Deer Gun Season Opens Nov. 21 in Alcorn County, Northeast MS

Deer gun season opens Saturday, Nov. 21, across Alcorn, Tishomingo and Prentiss counties, according to the 2026-27 season dates published by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP). The opening segment, which allows hunting with dogs, runs through Dec. 1 and marks the busiest stretch of the year in the Northeast Mississippi deer woods.

Archery season and the early youth gun season both close Friday, Nov. 20. Youth hunters age 15 and under can keep hunting with a gun from Nov. 21 through Jan. 31.

Deer gun season dates for Northeast Mississippi

All three counties share the same calendar. MDWFP lists these dates for the Delta, North Central and Hills deer management units:

• Gun (with dogs): Nov. 21-Dec. 1
• Primitive weapon: Dec. 2-15
• Gun (without dogs): Dec. 16-23
• Gun (with dogs): Dec. 24-Jan. 20
• Archery/primitive weapon: Jan. 21-31

During the gun segments, deer of either sex may be taken on private land. On open public land, only legal bucks may be taken. MDWFP says there are no caliber or magazine capacity restrictions on firearms during gun season, and primitive weapons and archery equipment may also be used.

Alcorn County rules differ from Tishomingo and Prentiss

The dates match, but the buck rules do not. Alcorn County is in the North Central Deer Management Unit, along with Benton, DeSoto, Marshall, Tate and Tippah counties. Tishomingo and Prentiss counties fall in the Hills Unit.

• Alcorn County (North Central Unit): No antler restrictions. Any buck with hardened antler is legal. The buck limit is one per day and four per season. On private land, the antlerless limit is 10 per season.
• Tishomingo and Prentiss counties (Hills Unit): The buck limit is one per day and three per season. Two of the three must have an inside spread of at least 10 inches or a main beam of at least 13 inches. One of the three may be any antlered deer on private land. The antlerless limit on private land is five per season.

There is no daily bag limit on antlerless deer in either unit, according to MDWFP. Youth hunters age 15 and under may take any antlered deer for all of their bucks on private land and authorized state and federal lands.

How to judge a legal buck in the Hills Unit

MDWFP offers two field checks for hunters in Tishomingo and Prentiss counties:

• Spread: A buck’s ears in the alert position measure about 14 inches from tip to tip. If the outside of each antler beam is about an inch inside the ear tip, the inside spread is roughly 10 inches.
• Main beam: Viewed from the side, a main beam whose tip reaches the front of the eye is about 13 inches long.

Before you go

Hunters should read the full regulations, license requirements and public-land rules on the MDWFP website before opening day. Rules on wildlife management areas and other public lands can differ from the statewide framework.

Conditions in the woods are dry. A Tishomingo County burn ban that covers campfires is set to run through Nov. 19, two days before the gun opener. MDWFP has also shared bear-safety tips for deer hunters this fall.

Source: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks