Hunting Seasons and Education

Feb 01,2006

Home : General : Hunting : Hunting Seasons and Education

by Staff

Mississippi Hunting Seasons and Hunter Education

Hunter Education works. Since 1950, when formal hunter safety programs were introduced, the number of hunting and firearms-related accidents has declined dramatically nationwide. In Mississippi, we know that our hunter education efforts have reduced firearms accidents and saved lives.

All persons born on or after January 1, 1972 are required to complete a hunter education course before purchasing a Mississippi hunting license. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks offers the course FREE of charge at locations across the state.

The hunter education course includes 10 hours of instruction, including firing on a safe range. There are no age requirements for participation. However, students must pass a written test and complete a firing exercise to be certified as having completed the course.

The Hunter Education Program is designed to

Reduce hunting accidents, teach hunter ethics and responsibility, promote wildlife conservation, teach firearms safety

Specifically, the course contents include

Hunter ethics and responsibility
History of firearms
Rifles
Shotguns
Ammunition
Gun handling
Marksmanship
Blackpowder and muzzleloading
Bowhunting
Wildlife identification
Principles of wildlife management
Survival
Water safety
Hypothermia
First aid

All courses are a minimum of 10 hours in length and include a live firing exercise with rifle (shotgun-airgun) instructors preference.

Students must attend all class sessions and successfully complete a written examination to pass the course.

Courses are taught by volunteer instructors.

Schedule dates/time may change or be canceled, therefore, it is important to call and verify time, date, place and whether space is available.

For more information about hunter education classes
or to replace a hunter education card contact:

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
Hunter Education Division
P. O. Box 451
Jackson, MS 39205-0451
or call 1-800-354-5033

2005-2006 Small Game Hunting Seasons

SPECIES

SEASON DATES

DAILY

POSSESSION

Bobwhite Quail

Nov. 24, 2005-
Mar. 4, 2006

Rabbit

Oct. 15, 2005-
Feb. 28, 2006

Squirrel
Zone 1*

Oct. 1, 2005-
Feb. 28, 2006

Youth Squirrel****
*

Sept. 24, 2005-
Sept. 30, 2005

Squirrel
**

Oct. 15, 2005-
Feb. 28, 2006

Youth Squirrel****
**

Oct. 8, 2005-
Oct. 14, 2005

Squirrel
Zone 3 ***

Oct. 29, 2005-
Feb. 28, 2006

Oct. 22, 2005-
Oct. 28, 2005

Raccoon

July 1, 2005-
Sept. 30, 2005

One per party/night

Opossum, Raccoon
and Bobcat

Oct. 1, 2005-
Oct. 31, 2005
(for food and sport)

5 per day
8 per party

Nov. 1, 2005-
Feb. 28, 2006
(for food, sport and pelt)

No Limit

Trapping

Nov. 1, 2005-
Feb. 28, 2006

No Limit

Frogs
* A valid hunting or fishing license is required.

Apr. 2, 2005-
Sept. 18, 2005
and
Apr. 1, 2006-
Sept. 30, 2006

25 nightly

*	-	Areas north of Hwy 82 plus those portions of Sunflower County and Washington County south of Hwy 82.
**	-	Areas between Hwy 82 and Hwy 84 plus portions of the state south of Hwy 84 and west of I-55.
*******	-	Areas south of Hwy 84 and east of I-55

****

Youth eligible to participate in this special hunt are those fifteen (15) years of age and younger. Each youth must be in the immediate vicinity and under the direct supervision of an adult twenty one (21) years of age or older. Furthermore, if the child is under the age of twelve (12), the supervising adult must be a licensed or exempt hunter.

2005-2006 Big Game Hunting Seasons

Deer Management Zone 1 - Areas north of U.S. Hwy 84 plus areas south of U.S. Hwy 84 and west of Mississippi Hwy 35. OPEN PUBLIC LANDS include National Forests, Corps of Engineers lands, etc., that have statewide seasons without special regulations.
DEER	SEASON DATES	LEGAL DEER
Archery	Oct 1, 2005- Nov. 18, 2005	Either Sex
Youth Gun	Nov. 12, 2005- Nov. 18, 2005	Either Sex (On Private Lands Only, Youth 15 and under)
Gun (with dogs)	Nov. 19, 2005- Dec. 1, 2005	Either Sex on Private Lands Only;Legal bucks only on open public land
Primitive Weapon	Dec. 2, 2005- Dec. 15, 2005	Either Sex
Gun (without dogs)	Dec. 16, 2005- Dec. 23, 2005	Either Sex on Private Lands Only;Legal bucks only on open public land
Gun (without dogs)	Dec. 17, 2005- Dec. 18, 2005	Either Sex on open public land
Gun (with dogs)	Dec. 24, 2005- Jan. 18, 2006	Either Sex on Private Lands Only;Legal bucks only on open public land
Archery	Jan. 19, 2006- Jan. 31, 2006	Either Sex
Primitive Weapon (private lands only)	Jan. 19, 2006- Jan. 31, 2006	Either Sex
BAG LIMIT: Antlered Buck Deer: The bag limit on antlered buck deer is one (1) buck per day, not to exceed three (3) per license year. See below for description of legal bucks. On private lands, a person less than sixteen (16) years old may harvest one (1) deer with any hardened antler per license year. Legal Bucks for Deer Management Zone 1: Only antlered buck deer with antlers of four (4) points or greater may be taken. An antler point is defined as any antler protrusion that would hold any size ring. Antlerless Deer: The bag limit on antlerless deer is one (1) per day, not to exceed three (3) per license year; except that two (2) additional antlerless deer per license year may be taken with a bow and arrow.

Deer Management Zone 2 - Areas south of U.S. Hwy 84 and east of Mississippi Hwy 35. OPEN PUBLIC LANDS include National Forests, Corps of Engineers lands, etc., that have statewide seasons without special regulations.
DEER	SEASON DATES	LEGAL DEER
Archery	Oct. 15, 2005- Oct. 31, 2005	Legal Bucks Only
Archery	Nov. 1, 2005- Nov. 18, 2005	Either Sex
Youth Gun	Nov. 12, 2005- Nov. 18, 2005	Either Sex (On Private Lands Only, Youth 15 and under)
Gun (with dogs)	Nov. 19, 2005- Dec. 1, 2005	Either Sex on Private Lands Only;Legal bucks only on open public land
Primitive Weapon	Dec. 2, 2005- Dec. 15, 2005	Either Sex
Gun (without dogs)	Dec. 16, 2005- Dec. 23, 2005	Either Sex on Private Lands Only;Legal bucks only on open public land
Gun (without dogs)	Dec. 17, 2005- Dec. 18, 2005	Either Sex on open public land
Gun (with dogs)	Dec. 24, 2005- Jan. 18, 2006	Legal bucks only
Primitive Weapon	Jan. 19, 2006- Jan. 31, 2006	Either Sex
Primitive Weapon	Feb. 1, 2006- Feb. 15, 2006	Legal Bucks Only
BAG LIMIT: Antlered Buck Deer: The bag limit on antlered buck deer is one (1) buck per day, not to exceed three (3) per license year. See below for description of legal bucks. On private lands, a person less than sixteen (16) years old may harvest one (1) deer with any hardened antler per license year. Legal Bucks for Deer Management Zone 2: Only antlered buck deer with antlers of four (4) points or greater AND either a minimum inside spread of ten (10) inches OR a minimum main beam length of thirteen (13) inches may be taken. An antler point is defined as any antler protrusion that would hold any size ring. Antlerless Deer: The bag limit on antlerless deer is one (1) per day, not to exceed three (3) per license year; except that two (2) additional antlerless deer per license year may be taken with a bow and arrow.

SPECIES

SEASON DATES

BAG LIMIT

Spring Turkey* (See Areas Closed below)

Mar. 15, 2006-
May 1, 2006

1 adult gobbler or 1 gobbler with a six inch or longer beard per day, 3 per spring season. Exception: For hunters 15 years of age and younger: One of the 3-bird bag limit (which includes youth hunt and regular spring season combined) may be any gobbler regardless of beard length.

Youth Turkey**(See Restrictions below)
(private lands only)

Mar. 8, 2006-
Mar. 14, 2006

See bag limit above

Fall Turkey***(See Areas Open below)

Oct. 29, 2005-
Nov. 13, 2005
AND
Dec. 2, 2005-
Dec. 15, 2005

2 turkeys, which may be of either sex, per each fall season

*Areas Closed for Spring Turkey Season
Open In all counties except the following closed counties or parts thereof:

Humphreys	-	East of Hwy. 7 and north of Hwy. 12
Issaquena	-	North and west of Willett Rd.and south and east of Hwy. 1
Leflore	-	West of Hwy. 7 and Hwy. 49E and north of Moorehead Road and south of Hwy. 442
Leflore	-	East of Hwy. 7 and south of Silent Shade Road and west of the Yazoo River
Sunflower	-	South of Hwy. 442 and east of Hwy. 3 and Hwy. 49W and north of Berclair Road

** Restrictions
Youth eligible to participate in this special hunt are those under the age of sixteen (16). Each youth must be in the immediate vicinity and under the direct supervision of an adult twenty one (21) years of age or older. Furthermore, if the child is under the age of twelve (12), the supervising adult must be a licensed or exempt hunter.

***Areas Open for Fall Turkey Season
Fall turkey season is open in ONLY part of Bolivar, Coahoma, Desoto, Issaquena, Tunica, Washington, and Warren counties. See below:

Bolivar	-	West of the main Mississippi River levee and those lands east of the main Mississippi River levee known as 27 Break Hunting Club

Coahoma, Desoto, Issaquena, Tunica, and Washington	-	West of the main Mississippi River levee

Warren	-	Only on Davis Island, King's Point and Brown's Point

2005-2006 Migratory Bird Seasons

SPECIES	SEASON DATES	DAILY	POSSESSION
Sept. Teal	Sept. 17, 2005- Sept. 25, 2005	4	8
Sept. Canada Goose	Sept. 1, 2005- Sept. 15, 2005	5	10
Woodcock	Dec. 17, 2005- Jan. 30, 2006	3	6
Snipe	Nov. 12, 2005- Feb. 26, 2006	8	16
Moorhens and Galinules	Oct. 8, 2005- Dec. 16, 2005	15 Singly or in aggregate	30 Singly or in aggregate
Rails, Clapper and King	Oct. 8, 2005- Dec. 16, 2005	15 Singly or in aggregate	30 Singly or in aggregate
Rails, Sora and Virginia	Oct. 8, 2005- Dec. 16, 2005	25 Singly or in aggregate	25 Singly or in aggregate
Mourning Dove (North Zone) *	Sept. 3, 2005- Sept. 24, 2005 AND Oct. 8, 2005- Oct. 29, 2005 AND Dec. 31, 2005- Jan. 15, 2006	15	30
Mourning Dove (South Zone) *	Sept. 24, 2005- Oct. 15, 2005 AND Nov. 12, 2005- Dec. 3, 2005 AND Dec. 24, 2005- Jan. 8, 2006	15	30
Crow	Nov. 5, 2005- Feb. 28, 2005	none	none
Ducks (Except Canvasbacks)	Nov. 25, 2005- Nov. 27, 2005 AND Dec. 3, 2005- Dec. 4, 2005 AND Dec. 6, 2005- Jan. 29, 2006	6***	12***
Canvasbacks	Dec. 31, 2005- Jan. 29, 2006	1	2
Youth Days (ducks, geese, mergansers, coots, moorhens, and gallinules)	Feb. 4, 2006- Feb. 5, 2006	6***	12***
Mergansers	Nov. 25, 2005- Nov. 27, 2005 AND Dec. 3, 2005- Dec. 4, 2005 AND Dec. 6, 2005- Jan. 29, 2006	5****	10
Coots	Nov. 25, 2005- Nov. 27, 2005 AND Dec. 3, 2005- Dec. 4, 2005 AND Dec. 6, 2005- Jan. 29, 2006	15	30
Canada Geese	Nov. 16, 2005- Nov. 27, 2005 AND Dec. 3, 2005- Jan. 29, 2006	3	6
Brant	Nov. 16, 2005- Nov. 27, 2005 AND Dec. 3, 2005- Jan. 29, 2006	2	4
White-Fronted Geese	Nov. 14, 2005- Nov. 27, 2005 AND Dec. 3, 2005- Jan. 29, 2006	2	4
Snow, Blue, and Ross Geese	Nov. 14, 2005- Nov. 27, 2005 AND Dec. 3, 2005- Jan. 29, 2006	20	none
Conservation Order	Oct. 1, 2005- Nov. 13, 2005 AND Nov. 28, 2005- Dec. 2, 2005 AND Jan. 30, 2006- Feb. 3, 2006 AND Feb. 6, 2006- Mar. 10, 2006	none	none
(Dove North Zone) * Areas north of U.S. Hwy. 84 plus areas south of U.S. Hwy. 84 and west of MS Hwy. 35. (Dove South Zone) Areas south of U.S. Hwy. 84 and east of MS Hwy. 35. *** Daily Bag Limit: A total of 6 ducks, with no more than 4 mallards (no more than 2 of which may be females), 3 mottled ducks, 2 scaup, 1 pintail, 1 canvasback, 1 black duck, 2 wood ducks, and 2 redheads. Possession limit is twice the daily bag limit. **** 5 Mergansers**, only 1 may be a Hooded Merganser.