‘Game Check’ approved for turkey

Beginning with the 2019 spring season, Mississippi turkey hunters will be required to carry a harvest report in their possession and report all kills prior to 10 p.m. on date of harvest.
Beginning with the 2019 spring season, Mississippi turkey hunters will be required to carry a harvest report in their possession and report all kills prior to 10 p.m. on date of harvest.

The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks has given final approval to Mississippi’s first mandatory harvest system.

Beginning with the 2019 spring season, all turkey hunters in the state must report all kills by 10 p.m. on the date of harvest.

“It’s about time,” said Dwight Partridge of Terry. “We’ve needed a tagging system to help monitor the harvest of turkeys, and nobody really wanted to deal with tags. Now, with modern technology, this makes it a lot easier and a lot simpler. I’m happy about it, and anyone who isn’t is probably a game hog and law-breaker.”

Called “Game Check,” the harvest reporting system will require turkey hunters to carry a current harvest-reporting record. That record can either be an MDWFP harvest-reporting application on a smartphone with the hunter’s profile and harvest history, a paper copy of the MDWFP harvest-reporting record or a form improvised by the hunter with the required information.

The “Game Check” record shall be considered current when it contains the hunter’s full name, harvest date for each turkey harvested and a harvest reporting confirmation number for each turkey harvested.

Before moving a turkey from the point of harvest, hunters must document their name and harvest date on their harvest reporting record. All hunters must then by 10 p.m. on the day of harvest report the kill to the MDWFP by either the MDWFP smartphone app, the MDWFP web portal or by telephone. They will receive a harvest report confirmation number.

Harvest reporting records for hunters under the age of 16 may be possessed and maintained by an adult aged 21 or over when hunting under their direct supervision.

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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.