Deer Season Rifle Checklist for Texas Hunters

Texas general deer season runs November 7, 2026 to January 3, 2027 in the North Zone. Get your rifle checked and zeroed with the ammo you’ll hunt with, then practice from your stand position.

A rifle that’s sat in the safe since January, a scope that got bumped in the truck, or a box of whatever ammo was on sale can each cost you a deer. This is the list we’d run through before opening morning.

1. Know the dates

• Archery only: October 3 to November 6, 2026.
• Youth only: October 30 to November 1, 2026, and January 4 to 17, 2027.
• General season: November 7, 2026 to January 3, 2027 in the North Zone, and to January 17, 2027 in the South Zone.

Dates are from the TPWD 2026-2027 season dates. Grimes County is in the North Zone.

2. Check your license and hunter education

Texas hunting licenses run from the day you buy them until August 31, and the new ones go on sale August 15. If you haven’t bought one since then, last season’s license has expired.

Anyone born on or after September 2, 1971 has to complete hunter education. If you’re 17 or older and haven’t taken it, TPWD offers a one-time deferral that lets you hunt with a qualified hunter until the end of the license year. Details are on TPWD’s hunter education page.

3. Know your county’s buck rules

Rules change by county, so look up the county your lease is in. For Grimes County, TPWD’s county page lists antler restrictions and a bag limit of 4 deer: no more than 2 bucks and no more than 2 antlerless. A legal buck has at least one unbranched antler, or an inside spread of 13 inches or more, and only one buck can be the 13-inch kind. Check the Grimes County page for the current rules before you go.

4. Look over the scope mount

Check the base and ring screws. If you marked them last year, see whether the marks still line up. Tighten to the ring maker’s torque spec, not as hard as you can twist. A scope that moves in its rings will never hold a zero.

5. Pick your hunting ammo now

Buy the load you’ll hunt with and enough of it to sight in and still fill your pockets. A different bullet weight or brand can hit somewhere else on paper, so the zero you set only counts for that ammo. Rimfire ammunition of any caliber is not legal for deer in Texas (TPWD means and methods). If you’re weighing a .223 against a .308, remember the bullet matters more than the caliber.

6. Live-fire zero, not just a boresight

A boresight gets you on paper. A zero is what you get after shooting groups with your ammo and adjusting until the rifle hits where you aim. Shoot from a solid rest, fire three-shot groups, and let the barrel cool between them. Plenty of Texas deer hunters zero at 100 yards; if your stand looks down a long sendero, think about 200.

7. Practice the shot you’ll actually take

Opening morning won’t give you a bench. Practice off the rail of a box blind, a pack or shooting sticks, whatever you’ll have in the stand, so the first time you do it isn’t opening morning.

8. Thermal and suppressor setups

Hunting hogs at night with a thermal? It needs a target that shows up as heat to zero, so plan for that. Our thermal guide covers the basics. Running a suppressor? Sight in with the can on, because it can move your point of impact. If the barrel still needs threads, get the barrel threading done before the sight-in.

Want us to do it?

Drop your rifle off at the store with a box of the ammo you hunt with and tell us the distance you want it zeroed at. Prices and what to bring are on our sight-in and scope mounting page. We’re open every day on Hwy 90 in Anderson.

Questions