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Mississippi · 2026-27 season year

Mississippi Deer Season 2026-27

The rut peaks at different times zone by zone. Archery: October 1, 2026 to November 20, 2026. Gun: November 21, 2026 to January 20, 2027. Every date below comes from Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, linked beside it. See the best days to hunt this week.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 2, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
October 1, 2026 to November 20, 2026
Archery
published
November 21, 2026 to January 20, 2027
Gun
published
December 2, 2026 to December 15, 2026
Primitive Weapon
published
2 zone rows
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
The four questions in one

Mississippi deer seasons, 2026-27

“When does deer season open” is four questions wearing one coat. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks dates white-tailed deer seasons separately by weapon, so each one is below under the agency’s own name for it, with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them.

Archery

published

Archery runs October 1, 2026 to November 20, 2026 across all zones.

Mississippi archery, as published by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Delta, North Central, and Hills Deer Management UnitsOctober 1, 2026November 20, 2026
Southeast UnitOctober 15, 2026November 20, 2026

Dates read from 2026-2027 Hunting Seasons White-tailed Deer, MDWFP, accessed 2026-09-02.

Main fall archery season; the Southeast Unit opens two weeks later. The special September archery velvet window is listed under other seasons.

Gun

published

Gun runs November 21, 2026 to January 20, 2027 across all zones.

Mississippi gun, as published by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Delta, North Central, and Hills Deer Management Units (segment 1)November 21, 2026December 1, 2026MDWFP lists these as Gun (with dogs), Gun (without dogs), then Gun (with dogs)
Delta, North Central, and Hills Deer Management Units (segment 2)December 16, 2026December 23, 2026
Delta, North Central, and Hills Deer Management Units (segment 3)December 24, 2026January 20, 2027
Southeast Unit (segment 1)November 21, 2026December 1, 2026Same segment names as the other units
Southeast Unit (segment 2)December 16, 2026December 23, 2026
Southeast Unit (segment 3)December 24, 2026January 20, 2027

Dates read from 2026-2027 Hunting Seasons White-tailed Deer, MDWFP, accessed 2026-09-02.

Mississippi splits the gun season into Gun (with dogs) and Gun (without dogs) segments, with the Primitive Weapon season between the first two. Land-type rules vary by segment in the MDWFP table.

Primitive Weapon

published

Primitive Weapon runs December 2, 2026 to December 15, 2026 across all zones.

Mississippi primitive weapon, as published by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Delta, North Central, and Hills Deer Management UnitsDecember 2, 2026December 15, 2026
Southeast UnitDecember 2, 2026December 15, 2026

Dates read from 2026-2027 Hunting Seasons White-tailed Deer, MDWFP, accessed 2026-09-02.

December Primitive Weapon season, same dates in every unit. The November Antlerless Primitive Weapon window is listed under other seasons.

Youth Season (15 and under)

published

Youth Season (15 and under) runs November 7, 2026 to February 15, 2027 across all zones.

Mississippi youth season (15 and under), as published by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Delta, North Central, and Hills Deer Management Units (segment 1)November 7, 2026November 20, 2026MDWFP lists the window in two rows because land rules differ
Delta, North Central, and Hills Deer Management Units (segment 2)November 21, 2026January 31, 2027
Southeast Unit (segment 1)November 7, 2026November 20, 2026
Southeast Unit (segment 2)November 21, 2026January 31, 2027
Southeast Unit (segment 3)February 1, 2027February 15, 2027

Dates read from 2026-2027 Hunting Seasons White-tailed Deer, MDWFP, accessed 2026-09-02.

A long youth season for hunters 15 and under running from early November into winter; the Southeast Unit adds a February window.

Which days to sit, this week

Clarksdale, MS · peak breeding about Dec 8

Rated Slow to Prime from the rut stage, the National Weather Service forecast and first light. See the full Mississippi deer movement forecast, with the hour to be in the stand, why each day rates as it does, and a week for your own ZIP.

Gun (with dogs) Nov. 21 - Dec. 1
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, read September 2, 2026. Read it at the source
The rest of the calendar

Other Mississippi deer seasons the agency names

Beyond the four main windows, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks dates 3 further seasons for deer. They are reproduced here under the agency’s own names, because a hunter reading a calendar needs to know which window a tag actually covers.

Archery (September velvet season)

published

Archery (September velvet season) runs September 11, 2026 to September 13, 2026 across all zones.

Mississippi archery (september velvet season), as published by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Delta, North Central, and Hills Deer Management UnitsSeptember 11, 2026September 13, 2026
Southeast UnitSeptember 11, 2026September 13, 2026

Dates read from 2026-2027 Hunting Seasons White-tailed Deer, MDWFP, accessed 2026-09-02.

Special permit, mandatory reporting, and CWD sampling required per MDWFP; private land and authorized state and federal lands.

Antlerless Primitive Weapon

published

Antlerless Primitive Weapon runs November 9, 2026 to November 20, 2026 across all zones.

Mississippi antlerless primitive weapon, as published by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Delta, North Central, and Hills Deer Management UnitsNovember 9, 2026November 20, 2026Private lands only per MDWFP

Dates read from 2026-2027 Hunting Seasons White-tailed Deer, MDWFP, accessed 2026-09-02.

November window listed only for the Delta, North Central, and Hills units in the MDWFP table.

Archery/Primitive Weapon

published

Archery/Primitive Weapon runs January 21, 2027 to February 15, 2027 across all zones.

Mississippi archery/primitive weapon, as published by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Delta, North Central, and Hills Deer Management UnitsJanuary 21, 2027January 31, 2027
Southeast Unit (segment 1)January 21, 2027January 31, 2027
Southeast Unit (segment 2)February 1, 2027February 15, 2027

Dates read from 2026-2027 Hunting Seasons White-tailed Deer, MDWFP, accessed 2026-09-02.

Late winter Archery/Primitive Weapon window closing the deer year; the Southeast Unit runs into mid February.

Zones

Mississippi deer zones

Mississippi does not have a deer season. It has 2 of them, and the boundaries between them were drawn by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks along highways, rivers and county fragments rather than anything you can see from a stand. In several states those boundaries are not even the same from one weapon season to the next.

This page publishes the agency’s zone names and links the agency’s own zone map, which is where a hunter’s zone is determined. A wrong zone answer is a wrong season date.

Alert white-tailed buck standing in bare late fall brush at dusk
A buck on the move in bare November brush at Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota. Photo: Liz Julian/USFWS. “White-tailed Deer, Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota” — Liz Julian / USFWS Mountain Prairie — Public domain
Rules

Mississippi deer hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by is set by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Mississippi regulations

Harvest limits, antler restrictions, permitted arms, shooting hours, tagging and reporting, and license and permit requirements for Mississippi are set by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks: current regulations
Two hunters in blaze orange and camouflage beside a wheelchair at the edge of bare winter woods, one helping the other with gear
Getting ready at the edge of the winter woods on a mobility assisted deer hunt. Many states date a season specifically for hunters with disabilities, and those windows are on the state pages. Photo: U.S. Marine Corps. “USMC-11410” — U.S. Marine Corps (official photo, marines.mil) — Public domain

Deer season dates in other states

Mississippi deer movement forecastThe next 7 days rated Slow to Prime for deer movement, from the forecast and first light.Mississippi deer rutThe biology beside the calendar: when deer actually breed here, from the agency conception studies. Dates are this page; the rut is that one.Mississippi turkey seasonSpring and fall wild turkey windows for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.Mississippi duck seasonDuck and goose season dates by zone and flyway, read from the same agency.Mississippi fall foliagePeak color and the archery weeks overlap. Plan the same trip.

Mississippi deer season questions

Buck with antlers in velvet standing in tall summer grass in golden light
A buck still in velvet in late summer. The earliest archery openers land within weeks of antlers hardening. “White-tailed Deer Buck in Velvet (48804848567)” — USFWS Mountain Prairie — Public domain

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks page linked beside it, read on September 2, 2026; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Harvest limits, antler restrictions, permitted arms, shooting hours and license rules are set by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national deer season guide and the Mississippi rut timing page.