North Texas is a unique animal when it comes to Grayson, Collin, Dallas and Rockwall counties being the only archery only whitetail deer counties in the state. Historically, Grayson County has produced some of the biggest racked bucks not just in Texas, but anywhere in the country. Collin County (Grayson’s neighbor the the South) gained the same reputation when the archery only season opened in 2021 (it had been closed completely since 1976). The bowhunters in the North Texas area are proud of the fact that our bucks grow such impressive racks so when Texas Parks and Wildlife introduced a proposal to allow rifle hunting for the 2022-2023 season in all 4 counties, it was met with some serious hesitancy.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Program Leader Alan Cain makes his return to the show this week to discuss why TPWD is pushing for the addition of rifle seasons in these archery only counties. Is there scientific data to support more harvest in these developed counties with fragmented deer populations? What’s the origin of pushing for the addition of gun seasons? I’ll play the devil’s advocate here since I’m clearly invested in the outcome as a resident and bowhunter in Collin County. I think alot of the trepidation from these archery communities is that more and younger deer will be killed if rifle seasons are adopted. A new Grayson County typical record was just taken by Texas State Trooper Tarif Alkhatib in December of this past season:

 

Next, I sit down with Austin Atkinson – VP of Huntin’ Fool. It’s no secret that keeping up with Western draw applications and deadlines is a daunting task. None of the dates or formats are consistent state to state. I know I’ve missed opportunities to draw or even buy preference points over the years because I just wasn’t organized enough. Huntin’ Fool provides a service to alleviate the stress and time commitment associated with the draw process. To say it’s a relief to be using their service myself is a gross understatement.

(Austin and I at the SCI Convention in Las Vegas)