Rules & Regulations Overview
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks manages and protects Mississippi’s wildlife resources, including all legal buck hunters, under the authority of state law.
Mississippi Code Section 49-7-101 gives MDWFP the authority to regulate the manner in which wildlife is taken and provides that "all legitimate means may be used in taking, trapping and killing the same, when or where permitted, and except as otherwise provided by law."
MDWFP has the authority to enforce the law, and when a game warden issues a citation for illegal hunting, you have until 5:00 p.m. on the day of the citation to pay the fine at the circuit clerk’s office; otherwise, your court date will automatically be set by the court .
All citations issued for hunting violations are returned to the circuit court of the county in which they are issued. After not having paid the citation in a timely manner, an appearance date will be set by the court, not MDWFP.
Regardless, if you plead guilty, and there are no prior hunting violations within the last five (5) years, you can expect a civil penalty to be assessed, based on the number of days hunting out of season:
If you plead not guilty, you must appear in court and the violation will be treated as a misdemeanor. The charges will be prosecuted by the circuit prosecutor, not MDWFP. As for the hunting violations subject to civil penalties, regardless of whether you plead not guilty or guilty, the circuit prosecutor will pursue those charges and you will ultimately pay the penalty.
What Constitutes a Legal Buck?
A buck with at least one antler that does not meet the limitations set forth below is considered an illegal buck:
Has fewer than 4 points on either side.
Is less than 15 inches in width when measured inside the spread of the antlers.
Has any part of an antler attached directly to the skull, including antlers that have broken off.
Has a minimum total outside antler spread less than the established statewide regulations of 10 inches.
Has antlers that are not at least 3 inches long measured from the tip to the base of the antler.
Has a minimum main beam length of less than 10 inches, which necessitates that only the main beam be measured.
Seasonal Regulations
The deer season in Mississippi opens in the Central Zone (Pike County is in this zone) by Mississippi law on the last Saturday in November and runs to about the end of January, depending on each individual state management unit (SMU). SMU 147 for Pike County, Mississippi is considered the southwest area of the state. The Department of Wildlife Fisheries & Parks updates the hunting season dates every year. The statewide deer season is traditionally closed for a week during the Christmas Holidays, but not this year.
Under the Department’s regulations, the only buck or antlered legal deer that can be hunted is one that has at least one of the following: One (1) antler with 3 points or more on one side. An "antler" is defined as a rolled, bony projection extending above the animal’s hairline. The Department publishes these rules and regulations each year under Title 40, Chapter 2, Part 5 of the Mississippi Code.
Licenses, Tags & Permits
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) issues all hunting licenses and permits, including those required for deer hunting. Licenses are available for both in-state residents and non-residents of Mississippi but there are different rules and prices associated with each. Non-residents must pay a higher cost to hunt bucks in Mississippi than residents do. Generally, a Mississippi Resident Deer Permit is $25 for either the Archery Permit or the Gun Permit, which covers one deer either in the Archery or Gun seasons. If you want to hunt both seasons, you can buy an Archery and Gun Deer Permit for $40. The fee for a non-resident Deer Permit is $300, which allows two (2) antlered bucks.
The MDWFP’s website contains an FAQ sheet regarding requirements. It states that "all resident hunters who plan to use a muzzleloader, rifle, or shotgun loaded with slugs during either deer season are required to purchase a Muzzleloader, Archery & Gun Deer Permit. This permit is valid for both archery and gun deer seasons and allows the harvest of an antlerless and an antlered deer during either season." What that means in practical terms is that if you have bought an Archery and Gun Permit (which is only $15 more than the Muzzleloader permit), you don’t have to buy any other permit depending on which weapon you decide to use to bag your deer. You can buy the Muzzleloader, Archery & Gun Deer Permit for $40 and take advantage of hunting during the archery and gun deer seasons.
Conservation Statutes
The implementation of hunting regulations plays a fundamental role in the practice of sustainable legal buck hunting within Mississippi. The state’s wildlife management authorities have established rules and seasons for legal buck hunting with the primary goal of sustaining the deer population and ensuring a healthy balance is maintained in the ecosystem.
One of the most crucial regulations is the establishment of legal hunting seasons, which are typically set for the late fall through the winter seasons. These periods coincide with the deer mating season, when deer are more active and can be effectively tracked and hunted. The set timeframe helps to reduce overpopulation and prevent the spread of diseases common to highly consolidated deer populations. In addition to regulating the seasons, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks has designated specific regions where legal buck hunting is permitted, each with its seasons and limitations . This not only allows for efficient population control in a designated area but also prevents concentrated hunting efforts that would otherwise disrupt other ecosystems across the state.
Moreover, conservation efforts are continuously evaluated and adjusted when necessary, based on the current population and health of the deer within the state’s borders. These assessments determine the number of bucks that can be harvested without disrupting the population balance. Carrying the buck harvest tags while hunting and checking them with wildlife officials after the hunt are mandatory requirements enacted to ensure hunters are responsible for following these seasonal guidelines and hunting limits.
In addition to state regulations, conservation groups have also played a pivotal role in promoting awareness of ethical buck hunting. This includes reiterating the importance of following all safety protocols, maintaining a healthy level of hunting pressure, and always respecting the private property of landowners and other hunters when they are on the hunt for the elusive legal buck.
Major Violations & Penalties
The most common violation is shooting a buck before or after legal hunting hours. This can result in a fine and some level of misdemeanor charge. The typical fine for killing a deer out of season is $1,000 plus $250 in restitution, and mandatory jail time.
To give the reader an opportunity to understand the legal hours, I will define that here. For archery deer: 1/2 hour before sunrise and 1/2 hour after sunset for lighted tracking devices, and 30 minutes after sunset for non battery operated devices. For Primitive Weapon Deer: 1/2 hours before sunrise and 1/2 hours after sunset. For Modern firearm deer: 1/2 hour before sunrise and 1/2 (1 hour for Oct. 15 and Nov. 2) hours after sunset. For Primitive Weapon Deer: 1/2 hours before sunrise until the county or area closes for the period for which Primitive weapon deer season is open.
The next most prevalent violation is trespassing on another’s property with a firearm in your possession; another offense where lives can be put in danger. This can lead to a fine and a misdemeanor charge. In addition to a fine, you may also be charged with a felony, which is caused by an act of which a firearm is used in a negligent manner. To land a felony charge, you have to be knowingly irresponsible when handling a weapon. A felony conviction will not only carry a fine but also a hardship license suspension for 30 days or longer and possibly jail time.
Another common violation associated with buck hunting in Mississippi is not reporting your harvest to the state. This can result in a fine anywhere from $50 up to $500, and could result in a misdemeanor charge. To legally hunt, you must report your harvest to the state by calling 1-800-5HUNTIN or online at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) web site.
A very serious criminal offense associated with buck hunting in Mississippi is shooting a deer in the presence of another and failing to report same. This failure to report is a felony. The penalty for this felony charge can be up to five years in jail. Failure to report a harvest or shooting a deer in another person’s presence are both reported to law enforcement and prosecuted seriously.
Shooting a deer out of season will get you not only slapped with a fine and a violation to the game and fish laws but almost certainly a felony conviction and a hard crime to a moral turpitude charge. That will affect your ability to get employment, all rights to obtain a firearm for self-defense and can cause an addiction to drugs or alcohol. To point fingers and debate this issue as an illegal taking or poaching may cut ice with you but not the court.
Hunting Etiquette & Safety
Understanding legal buck hunting isn’t just about the region and strategies of hunting bucks in Mississippi, it’s also about conservation. All ethical and responsible hunters view hunting as a means of conserving many aspects of wildlife in the regions where we may pursue our passion for the deer family. Although legal buck hunting may vary from state to state, ethical hunting and safety should be universal throughout North America. Perhaps the only point I really wish to make here is that while legal buck hunting in Mississippi has changed over the years to be more restrictive, there are far too many cases of hunters killing illegal bucks during this year’s legal buck hunting season – whether for the meat or simply for bragging rights.
In Mississippi, the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks classifies deer into two categories – antlered and antlerless. Antlered deer – that’s right, not trophy bucks – can only be taken during the hunter’s designated season and what is described as legal is really limited to one buck per season. Again, depending on where in Mississippi the hunter resides, this season may not even be as long as the entire year. Sausage is one thing but to predetermine the size a buck should be to be taken is a whole other level of ridding the deer population of real trophy bucks . And let’s not forget the kids that may witness their parent killing an illegal but trophy buck and then witnessing after school, on the high school bus, and via social media the boasting of another trophy buck. This mentality gives hunters the dream of trophy bucks – perhaps, for just one legal buck hunting season.
Mississippi has a multitude of game laws but one not included with the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks deer hunting regulations is regarding taking a deer that you did not legally kill. Even the Mississippi Landowner Protection Act recognizes taking deer to have been wrongfully killed as poaching. There is no such right to do so in court so why do so? That deer was taken for bragging rights and not for an appetite nor for what is often tantamount to illegal taking of wildlife. Such actions and moral decisions give rise to the need for more ethical hunting practices and hunting laws.
Hunters should check your ethics at the door before entering the woods. We may hunt for a lot of reasons but not for another hunter’s trophy nor because you just so happen to be in the area and saw the deer die or lie dying. Take your trophy or none at all but be safe and ethical – not illegal – in doing so.
