Looks like there's a good chance this fall that the north zone season is going to be extended two weeks in January to mirror the start/end dates of the south zone.

This is good and not good. I'm usually burned out for the season by the time the north zone winds down. But I can't complain.

Also, we might get south zone dove to start a week earlier.

The word I keep hearing is that the Dove season will eventually open statewide on the same day. Coming from someone that sits on one of the boards that makes those decisions.

I would love to see both deer and dove get extended. My wife would would not

I would like to see duck season shifted personally. Start a couple of weeks later, end a couple of weeks later to better match migration patterns, at least along the coastal marshes anyway. It lets more birds stack up and get established before shooting disrupts them too much and pushes hunting season back closer to the northern migration time frame.

Is this due to growth in population now allows for a longer season? Or does the state just want to make it standard?

I wonder what impact an extra two weeks would have, if any. Maybe some biologists and chime in.

According to Shannon Tompkin's article in the Chronicle, it is being done solely to standardize. He noted that TPWD states there is little to no biological impact. Apparently it isn't being done for social or economic reasons, either, although there will be an obvious positive economic impact.

I too would like to see a later start for ducks. Something like the third weekend in November. While bumping the end of the season back two weeks.

Starting duck a week after deer season would be a great idea in my book.

schmellba99 said:

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I would like to see duck season shifted personally. Start a couple of weeks later, end a couple of weeks later to better match migration patterns, at least along the coastal marshes anyway. It lets more birds stack up and get established before shooting disrupts them too much and pushes hunting season back closer to the northern migration time frame.

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I agree with this but Feds have a lot of input in dates so I don't see it happening.

Man this would make me even more nervous for my nice deer that I want to pass and let live. Two more weeks in January, when they are focused on food, would give them that much more time to find a feeder across the fence and get himself into trouble...

schmellba99 said:

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I would like to see duck season shifted personally. Start a couple of weeks later, end a couple of weeks later to better match migration patterns, at least along the coastal marshes anyway. It lets more birds stack up and get established before shooting disrupts them too much and pushes hunting season back closer to the northern migration time frame.

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+1 for central Texas. Don't really see much at our place until late Nov/early Dec anyways.

Really don't care about more days. Just give us lowly post oak savannah foks a chance to kill does in December and we'll call it good. I hate having to clean does when it's 80 degrees in October.

Juggling 3 kids and a wife in December/holidays makes it hard to get out as much as I'd like. Go8ng past holidays makes it much easier.

In the eastern half, or wherever the new doe days were applied, I would just be happy to have the doe days extend through the T'giving weekend instead of ending the day before T'giving. It just makes no sense unless TPWD numbers generated this year reveal otherwise.

Extending the deer season by two weeks in the Rolling Plains will really mess up a lot of quail hunters who don't get access to prime country until AFTER deer season.

If hunters can't kill their deer in 2 months (November-January) then they aren't trying very hard.

Plus mid-January is post-rut up there and most of the bucks have shut down and gone nocturnal by then.

The serious deer hunters have their leases on MLD programs anyways which allow them to hunt earlier and later.

I know a lot of people who aren't able to hunt certain duck holes until after deer season because the land owner only hunts deer and won't let them hunt until the seasons up.

They're gonna be pissed.