Mississippi’s 3rd White-tailed Deer Gun Season Opens December 24

Mississippi’s 3rd white-tailed deer gun hunting season will open December 24th and will run through January 17th. Hunting with dogs is allowed during this season. Legal deer include either-sex on private lands and legal bucks only on open public lands. Open public lands may include National Forests and Corps of Engineers lands that have statewide seasons without special regulations. For seasons and bag limits on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), please see the individual WMA regulations at www.mdwfp.com/wma.

Hunters are urged to practice good hunter ethics and follow all safety precautions to avoid hunting and firearm-related accidents. When hunting deer during any gun season on deer, a hunter must wear in full view at least five hundred square inches of solid unbroken fluorescent orange. This requirement does not apply while the hunter is in a fully enclosed deer stand.

All persons born on or after January 1, 1972, are required to complete a hunter education course before purchasing a Mississippi hunting license. Each resident of Mississippi age sixteen through sixty-four, must obtain a hunting license, except while hunting on lands titled in his/her name. Any resident sixty-five or older, or any resident otherwise exempt from obtaining a hunting license, must have documentation with him/her at all times while hunting. All non-resident hunters, except minors under the age of sixteen, are required to obtain a hunting license while hunting in the state of Mississippi. In addition to any required hunting license, purchase of a Wildlife Management Area User Permit is required prior to hunting on any Wildlife Management Area.

For more information about the three Deer Management Zones hunting season dates and hunting regulations visit the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks web site at www.mdwfp.com/deer.

Mississippi Wildlife Fisheries and Parks

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP), formerly known as the Mississippi Game & Fish Commission, is an agency of the government of the U.S. state ofMississippi responsible for programs protecting Mississippi fish and wildlife resources and their habitats, as well as administering all state parks; it has its headquarters in Jackson. The agency issues hunting and fishing licenses, advises on habitat protection, and sponsors public education programs. It is also responsible for enforcement of Mississippi's fish and game laws. It is separate from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, which is the governing body for the state's natural salt-water resources and law enforcement thereof (i.e. Gulf of Mexico, ocean-going vessels, etc.).