Mississippi biologists expect good public-hunting across the state on a number of well-managed tracts.
Crack. Pop. I slowly turned my head to the left and caught movement out of the corner of my eye, about 100 yards to my north at the edge of a thicket.
Focusing on the area, I spotted tall, wide antlers protruding from either side of a tree as a buck entered the thicket, angling towards me. He was a shooter, but would I have a shot? My adrenalin flowed freely as I scanned both sides of the thicket that ran from the north to the south of my stand.
Suddenly, a doe walked through an opening about 50 yards closer, angling directly towards me. I dared not twitch as she passed by only 15 yards to my left; the buck was obviously trailing her. As soon as the buck appeared, I centered the crosshairs on him and squeezed my trigger as he walked into an opening.
Tic-Boom! My .270 Remington roared, and the buck crumpled in a heap, never even twitching. Arriving at the kill zone, I was astonished at the size of the buck, which sported a tall, thick, 20-inch-wide set of antlers with eight points. The time of kill was 10:40 a.m., Jan. 15, 2021. This old, public-land buck was aged at 61/2 to 71/2 years old, and a hot doe had finally been his demise.
You can’t always expect to kill a trophy buck on public land, but there is that possibility on any given day in many of our state’s Wildlife Management Areas. Read along, and we’ll cover some of the best public-land deer hunting areas Mississippi has to offer.
Southwest Region
Josh Moree, a biologist with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, expects a good season in his neck of the woods.
“It should be a great year in our region, as the rains have definitely helped the deer with lots of browse growth,” Moree said. “There should be a good acorn crop this year due to the weather and rainfall amounts, after last year’s crop wasn’t quite as good.”
Copiah County, Marion County and Canemount WMAs should provide excellent harvest opportunities for deer again this year.
“Copiah County has some good bucks harvested every year, even though there’s a lot of hunting pressure on the area due to its close proximity to Jackson,” Moree said. “The early season archery outlook is good, and there’s usually not a lot of hunting pressure during the early season. We have excellent opportunities to harvest a deer with a bow during October, November and late January.”
Marion County has been averaging 55 to 60 deer harvested the past few years, and additional doe-harvest opportunities have been added for youth hunters from Jan. 4-31. Harvest opportunities should be excellent again this year.
North Delta Region
O’Keefe, Sky Lake and Stoneville WMAs should be your best bets to harvest a quality deer in this region, according to biologist Weston Thompson.
“Everything is looking pretty good in this region,” Thompson said. “Sky Lake is a draw hunt, and it provides an excellent opportunity to harvest a good buck.”
If you’re looking for a better-quality buck, O’Keefe has higher antler restrictions, and that gives people a little better chance at harvesting an older-aged, quality deer.
“O’Keefe has 17 food plots; they’re scattered all over the WMA, which has about 6,300 acres — half of it good for deer hunting,” Thompson said. “There’s a lot of older timber on O’Keefe that gives hunters a better opportunity to hunt deer, also.”
Southeast Region
Biologist Drew Arnold pointed to Leaf River, Little Biloxi and Pascagoula WMAs as great places to hunt this fall and winter.
“Leaf River would probably be your best bet for harvesting quality and quantity of deer in the Southeast Region,” Arnold said. “There’s a lot of quality forage, and we have really high deer numbers here, too.
“A sleeper is Little Biloxi, as there’s some decent deer there, as well as at Wolf River.”
This year, an added bonus for this region is the creation of a new hunting unit within the Pascagoula WMA.
“The Land Between the Creeks unit was purchased recently; (it) came into the state’s possession in 2020,” Arnold said. “It will be a draw unit; it was a private hunting camp prior to its purchase, so there should be a good opportunity to harvest a quality deer, if hunters that are drawn out will scout and put in the time and effort to learn the lay of the land and hunt hard.”
Northwest Region
Biologist Brad Holder expects the same kind and quality of hunting this year as last.
“Overall, the 2021-22 season is expected to be similar to last season in terms of deer density and buck quality,” Holder said. “As with most years, buck quality is anticipated to be better on average at Charles Ray Nix and Malmaison WMAs. Hunting pressure and harvest were generally lower in the Northwest WMA region this past season, and that may mean a few more deer running around during the upcoming season.
“Although likely less severe than average winters in the northern U.S., the intense cold that gripped much of the southern United States in late February 2021 and brought record-breaking cold temperatures, plus significant accumulations of wintry precipitation to north Mississippi, likely placed additional stress on deer during an already stressful late-winter period,” Holder said. “The prolonged cold may have delayed spring green-up and browse availability as well. It’s unknown if or to what extent herds may have been affected, but (it’s) likely dense herds were impacted more severely.”
“Assuming some adverse effects to deer body condition and development, recovery during spring and summer would have likely been better in portions of the Northwest WMA region with lower deer herds and/or better habitat within deer home ranges.”
Ample hunting opportunities exist at George P. Cossar State Park and Upper Sardis WMAs. Draw hunts for deer will be held on Charles Ray Nix and Cossar State Park WMAs. Malmaison and Upper Sardis WMAs are first-come, first-served and generally follow Delta or Northeast Unit regulations.
Northeast Region
Nathan Blount, a biologist serving the Northwest Region, is happy about prospects for the 2021-22 deer season.
“We’re looking good in the Northeast region, with forage and browse in good shape,” Blount said. “The habitat is in good shape, and we’re seeing good antler growth. The acorns that are already on the trees look promising as well.”
Hunters looking for quality bucks shouldn’t overlook the WMAs along the Tenn-Tom Waterway.
“Canal and Divide Section grow some of the larger deer in the region and offer opportunities to harvest a quality buck,” Blount said. “Although access is harder along the Tenn-Tom, several bucks in the 130- to 140-inch range are harvested each year.
“Hell Creek WMA has a good draw opportunity; we’ve got a lot of beans and corn growing there this year. Hunters must harvest a mature doe first, and then, they can harvest a buck.
“Tuscumbia WMA is managed for waterfowl, but we have a new primitive weapons hunt in October, and the deer numbers are high,” Blount said. “This will be a draw hunt, with four hunts being held in October. “Chickasawhay WMA is probably the best bet to harvest a deer, as the numbers have risen there after 3 years with no doe harvest. There’s plenty of deer there.”
East Central Region
Biologist Chad Masley is confident that at least one East Central WMA will provide good hunting this season.
“Black Prairie is the best Draw Hunt opportunity in the region,” Masley said. “It has 6,000 acres of diverse habitat, with 1,600 acres of soybeans planted this year, and it has got everything a deer wants from agriculture to browse to mast-producing hardwood.”
Mature deer average from 190 pounds to 215 pounds, with several 4- and 5-year-old bucks harvested each year.
“We’re protecting the 3-year-old bucks and older,” Masley said. “Recent camera surveys show that we have quality mature bucks on Black Prairie now.
“John Starr and Nanih Waiya are your best bets for harvesting a deer, as both have ample opportunities to harvest antlerless deer this year.”
Trim Cane is managed for waterfowl, but it has some really good, bucks and it’s open for youth and handicapped hunts on Saturday afternoons, by draw only. A few years ago, a young hunter harvested a trophy buck that sported a 160-inch rack.
South Delta Region
Although this region was adversely affected by flooding the past few years, it has some of the best habitat and almost everything a deer needs to thrive, and prospects are looking up once again.
Mahannah WMA continues to produce quality bucks and lots of deer almost every year, and it’s probably considered the crown jewel of the South Delta due to the quality of the deer as well as its size.
Phil Bryant is the newest WMA; it features only a draw hunt for deer, and it’s situated in prime Delta hunting land. Purchased just a few years ago, the WMA was open to limited hunting last year. The area was formerly home to private deer clubs that concentrated on growing mature bucks and harvested only quality bucks, so the future is bright, and we expect to see many trophy deer harvested there in the coming years.
Conclusion
Biologist Holder warns hunters to make sure they are aware of regulations particular to the WMA they are hunting.
“Regulations can be vastly different among WMAs,” Holder said. “Always be sure to read WMA-specific regulations before your visit. We recommend WMA visitors download our WMA Check-in app onto their mobile Apple or Android devices.”
Online draw-hunt applications are available through Sept. 1.
Hunters in the Northwest WMA Region, as well as other areas where Chronic Wasting Disease has been found, must comply with all Chronic Wasting Disease regulations, which can be found at www.mdwfp.com. The MDWFP strongly recommends that each deer harvested be tested for Chronic Wasting Disease. The MDWFP has sample submission locations around the affected regions.
Be the first to comment