)

Big Bend Ranch State Park · Black Gap WMA (103,000 ac) · Elephant Mountain WMA (23,147 ac) · Sierra Diablo WMA (11,624 ac)

Mule deer areas, largest first

Tract	Type	Counties	Acres	Drawn	Also on the list
Black Gap WMA	WMA	Brewster	103,000	Yes	white-tailed deer, javelina, dove, waterfowl, quail, rabbit, predators/furbearers
Matador WMA	WMA	Cottle	28,183	Yes	white-tailed deer, feral hog, turkey, dove, waterfowl, quail, rabbit, predators/furbearers
Elephant Mountain WMA	WMA	Brewster	23,147	Yes	white-tailed deer, feral hog, elk, javelina, dove, quail, rabbit, predators/furbearers
Cross Bar Management Area	BLM Land	Potter	11,883	Yes	white-tailed deer, feral hog
Sierra Diablo WMA	WMA	Culberson and Hudspeth	11,624	Yes	elk, javelina, predators/furbearers
Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge	National Wildlife Refuge	–	7,664	Yes	white-tailed deer, feral hog, dove, quail, pheasant
Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge	National Wildlife Refuge	–	6,449	Yes	white-tailed deer, feral hog, dove, quail
Gene Howe WMA	WMA	Hemphill	5,394	Yes	white-tailed deer, feral hog, turkey, dove, waterfowl, quail, rabbit, predators/furbearers
McClellan Creek National Grassland (Lake McClellan Recreation Area)	National Grassland	Gray	1,449	Yes	white-tailed deer, feral hog
Caprock Canyons State Park	State Park	Briscoe	–	Yes	white-tailed deer, feral hog, exotics
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area	National Recreation Area	–	–	–	white-tailed deer, dove, waterfowl, turkey, quail, pheasant, rabbit, predators/furbearers
Palo Duro Canyon State Park	State Park	Randall and Armstrong	–	Yes	white-tailed deer, feral hog, exotics, turkey
Yoakum Dunes WMA	WMA	Cochran, Terry and Yoakum	–	Yes	feral hog, quail, rabbit, predators/furbearers
Big Bend Ranch State Park	State Park	Presidio and Brewster	–	Yes	feral hog, javelina, quail

Mule deer hunters on TPWD public lands carry a $48 APH permit, good for the license year. How the APH permit works.

TPWD APH data, WMA and drawn hunt lists and federal land managers, 2026-27, checked October 11, 2026. Species lists are what each manager names; area rules still apply.

Mule Deer: drawn hunt categories

2 drawn categories in the 2026-27 TPWD catalog name mule deer, and 2 premium packages include them.

Category group	Hunt	Apply by
Special Permit	Mule Deer	Oct 1, 2026
Special Permit, archery	Mule Deer	Aug 15, 2026

Premium hunts

Packages that include mule deer: Texas Grand Slam (desert bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, desert mule deer); Ultimate Mule Deer Hunt (Panhandle).

Adult mule deer hunters pay a $3 application ($10 for Private Lands and guided) and, if drawn, $80 for a standard hunt or $130 for an extended one; youth apply and hunt free. Big Time Texas Hunts sells unlimited $9 entries for its mule deer packages until Oct. 15, 2026.

TPWD Public Hunt Drawing catalog, fees and deadlines (drawing) and Big Time Texas Hunts (BTTH), checked October 11, 2026. Texas drawn hunts.

How many mule deer Texas hunters take

Mule deer hunters took an estimated 10,704 mule deer in 2025-26, 9,630 of them bucks. In 2017-18 the Trans-Pecos produced 9,529 of them at a 51.69% success rate.

10,704Mule deer taken, 2025-26

9,630Bucks

1,074Does

27,980Mule deer hunters

36.82%Success rate

The mule deer series has a gap: 2018-19 to 2024-25 are not on TPWD’s public page.

Mule deer by ecoregion, 2017-18

Ecoregion	Hunters	Harvest	Success
Trans-Pecos	16,132	9,529	51.69%
Rolling Plains	14,500	3,416	22.50%
High Plains	6,706	2,517	35.14%
Edwards Plateau	6,344	2,158	31.43%

Mule deer by density class, 2017-18

Density class	Hunters	Harvest	Success
Medium	15,522	6,012	38.57%
High	7,317	4,353	48.48%
Very Low	9,756	3,731	40.91%
Low	11,087	3,524	28.00%

TPWD harvest surveys (2025-26, 2005-06 to 2017-18 report). Survey estimates, not check-station counts.

Loading up for Mule Deer country

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Spotting scope

Glassing open desert and canyon country for mule deer.

Current prices

Binocular harness

Keeps glass at hand on long walks in rough country.

Current prices

Trekking poles

Steep, rocky slopes in the Trans-Pecos and Panhandle breaks.

Current prices

Game bags

Breathable bags for quartering meat far from the truck.

Current prices

Gear comparisons Hunting gear

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Common mule deer questions

How wide must a mule deer buck be?

Legal buck must have an outside spread of the main beams of 20 inches or greater; bucks with at least one unbranched antler are not legal unless the outside spread is at least 20 inches.

Can I shoot a mule deer doe in Texas?

Only in Brewster, Pecos and Terrell, and only by MLDP tag or antlerless mule deer permit. Elsewhere the mule deer bag is one buck.

Is there a Southwest Panhandle mule deer zone this year?

The 2026-27 Outdoor Annual lists only three mule deer areas: Panhandle, Trans-Pecos, and Brewster/Pecos/Terrell. No separate Southwest Panhandle zone appears.

Is my county open for mule deer?

74 counties, listed by zone above.

When does the mule deer season start?

TPWD sets mule deer at Panhandle archery only Oct 3 to Nov 20, 2026; Panhandle general season Nov 21 to Dec 6, 2026; Brewster, Pecos, Terrell Counties archery only Oct 3 to Nov 26, 2026; Brewster, Pecos, Terrell Counties general season Nov 27 to Dec 13, 2026; Trans-Pecos archery only Oct 3 to Nov 26, 2026; Trans-Pecos general season Nov 27 to Dec 13, 2026. Every segment is in the calendar above.

What is the bag limit on mule deer?

Panhandle and Trans-Pecos: 1 buck all seasons combined. Brewster, Pecos, Terrell: 2 (no more than 1 buck); antlerless by MLDP tag or antlerless mule deer permit only.

What license do I need for mule deer?

Required or relevant: Resident license ($25); Archery endorsement ($7); Nonresident general ($315).

How many public tracts include mule deer?

14 public tracts list mule deer, including Black Gap WMA, Matador WMA and Elephant Mountain WMA. Adults after mule deer on TPWD land carry the $48 APH permit.

Are there hour limits on mule deer?

For mule deer, TPWD allows shooting from one-half hour before official sunrise until one-half hour after official sunset.

Is blaze orange required for mule deer?

Orange for mule deer is required only on TPWD public hunting lands: 400 square inches total, 144 front and back, and an orange hat.

Last word on mule deer

The TPWD species page is the final word on mule deer; this page was checked against it on October 11, 2026.

Species list Every Texas season Public land map TPWD on mule deer

Other photos on this page: gurdonark (CC BY 2.0); colmmcsky (CC BY-SA 2.0); ShenandoahNPS (Public domain); Larry Lamsa (CC BY 2.0); Buck Valley Ranch (CC BY 2.0); Larry Lamsa (CC BY 2.0).