Texas Deer — Inks Lake/Longhorn Caverns SP
Inks Lake/Longhorn Caverns SP
Texas Inks Lake/Longhorn Caverns SP covers 1,920 acres and lies 30 miles west of Leander and 39 miles west of Georgetown. 100% of it is public land, mostly state land (100%). In 2025, 30 people hunted white-tailed deer here and took 30 — 100% of them killed something. The 2025 draw put up 14 tags here.
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in Inks Lake/Longhorn Caverns SP, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2025 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
<1% Point builder
-
<1% Point builder
-
4% Point builder
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDA-IL ↗ Gun Deer - Antlerless/Spike - Inks Lake/Longhorn Caverns SP | <1% Point builder | — | 14 / — | Jan 12–21, 2027 |
| GDE-IL ↗ Gun Deer - Either Sex - Inks Lake/Longhorn Caverns SP | <1% Point builder | — | 7 / — | Jan 5–7, 2027 |
| YDE-IL ↗ Youth Only Gun Deer - Either Sex - Inks Lake/Longhorn Caverns SP | 4% Point builder | — | 7 / — | Dec 4–6, 2026 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2025 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2025 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $3 | $3 | $318 |
Application deadlines: Sep 15, 2026 for GDA, GDE · Sep 1, 2027 (expected) for YDE. Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- State land 1,920 ac · 100%
Source: PAD-US 4.0 State Downloads - Texas file geodatabase (PADUS4_0Fee_State_TX)
How the hunting has gone
What Texas Parks & Wildlife Department publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 30 | 30 | 100% |
| 2024 | 27 | 34 | 100% |
| 2023 | 27 | 25 | 93% |
| 2022 | 23 | 26 | 100% |
| 2019 | 23 | 11 | 48% |
| 2017 | 30 | 20 | 67% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Firearm 30 · 100% · 30 hunters, 100% success
What the agency says about the area
TPWD hunt area type: State Park Unit; 1,854 acres published as available for TPWD drawn hunts
Source: TPWD Public Hunt Drawing System - All Hunt Category Details (2026-27 season catalog)
Boundary: Texas State Parks Boundaries (TPWD hosted feature layer)
Harvest: TPWD Hunts Harvest Summary, 2025-26 season
Harvest: TPWD Hunts Harvest Summary, 2024-25 season