Last updated on September 14th, 2023
Making plans for Mississippi’s 2022-2023 deer season? You’ve come to the right place!
Here are the dates for archery, primitive weapons and firearms, as well as the general rules and regulations you need to know for the upcoming season.
2023-2024 Mississippi Deer Season Dates
As seen in the map below, Mississippi is divided into four deer units — Delta, North Central, Hills, and Southeast. Each has it’s own season dates and harvest regulations as you will see in the breakdown below.
Velvet Buck Season
| Deer Unit | Season Dates |
|---|---|
| Statewide | Sept. 15-17, 2023* |
Archery Season
| Deer Unit | Season Dates |
|---|---|
| Delta, North Central, and Hills Units | Sept. 30 – Nov. 17, 2023* |
| Southeast Unit | Oct. 14 – Nov. 17, 2023* |
Youth Gun Season
| Deer Unit | Season Dates |
|---|---|
| Delta, North Central, and Hills Units | Nov. 4-17, 2023* Nov. 18, 2023 – Jan. 31, 2024** |
| Southeast Unit | Nov. 4-17, 2023* Nov. 18, 2023 – Feb. 15, 2024** |
** Either-sex on private lands. On open public lands, youth must follow legal deer criteria.
Primitive Weapon
| Deer Unit | Season Dates |
|---|---|
| Delta, North Central, and Hills Units | Nov. 6-17, 2023* Dec. 2-15, 2023** |
| Southeast Unit | Dec. 2-15, 2023** |
** Either-sex on private land and open public land. Weapon of choice may be used on private land with appropriate license.
Gun (with dogs)
| Deer Unit | Season Dates |
|---|---|
| Delta, North Central, and Hills Units | Nov. 18 – Dec. 1, 2023* Dec. 24, 2023 – Jan. 17, 2024* |
| Southeast Unit | Nov. 18 – Dec. 1, 2023* Dec. 24, 2023 – Jan. 17, 2024* |
Gun (without dogs)
| Deer Unit | Season Dates |
|---|---|
| Delta, North Central, and Hills Units | Dec. 16-23, 2023* |
| Southeast Unit | Dec. 16-23, 2023* |
Archery/Primitive Weapons
| Deer Unit | Season Dates |
|---|---|
| Delta, North Central, and Hills Units | Jan. 18-31, 2024* |
| Southeast Unit | Jan. 18-31, 2024* Feb. 1-15, 2024** |
** Legal bucks only on private and open public land. Weapon of choice may be used on private land with appropriate license.
Mississippi Deer Unit Map
Legal Bucks
| Deer Unit | Legal Buck |
|---|---|
| Delta | 12″ inside spread or 15″ main beam |
| Hills | 10″ inside spread or 13″ main beam |
| North Central | Any hardened antler |
| Southeast | 10″ inside spread or 13″ main beam |
Bag Limit
Antlered Deer
Delta, Hills and Southeast Units: One buck per day and three per season. One of the three may have hardened antlers that do not meet the unit’s legal antler requirements on private land and Holly Springs National Forest.
North Central Unit: One buck per day and four per season. No antler restrictions apply to this unit. All four bucks may have any sized hardened antlers.
Antlerless Deer
An antlerless deer is any male or female deer that doesn’t have hardened antler above the natural hairline.
Delta and Hills Units: The annual bag limit is five antlerless deer. There is no daily bag limit.
North Central Unit: The annual bag limit on private lands is 10 antlerless deer. There is no daily bag limit.
Southeast Unit: The annual bag limit is two antlerless deer. Only one may be harvested per day.
U.S. Forest Service Lands: One antlerless deer per day, not to exceed five per season, except in the Southeast Unit where the limit is two per season.
Hunter Education Requirements
All hunters born on or after January 1, 1972, are required to complete a hunter education course before purchasing a Mississippi hunting license. Also, anyone 12 to 15 years of age must have a certificate of satisfactory completion of a hunter education course approved by the Department before hunting alone.
A child between the ages of 12 and 15 may hunt without having the certificate of hunter education if the child is in the presence and under the direct supervision of a licensed or exempt hunter at least 21 years of age when hunting.
Legal Deer Hunting Weapons
- Archery: longbows, recurves, compound bows, and crossbows. There is no minimum or maximum draw weight, no minimum arrow length, and fixed or mechanical broadheads may be used.
- Primitive Weapons: Single or double-barreled muzzleloading rifles of at least .38 caliber. Scopes are permitted. Or single shot, breech-loading, metallic cartridge rifles (.35 caliber or larger) with an exposed hammer. Or single or double-barreled muzzleloading shotguns with a single ball or slug.
- Guns: There are no caliber or magazine capacity restrictions on firearms.
Legal Deer Hunting Hours
Legal deer hunting hours are 30 minutes before official sunrise and until 30 minutes after official sunset.
Deer Check-In Procedures
While not required by law, successful deer hunters should report their harvests through the state’s White-tailed Deer Game Check system. It helps the MDWFP track harvest information on a county-by-county basis so they can make better management decisions for the state’s deer herd.
You can check your harvested deer on the MDWFP app or on their website.
Hunter Orange Requirements
When hunting deer during any firearms season for deer, Mississippi hunters must wear in full view at least five hundred (500) square inches of solid unbroken fluorescent orange unless hunting in a stand at least twelve feet above ground or in a fully enclosed deer stand or blind.
However, hunters must wear hunter orange while traveling to and from their stand.
Final Thoughts
While we make every attempt to ensure our information is correct, always check the official regulations provided by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks before heading afield.
Good luck this season!
