Four Texas counties will remain archery-only for deer season

An overwhelming public outcry prevented the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission from adopting a rule change at last week’s meetings that would have allowed deer hunting with a rifle in four North Texas counties. Collin, Dallas, Grayson and Rockwall counties will keep their archery-only deer hunting seasons. The four counties are the only ones in the state where archery is the sole legal means of harvest, even throughout the youth, general and Managed Lands Deer Program seasons. All other counties in the state allow rifle hunting except El Paso and Hudspeth, the only two Texas counties without white-tailed deer seasons.

Letters from Rep. Reggie Smith and Sen. Drew Springer against the proposal; opposition from the Grayson and Collin County commissioners courts, Collin County Sheriff’s Department and the cities of Anna and Sherman; a Change.org petition with over 2,000 signatures; and 66 percent of 743 total public comments opposing the plan as of last week’s work session helped sway the TPW Commission to reject three of the proposal’s four parts. “It’s just overwhelming,” TPW Commission chairman Arch Aplin III said after several other commissioners commented on the significant opposition. “I think they’ll be very happy to keep their bow-only, which they enjoy. It’s their local community, and I think we should listen to them.” The commission decided not to add rifle hunting to the general, youth or MLDP seasons, and it didn’t remove a prohibition on crossbows during archery season or add four “doe days” to the general season. But mandatory harvest reporting will go into effect in these four counties next season to gather more data to better monitor the area. Harvests can be reported on the My Texas Hunt Harvest app or the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website.