It’s deer hunting season. Here are dates & limits to know on the Mississippi Coast

Mona Moore
·2 min read

Mississippi’s deer hunting season varies according to regions. While archery hunting is in full swing in most corners of the state, hunters along the Coast are still biding time or taking road trips to legally hunt bucks.

As southeast Mississippi’s season draws near, here’s what you need to know.

Deer season

Here in southeast Mississippi, the earliest you can hunt legal deer is Oct. 14 — and that’s only with archery, like longbows, recurves, compound bows and crossbows.

Adult hunting with guns and dogs will start Nov. 18. You can hunt legal bucks on open public land and either gender on private lands. Gun hunting without dogs starts Dec. 16. Archery equipment is fine to use during gun seasons.

Important dates for deer season

  • Oct. 14-Nov. 17: Archery of either sex on private and open public land

  • Nov. 4-Nov. 17: Youth season (ages 15 and under) either sex on private lands and authorized state and federal lands.

  • Nov. 18-Feb. 15: Youths hunting either sex on private lands and according to legal deer criteria

  • Nov. 18-Dec. 1: Guns with dogs, either sex on private and only legal bucks on public lands

  • Dec. 2-15: Primitive weapons, either sex on private and open public land with the appropriate license

  • Dec. 16-23: Guns without dogs, either sex on private land and legal bucks on open public land

  • Dec. 24-Jan. 17: Guns with dogs, either sex on private land and legal bucks on public land

  • Jan. 18-31: Archery and primitive weapon, either sex on private land and legal bucks on public land, with appropriate license

  • Feb. 1-15: Archery and primitive weapon, legal bucks only on private and open public land with the appropriate license

Legal bucks

On the Coast, legal bucks have to either have an inside spread, from ear tip to ear tip, of 12 inches or a main beam at least 15 inches long. The main beam is “the central stem of the antler from which all other stems or points grow. If the deer is upright, the beam is the bottom foundation of the antler,” according to ammoforsale.com.

Some parts of Mississippi have larger limits (a 12” spread or 15” main beam) because the deer body sizes are larger than here on the coast.

Bag limits

Bag limits are the same statewide. For antlered buck deer, the limit is one buck per day and three per season. One of the three can have hardened antlers that do not meet legal antler requirements.

Minors (15 and under) hunting on private land or authorized state and federal lands are also limited to three bucks, but they can be any antlered deer.

For antlerless deer, the southeast limit is two deer, but only one deer per day. The limits are the same on private and federal lands.