Texas Shed Antler Season 2027

Texas wildlife management area rules bar taking shed deer antlers, and TPWD lets lawfully possessed antlers be bought and sold. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department puts it this way: "Do not take any plants, animals (other than legally taken game) or artifacts from the Area, including shed deer antlers or skulls."

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department lists its Texas shed rules without dated closures, so they hold year round. The weeks that matter most are the ones when antlers drop.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's published shed rules name no permit, course or license for collecting. Landowner permission and the land manager's own rules still apply wherever you walk.

Antlers of lawfully taken or possessed mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn and desert bighorn sheep may be bought or sold. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: "The following inedible wildlife parts may be purchased or sold if lawfully taken or possessed: Hair, hide, antlers, bones, horns, skull, hooves, or sinew from the following game animals: mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, desert bighorn sheep, gray squirrels, fox squirrels, and javelina."

TPWD WMA hunt brochures bar taking shed deer antlers or skulls from the area; the statewide Public Hunting Lands rules also bar removing artifacts or other objects without authorization. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: "Any artifacts found should be left as they are; shed antlers or skulls should be brought to the check station."

White-tailed deer cast antlers from mid January to mid April, with most mature bucks done by the end of February. The source: "Shedding takes place from mid-January to mid-April, but most mature bucks in good physical condition have dropped their antlers by the end of February."

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The rules here were read from its own pages on September 21, 2026, and each one links to the page it came from. Rules change between winters, so the agency page is the one to check before a trip.