Changes in the buck harvest laws

For the first time in a long time private land hunters may harvest any antlered deer as one of their three buck limit. There are also increased opportunities to harvest antlerless deer as the season bag limit has been increased on private lands. There will also be more opportunity to harvest antlerless bucks in some of the Wildlife Management Areas.

Antlered Buck Deer: The bag limit on antlered buck deer is one (1) buck per day, not to exceed three (3) per annual season. One of these three may be any antlered deer on private land and Holly Springs National Forest. Legal bucks must meet the antler criteria within the appropriate deer management zone. For youth hunters fifteen (15) years of age and younger, hunting on private land and authorized state and federal lands, all three (3) of the three (3) buck bag limit may be any antlered deer.

Antler criteria: The Delta Zone has a minimum requirement for legal bucks at 12-inch inside spread or 15-inch main beam. All other zones are 10-inch inside spread or 13-inch main beam. As always check the specific wildlife management area rules and regulations before hunting.

Antlerless Deer: Private lands: The bag limit on Northeast, Delta, East Central, and Southwest Zones antlerless deer is five (5) per annual season. The bag limit on Southeast Zone antlerless deer is one (1) per day, two (2) per annual season. U.S. Forest Service National Forests: The bag limit is one (1) per day, not to exceed five (5) per annual season except in the Southeast Zone which is two (2) per annual season/one (1) per day.

Mississippi’s deer hunting zones

Delta Zone: Areas west of I-55 and north of I-20 plus areas south of I-20 and west of U.S. Highway 61. Northeast Zone: Areas east of I-55 and north of U.S. Highway 82. Public lands include national forests (excluding Holly Springs NF), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lands, etc., that have statewide seasons without special regulations. East Central Zone: Areas east of I-55, east of U.S. Highway 49, south of U.S. Highway 82, and north of U.S. Highway 84. Southwest Zone: Areas east of U.S. Highway 61, south of I-20, west of U.S. Highway 49, and west of MS Highway 35. Southeast Zone: Areas south of U.S. Highway 84 and east of MS Highway 35.

Wildlife Bureau traps black bears for research

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks’ Wildlife Bureau staff has been conducting black bear trapping in areas of the south Delta affected by flooding. Since June 29, two males and one female black bear were successfully trapped. All bears that were captured were given a complete “workup”, which consists of recording weight and a variety of morphometric measurements and assessing their general health and body condition. Monitoring these radio-collared bears as the floodwaters begin to recede will be vital to our understanding of the ecology of the bears of the South Delta.

–Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks