Did you know the general deer hunting season in Texas opens this Saturday? I didn't! That's why that comes in #1 on my list of THINGS I WAS SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT TEXAS DEER SEASON.

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    General Deer Season in Texas Opens This Saturday

    Bowhunters get to start about a month early. If you hunt deer with a rifle you have to wait until November 5th.

    I guess the thinking is, if you're going to go to the trouble of using hunting technology that has been outdated since the 15th Century, you get a month's head-start. It seems fair!

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    Texas Has a White-tail Deer Population of Over 4 Million

    That's a Dallas PLUS Houston-sized population of deer with white tails. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (where I'm getting all this information) also says that the white-tail population is going to increase because of "high fawn production and survival this year". Not if you have anything to say about that "survival" part, amiright, deer hunters!

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    Antler Quality is EXCELLENT This Year

    "Antler quality is EXCELLENT this year", said Alan Cain of TPWD. "I've seen photos of several big deer, including a low-fenced buck harvested in Webb County with a gross B&C (Boone & Crockett score) of around 198."

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    The "Boone and Crockett Score" is a Thing that Exists

    It sure does! And just as you'd expect, it refers to Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. I guess it stands to reason that both of these great Americans were probably formidable deer hunters. From my education, I knew that Davy Crockett "kilt him a bear when he was only three" and that Daniel Boone was "a man. Yes, a big man". So, yeah, they could both probably kill the shit out of some deer.

    But the B&C score isn't the only way to gauge the quality of deer. "Deer are in excellent body quality," Cain noted. "I've seen a number of harvested deer with 1-3 inches of fat on their rump and across the back."

    So, obviously, rump fat is appreciated in creatures other than Kardashians.

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    There are a Few Changes in the Regulations this Year

    a.) "During the special late season in January, harvest is restricted to antlerless and unbranched antlered deer."

    (Fun Fact: Spellcheck doesn't recognize "antlerless" "unbranched" OR "antlered".)

    From the TPWD press release:  "An unbranched antlered deer is one that has at least one antler with no more than one point."


    b.) "An additional 14 Panhandle counties were added to the general season, along with additional 'doe days' in 26 East Texas Counties.


    c.) Again, from the TPWD press release:  "Hunters are also reminded of new chronic wasting disease (CWD) carcass movement restrictions and testing requirements for hunter harvested white-tailed and mule deer this season. For details visit the CWD informational page online."

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