Kerr County, Texas · 6,493 acres
Kerr Wildlife Management Area Hunting 2026: Species & Access
Kerr Wildlife Management Area covers 6,493 acres near Hunt in Kerr County. Hill Country rangeland overlooking the headwaters of the North Fork of the Guadalupe River, roughly 5,500 acres of it behind deer-proof fence for TPWD's white-tailed deer research program running continuously since 1954.
01 — What you can hunt here
| Species | Notes |
|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | The reason this WMA exists — average hunt success runs about 59%, high for public land. |
| Turkey | Also hunted here, at a lower average success rate of about 39%. |
02 — Access rules specific to this WMA
- No hunting without WMA authorization — every hunter needs a permit from the TPWD Public Hunt Drawing System specifically. There are no Annual Public Hunting (APH) Permit hunts here at all.
- A valid hunting license, the right tags/stamps, and hunter education certification (required of anyone born on or after Sept. 2, 1971) are required on top of the drawn permit.
- Mandatory check-in at headquarters before 11 a.m. on the day your hunt starts, and check-out when you leave.
- Minimum 400 square inches of blaze orange required while hunting.
- ATVs are prohibited except for hunters with disabilities.
- Baiting wildlife is prohibited except under specific written authorization.
03 — Where this WMA differs from the statewide rules
- No camping or fires anywhere on the WMA — the nearest camping is in Kerrville and Ingram.
04 — Facilities
Camping: Not available on the WMA. Camping is available nearby in Kerrville and Ingram. No shooting range on-site.
This is a working research station first, public hunting ground second — the office runs regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.) rather than a visitor-facilities model.
05 — Where to go next
Kerr is the outlier among Texas WMAs in one specific way: the state's usual $48 Annual Public Hunting Permit does nothing for you here. Every hunt is drawn through the TPWD Public Hunt Drawing System, full stop — a different system than most Texas public land runs on, and worth knowing before you buy an APH permit expecting it to cover this area too. What you get in exchange is a genuinely well-managed herd: TPWD has run continuous deer research here since 1954, and the 59% success rate reflects it. Turkey hunting is offered too, but at a lower 39% success rate — deer is what this WMA is actually built around.
Texas hunting license costs and permits →
Verified · Texas Parks and Wildlife Department · Last verified 2026-08-08
Publisher's note. Read from TPWD, retrieved 2026-08-08. Review due 2027-08-01. WMA-specific rules and closures can change between seasons — confirm before you hunt.