Hunting in Mississippi: Five Things to Know Before Applying for a Hunting Permit for Adults

Mississippi offers a diversity of wildlife that draws in hunters every season. Deer, black bears, alligators, wild turkeys, rabbits and quail are all found in abundance within the state. If hunting in Mississippi is in your vacation plans, buying a hunting permit is your first priority.

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Each Mississippi resident from age 16 to age 64 is required to buy a license. All non-resident hunters aged 16 or older must also obtain a license while hunting in Mississippi, according to the state’s Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. 

What do you need to know before applying for a hunting permit?

Hunter Education

All people born after 1972 must take a hunter education course approved by the state before purchasing a hunting license. Mississippi law makes it illegal to issue a hunting license to any person in this age group without proof of completion of a hunter education course first.

Unlawful License Purchase

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If a hunting license is obtained through a false name or a false statement, the individual is guilty of a felony under Mississippi law and is subject to a $2,000 fine and up to one year in prison.

License Exemptions

Mississippi residents who are blind, paraplegic, multiple amputees, or deemed otherwise totally disabled by the Social Security Administration or Veterans Administration are exempt from purchasing a hunting or fishing license. Proof of age residency and disability status must be in their possession while hunting or fishing.

Night Hunting

Raccoon, fox, opossum, beaver, and bobcats may be legally hunted at night. Hunters can use dogs and lights to assist in securing any of these species except during spring turkey season. All other game must be hunted from half hour before sunrise until sunset.

Selling Mississippi Animals

Hunters are not allowed to buy, exchange, or sell any game animal or bird native to Mississippi except for the skins of legally taken deer, the carcasses of raccoons or muskrats during open trapping season for those species, and raccoon carcasses during open gun season for that species.

This article is for information only. Please check current regulations before hunting.

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