Texas Goose Season Is Open: East and West Zones, Dates and Bag Limits for 2026-27

Goose season is open across Texas right now. The regular dark- and light-goose seasons began Nov. 7, and they run into January or February depending on your zone and which geese you are after.

Texas Parks and Wildlife lays out the dates in its goose regulations page, the 2026-2027 hunting season dates list and the printable Outdoor Annual hunting regulations. Broader 2026-27 rule changes are in our earlier story, Texas Hunting Rules Changed for 2026-27: Turkey Hen Ban, More Doe Days and Pheasant Dates. If you already know the duck zones from Texas Duck Season Is Open in the South and Opens Nov. 14 Up North. Know Your Zone, Your Limits and the Dusky Duck Rule, do not assume goose zones and limits match. They do not.

East and West zones

TPWD splits the state into Eastern and Western goose zones:

• Western Zone: west of a line from the International Toll Bridge at Laredo, north along I-35 and I-35W to Fort Worth, northwest along U.S. 81 and 287 to Bowie, then north along U.S. 81 to the Texas-Oklahoma line.

• Eastern Zone: the rest of the state.

Know which side of that line you are hunting before you leave the house.

Season dates

According to TPWD:

• Eastern Zone — dark geese (all geese that are not light geese, including Canada and white-fronted): Nov. 7, 2026, through Jan. 31, 2027.

• Eastern Zone — light geese (snow, including blue, and Ross's): Nov. 7, 2026, through Feb. 19, 2027.

• Western Zone — light and dark geese: Nov. 7, 2026, through Feb. 7, 2027.

• Early Canada goose (East only): Sept. 12-27, 2026 — that window is already closed.

Shooting hours for geese are from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset, the Outdoor Annual says.

Bag and possession limits

TPWD's goose table sets these daily bags:

• Western Zone: light geese, 5 in the aggregate; dark geese, 5 in the aggregate.

• Eastern Zone — early Canada goose: 5 (that season is over).

• Eastern Zone — regular light geese: 5 in the aggregate.

• Eastern Zone — regular dark geese: 5, to include no more than 2 white-fronted geese.

Possession limit is three times the daily bag limit, the regulations guide says. That means if your daily bag is 5, possession is 15 — unless a more specific rule on your hunt says otherwise. Check the current Outdoor Annual before you pack birds into the cooler for more than one day.

Migratory rules still apply

Geese are migratory game birds. TPWD says hunters need a valid hunting license, a Migratory Game Bird Endorsement with Harvest Information Program (HIP) certification, and — for waterfowl hunters 16 and older — a valid Federal Duck Stamp. Federal rules in Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations still apply.

A shotgun is the only legal firearm for migratory game birds. It must not be larger than 10-gauge, must be fired from the shoulder, and must be incapable of holding more than three shells (or plugged so it cannot). Baiting rules are federal; hunters are responsible for knowing whether an area is baited.

For the latest printed and online rules, start at TPWD's Outdoor Annual hub or OutdoorAnnual.com.

Hunt hard, hunt clean

Goose hunting in Texas is a gift of cold mornings, big skies and birds that have flown a long way. Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." Take only what the bag allows. Identify light from dark before you shoot. Tag and care for what you kill. And if a cousin swears the East Zone white-fronted limit is "whatever," open the book instead.

The season is open. Know your zone, your dates and your five-bird bags — especially that Eastern dark-goose cap of two white-fronts — then enjoy the hunt.