Texas Deer — Matagorda Island WMA
Matagorda Island WMA
Texas Matagorda Island WMA covers 46,475 acres and lies 46 miles north-east of Corpus Christi. 100% of it is public land, mostly wildlife refuge (62%) and state land (38%). In 2025, 77 people hunted white-tailed deer here and took 64 — 83% of them killed something. The 2025 draw put up 40 tags here.
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in Matagorda Island WMA, 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-
3% Point builder
-
28% Long shot
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDE-MT ↗ Gun Deer - Either Sex - Matagorda Island WMA | 3% Point builder | — | 40 / — | Nov 16 – Dec 2, 2026 |
| YDE-MT ↗ Youth Only Gun Deer - Either Sex - Matagorda Island WMA | 28% Long shot | — | 24 / — | Dec 19–30, 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 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
- National Wildlife Refuge 28,950 ac · 62%
- State land 17,525 ac · 38%
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 | 77 | 64 | 83% |
| 2024 | 82 | 64 | 78% |
| 2023 | 96 | 97 | 100% |
| 2022 | 86 | 64 | 74% |
| 2021 | 87 | 63 | 72% |
| 2020 | 77 | 78 | 100% |
| 2019 | 67 | 37 | 55% |
| 2018 | 49 | 40 | 82% |
| 2017 | 63 | 41 | 65% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Firearm 64 · 100% · 77 hunters, 83% success
What the agency says about the area
TPWD hunt area type: Wildlife Management Area Unit; 25,000 acres published as available for TPWD drawn hunts
Source: TPWD Public Hunt Drawing System - All Hunt Category Details (2026-27 season catalog)
Boundary: WMA Boundaries for Public Distribution (TPWD hosted feature layer)
Harvest: TPWD Hunts Harvest Summary, 2025-26 season
Harvest: TPWD Hunts Harvest Summary, 2024-25 season