Each archery-only permit good for six days
Applications are now being accepted for archery-only draw hunts for deer season in two areas of Barnett Reservoir, the spillway and the north shore of Pelahatchie Bay.
The deadline for applying is Aug. 23. It costs nothing to apply. Applicants must be Mississippi residents, aged 21 or over. Applications and rules are available online at https://www.therez.ms.gov/Pages/DrawHunt.aspx.
Those hunters selected in the drawing, to be held on or about Aug. 27, will pay $300 per permit in the spillway area and $200 per permit in Pelahatchie Bay.
The spillway area is split into two zones, Madison and Rankin (counties), while the Bay is split into three — west, central and east.
Each permit holder will have sole hunting privileges in his or her selected zone for six day hunts beginning on Tuesdays and ending on the following Sunday. The exception is the final hunt, which will be for 10 days. There are 17 hunts in each zone. Legal hours are 30 minutes prior to sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset each day.
Each hunter can take one guest and both can carry a bow or crossbow, and hunt separately within the permitted zone. The limit for each permit is one legal buck and two does. The bucks must have either a 15-inch minimum inside spread or a main beam length of at least 18 inches to be legal.
