We’re Poised For One of the Best Dove & Deer Seasons in Years

Dove season opened on Sept. 1 in most of Fayette County. The South Zone of the State, which lies south of Interstate 10, opens on Sept. 14. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) predicts it’ll be one of the best seasons in years.

“From everything we’re seeing, this looks like the third-highest dove count pretty much since we’ve been keeping records,” said Drake Rangel, TPWD Wildlife Biologist for Fayette County.

“One thing to consider is that we’ve had enough rain this summer and most of the tanks I’ve seen have some water in them, so I think the birds are somewhat spread out right now,” Rangel added. “But I went out and talked to some of the landowners and hunters, and everyone I talked to went home with at least some birds on opening day.”

TPWD’s dove population survey released in August estimated approximately 35.9 million mourning doves statewide, which is a five percent increase from 2024 and 28 percent above the long-term average.

“The past two years we’ve had wetter springs than usual, so there’s been a good amount of food on the ground and a decent amount of water,” Rangel said. “It’s done the doves well, I suppose.”

The number of whitewinged doves is estimated at 11.7 million for 2025, an 8 percent decrease from 2024 but still 15 percent above the long-term average.

“We find that the whitewinged doves tend to like the urban areas,” Rangel said.

He said landowners and hunters close to towns are more likely to encounter white-winged doves.

Rangel said the best areas for dove hunting typically have a mix of different plants along with some open ground for the doves to move around.

“A lot of people have tanks on their property,” Rangel said. “But when we go out and look at tanks, a lot of times its vegetated around the edge of the pond. The doves actually prefer to have a nice open slope of bare ground to get down to the water.”

He said dove hunters can improve their chances around the water by keeping vegetation away from the edge of the pond.

The early dove season closes on Oct. 26 both north and south of Interstate 10. The late season runs from Dec. 12 - Jan. 14 north of Interstate 10 and from Dec. 12 - Jan. 22 south of Interstate 10.

Looking ahead to deer season, Rangel said conditions appear ripe for a great year.

“As of right now, I’m pretty optimistic,” Rangel said. “I think our numbers are looking pretty good. We’ve got a lot of babies on the ground. I think they’re hard to count this year because we have so much vegetation out there.

“Just like with the doves, for the past two season we’ve had a lot of vegetation, so I think overall there’s some good potential for a lot of antler growth,” he added. “The four-and-a-half year olds are the ones that’ll be looking really good this year.”

The general season for whitetail deer is from Nov. 1 - Jan. 4. The archery-only season runs from Sept. 27 - Oct. 31. The early youth-only season is from Oct. 24 - 26 and the late youth-only season is Jan. 5 - 18.