Plenty of hunting seasons open in October

Hunting in October isn’t limited to deer, squirrel and rabbits. Several other seasons are open this month, including wild turkey in all or parts of 24 counties.

Here’s the list:

  • Wild turkey. The season opens Oct. 15 and ends Nov. 15, by permit only, in three zones. The limit is two per hunter, and turkeys can be either-sex — hens and/or gobblers, or a mix of the two. Landowners and leaseholders must apply for tags by completing a fall turkey hunting application and submit with the required documentation of land ownership/leasehold to the Jackson office of the MDWFP. Applications can be downloaded from the MDWFP website.

The three zones are below.

Delta: Bolivar County (west of the main Mississippi River levee and those lands east of the main Mississippi River levee known as 27 Break Hunting Club); and west of the main Mississippi River levee in the counties of Coahoma, Desoto, Issaquena, Tunica, and Washington.

North-central: Benton, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Tippah, and Union counties.

Southwest: Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Hinds, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison, Warren, Wilkinson, and Yazoo counties.

  • Raccoon, opossum and bobcat: Food and sport season is open Oct. 1-Oct. 31 statewide. The limit is 5 per person per day, but there is an 8 per party limit that supersedes the individual limit. Starting Nov. 1, however, there’s no limit.
  • Gallinules and rails. These underutilized seasons on these tasty migratory birds began in September but will end on Oct. 4.
  • Doves. There’s lots of opportunities to shoot these speedy, little, and oh-so-challenging migratory birds, no matter where you live in Mississippi. The North Zone’s long first season, which opened on Sept. 5, ends on Oct. 18. After a brief break, the second season opens on Oct. 24 and will run through Nov. 21. The South Zone’s long second season begins on Oct. 10 and will run through Nov. 8.
  • Light goose conservation order. On the outside chance any snow, blue or Ross’ geese should migrate into Mississippi early, this special “no-limit” season opens for its initial run on Oct. 1 and will end Nov. 12. Two more segments will come in February and March.
About Bobby Cleveland 1343 Articles
Bobby Cleveland has covered sports in Mississippi for over 40 years. A native of Hattiesburg and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Cleveland lives on Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson with his wife Pam.

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