Deer, Dove, and Duck Hunting Follow Specific Rusk County Rules

For white-tailed deer, Rusk County sits in the North Zone, so the general season runs from early November into early January. You can take four deer a year, no more than two of them bucks, and only one of those bucks may carry an inside spread of 13 inches or more. That's the antler restriction meant to let young bucks walk. Youth and muzzleloader seasons tack on a few extra days for those who qualify.

Dove follows Central Zone dates, with the fall segment opening September 1; ducks run on the North Zone schedule. Squirrel season is long here, October through late February, then a short spring stretch in May. Everybody needs a Texas hunting license, and if you're after dove, duck, or any other migratory bird, you need the extra endorsements stacked on top.

The one thing that drifts year to year is the calendar. Opening weekends and split-season dates shift, so the season that opened the first Saturday of November last year might land on a different day this fall. The TPWD Outdoor Annual carries the exact Rusk County dates and is the version a game warden will hold you to.