Texas Porch

Hunting / After the shot & special rules

After the shot, and the local stuff.

Take care of tagging and reporting right away, then know the rules that change by county or by disease zone. This is the part that trips people up, so it's worth a read before the season.

After the shot

Tag it right away

When you take a deer or turkey, immediately fill out and attach the matching tag from your license. With a digital license, follow the digital tagging steps in the app instead.

Report it when required

Harvest reporting and CWD check stations are two different jobs. Paper-license hunters must report every wild turkey, all white-tailed deer from Collin, Dallas, Grayson, and Rockwall counties, and antlerless deer from 21 designated south-central counties within 24 hours through the Texas Hunt & Fish app or website. Digital tags are reported at harvest. In a mandatory CWD-testing zone, bring the intact, unfrozen deer head to a designated check station within 48 hours.

Proof of sex & transport

In seasons where only certain sexes are legal (like gobblers-only turkey), keep proof of sex with the animal until it reaches its final stop. You can field dress and quarter your animal, but keep it identifiable until you get it home, to a processor, or to cold storage.

Disease zones

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a deadly deer disease. To slow it, TPWD draws 'zones' (mostly the Trans-Pecos and parts of the Panhandle, plus a few other spots) where extra rules apply.

  • If you take a deer in a zone, you may have to bring it to a check station for testing.
  • Carcass movement is limited: generally you can only move deboned meat, clean skull caps with antlers, and a few other parts out of a zone — not the whole carcass.
  • Baiting and feeding may be restricted in some zones.

Zones change as the disease spreads, so check the current CWD map before you hunt those areas.

The local stuff

County-by-county rules to watch

Texas hunting is unusually local. Before you hunt, look up your exact county for:

  • Antler restrictions (the 13-inch buck rule applies in many counties).
  • Doe days (which days you can take antlerless deer) — expanded this season to a 16-day window in 21 Post Oak Savannah counties (including Austin, Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Lavaca, Lee, Waller, Washington, and Wilson; some with limits like east of I-35 or north of US 59).
  • One-gobbler turkey counties and the East Zone turkey method rules.
  • Special crossbow and dog rules in the counties listed under Methods.
Look up your county on TPWD ->

Animal-health alert

New World Screwworm

New World screwworm is present in parts of Texas. Its larvae infest open wounds in warm-blooded animals, including wildlife, and the response zones can change quickly. Check harvested game for unusual wounds or maggots, follow TPWD handling guidance, and use the live Texas Animal Health Commission map before moving an animal out of an affected area.

TPWD Screwworm information ->

Back to the basics

What you can hunt

Every animal, with seasons and limits.

Browse species ->

Seasons at a glance

A quick what's-open-when view.

See seasons ->

Get legal

License, add-ons, and hunter education.

Get set up ->

Hunting hub

Back to the main hunting guide.

Open the hub ->

Official sources

Tagging, reporting, CWD, and county rules come from Texas Parks & Wildlife. Check the current maps and county lists before you hunt.

Data vintage:
Built on the 2026-2027 season
Last reviewed:
July 10, 2026

Before you act: CWD zones, mandatory reporting, and county rules change. The official TPWD pages and maps are the final word. How to use Texas Porch carefully.

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