Antlerless deer hunting can help with management programs.
Doe control hits high gear today (Nov. 5) in most of Mississippi as the primitive weapons season for antlerless deer only begins in the Hill Country and Delta zones (formerly Zones 1 and 3).
Only antlerless deer may be taken during this early season, which ends on Nov. 16, the day before the gun season opens statewide. Only children under 16 — who can use regular guns — and archers are allowed to take bucks during this period.
“That’s fine with us, about the antlerless deer, because this is what we need,” said Billy Jones of Starkville, whose club in the Golden Triangle area of Mississippi is behind in its population control efforts. “We didn’t have a lot of success during the archery season. I think we had four does (killed), and we are supposed to take 50 this year. We added a few on the youth hunt.
“We just don’t have a lot of bow hunters in our membership, and our archery opportunities are kind of limited due to we mostly have open agricultural fields. Give us the chance to shoot long guns, and we should see that doe harvest increase quickly.”
Legal weapons during this hunt are primitive firearms and crossbows.
“Primitive Firearms” for the purpose of hunting deer, are defined as:
• single or double barreled muzzle-loading rifles of at least .38 caliber,
• or single shot, breech loading, metallic cartridge rifles (.35 caliber or larger) and replicas, reproductions or reintroductions of those type rifles with an exposed hammer,
• or single or double-barreled muzzle-loading shotguns, with single ball or slug.
All muzzle-loading primitive firearms must use black powder or a black powder substitute with percussion caps, #209 shotgun primers or flintlock ignition.
The centerfire rifles make a big difference in this season.
“No doubt about that,” Jones said. “We can reach out and hit some of those does we need to remove. I think of the 20 members, 14 of us have bought those kind of legal centerfires. We had our annual big youth hunt last weekend and they took six does, which brings us up to 10.
“This weekend we’ll have our doe drive, as we call it, where we have a big doe pot, and combination doe pot for the heaviest weight recorded by anyone taking multiple does over the weekend. It helps encourage more of us to get in the stands and pop some caps.”
Opening the door to doe opportunities, especially before any of the rutting cycle begins, is the intent of the early antlerless primitive weapon season, according to state wildlife officials.
“Many places in the Hills and Delta zones that we visit exceed their carrying capacity,” Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks Deer Program biologist Lann Wilf said in an agency release. “And hunters should make every effort to participate in this hunt and harvest antlerless deer at every legal opportunity.
“Buck quality has the potential to be exceptional this year, so to provide increased buck hunting opportunity and quality during the rut, hunters and landowners should try to meet antlerless harvest objectives early.”
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