Texas quail season opens Sunday, November 1, and runs through February 28, 2027, with a daily bag of 15 and a possession limit of 45. Texas Parks and Wildlife says the birds are in good shape: its biologists drove more than 3,300 miles of survey routes in early August, and most ecoregions came in above their 15-year averages.
That is the headline. The more useful story is in which bird went which direction.
Scaled quail: a three-year climb on the Edwards Plateau
The biggest number in TPWD's release is scaled quail on the Edwards Plateau: 29.88 birds per survey route, up from 14.00 last year and more than three times the 15-year mean of 8.38. Put that next to TPWD's own published figure for 2024, 6.38 per route, and the plateau is seeing more than four and a half times as many scaled quail per route as it did two years ago.
| Survey | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 15-yr mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scaled quail, Edwards Plateau | 6.38 | 14.00 | 29.88 | 8.38 |
| Bobwhite, South Texas Plains | 9.13 | 12.70 | 10.17 | 9.92 |
Birds seen per survey route. 2026 figures and current 15-year means from TPWD's Oct. 14 release; 2025 scaled quail as reported in that release; 2024 scaled quail and 2024-25 bobwhite from TPWD's published quail forecast tables. The 15-year means move as each new year is added.
TPWD credits late spring rain and good habitat, with biologists seeing multiple broods in both the Trans-Pecos and the Edwards Plateau. The department did not publish a 2026 Trans-Pecos number, but Patrick Schutz, TPWD's upland game bird program leader, pointed to South Texas and the Trans-Pecos, traditionally the state's strongest quail regions, as places that should hunt well this year.
Bobwhites: above average, but down from last year
South Texas bobwhites came in at 10.17 per route, above the 15-year mean of 9.92. That is good. It is also about 20 percent below last year's 12.70. The Rolling Plains, which posted 15.32 per route last year against a mean of 12.23, came in "slightly lower" this year according to TPWD, which did not publish the figure.
That matches what the department expected. Schutz said biologists thought the hot, dry summer would hurt bobwhite numbers, and the statewide results came in better than feared. Read it as a solid year after a very good one, not a boom.
Where to hunt on public land
TPWD named specific wildlife management areas for each bird. For bobwhites in North Texas: Matador, Gene Howe, and Teacup Mountain, a relatively new 11,091-acre area. In South Texas: Chaparral and James E. Daughtrey. For scaled quail: Black Gap and Elephant Mountain. Public land requires the Annual Public Hunting Permit, and quail hunting anywhere requires the Upland Game Bird Endorsement. Check the Public Hunting Lands Map Booklet for area-specific dates before you drive.
What this means for your season
If you have been waiting on a good blue quail year to make a West Texas trip, this is the strongest survey case in a while. Scaled quail run instead of holding for a dog, so plan on covering ground; a vest that carries water and shells without bouncing, like the blaze orange DSG Upland Vest 2.0, earns its keep on those walks, and a Chambless upland bird carrier keeps birds cool and off your back. Dog gear is in our hunting dog collection.
The season runs four months, so you will hunt it in everything from shirtsleeves to a norther. Our Texas season-by-season layering guide applies to bird hunting as well. If the deer lease is your priority in November, our Texas rifle season forecast breaks down that herd by region, and the full calendar is in 2026-27 season dates by state.
Schutz also encouraged hunters to bring someone new this year. A November quail hunt is one of the easier first hunts to set up; our guide to a kid's first hunt has the safety basics that carry over.