Mississippi Whitetail Rut Dates & Deer Movement
Mississippi's rut runs from early December in the northwest corner to early February on the coast. MDWFP biologists date breeding from the fetuses of does taken at herd health checks, and the department's breeding-date map sweeps from northwest to southeast: DeSoto, Tunica, Tate and Marshall first, December 6 to 13, and Perry, Greene, George, Stone and Jackson last, January 24 to February 6. The windows below follow that map.
Rut windows by region
Northwest corner and north Delta
Dec 6 to 20
Peak: early to mid December
DeSoto, Tunica, Tate and Marshall breed earliest, December 6 to 13. Most of Coahoma, Bolivar, Sunflower and Washington follow, December 13 to 20.
South Delta and the hills east of it
Dec 20 to 31
Peak: late December
Leflore, Humphreys, Tallahatchie, Holmes, Carroll and Sharkey. Breeding gets later as you head south and east off the Delta.
Central, east central and southwest
Dec 31 to Jan 16
Peak: early January
Hinds, Rankin and Madison sit at December 31 to January 4, most east central and southwest counties at January 4 to 16. The northeast is a patchwork, so check your county.
Southeast Pine Belt and Coast
Jan 16 to Feb 6
Peak: late January into early February
Forrest, Wayne and Harrison run January 16 to 24. Perry, Greene, George, Stone and Jackson breed latest in the state, January 24 to February 6.
These windows follow MDWFP’s breeding-date map, built from fetal data at herd health checks. Confirm legal season dates, bag limits, and zone rules directly with MDWFP before hunting.
2026 season: archery opens mid September. Source: Mississippi season dates (MDWFP).
Where do the Mississippi rut dates come from?
MDWFP biologists date breeding by measuring fetuses from does taken at herd health checks, and the department's Deer Program Report has mapped the results since at least 2012. Breeding sweeps from northwest to southeast: DeSoto, Tunica, Tate and Marshall counties come first, December 6 to 13, and Perry, Greene, George, Stone and Jackson come last, January 24 to February 6.
The windows above follow that map. MDWFP puts breeding in the southeast at January through mid-February, and one property can spread wide: Chickasaw WMA's 2018 conception dates ran December 23 to February 2. The reports do not give the years behind the map, so check your county on it.
Sources: MDWFP 2017-2018 Mississippi Deer Program Report, breeding date range map (PDF); MDWFP 2015-2016 Mississippi Deer Program Report (PDF); MDWFP 2011-2012 Mississippi Deer Program Report (PDF).
How do the 2026 seasons in Mississippi line up with the rut?
The 2026 to 2027 dates, with the Southeast unit (south of U.S. 84 and east of Highway 35) noted where it differs:
- Early archery, special permit: September 11 to 13, one legal buck
- Archery: October 1 to November 20 (Southeast opens October 15)
- Youth gun, 15 and under: November 7 to January 31 (Southeast adds legal bucks to February 15)
- Gun, dogs allowed: November 21 to December 1 and December 24 to January 20
- Primitive weapon: December 2 to 15
- Gun, no dogs: December 16 to 23
- Archery and primitive weapon: January 21 to 31 (Southeast adds legal bucks to February 15)
Fall archery closes November 20, about two weeks before the earliest breeding on MDWFP's map, but bows stay legal in gun season. North Delta breeding falls in the primitive weapon season and the no-dog week, central Mississippi's in the late gun season, and the southeast's in late January and the February buck dates MDWFP added for it.
Sources: MDWFP 2026-2027 Mississippi Outdoor Digest (PDF); MDWFP 2015-2016 Mississippi Deer Program Report (PDF).
How many deer do Mississippi hunters take?
MDWFP's phone survey put the 2019 to 2020 harvest at about 221,000 deer, just under 102,000 of them bucks. The department called that alarmingly low next to five years earlier. That is the newest MDWFP harvest report we could open.
A 2024 peer-reviewed study, citing MDWFP, put the herd at about 1.75 million deer as of 2023, with a yearly harvest near 280,000.
Sources: MDWFP 2019-2020 Mississippi Deer Program Report (PDF); Dentinger and others, Ecology and Evolution, 2024 (PubMed Central full text).
Where is the public ground in Mississippi?
MDWFP runs 54 wildlife management areas covering more than a thousand square miles, and deer hunting is the leading use, over half the annual total. The biggest are Sunflower near Rolling Fork, about 61,000 acres, and Upper Sardis near Oxford, about 51,000. Each sets its own seasons and needs a WMA User Permit.
The national forests add more than 1 million acres under the statewide seasons, where gun hunting is legal bucks only except on the Holly Springs National Forest.
Which Mississippi rules change a rut hunt?
- One buck a day and three a season, or four with no antler rule in the North Central unit (Alcorn, Benton, DeSoto, Marshall, Tate and Tippah counties).
- Legal bucks need a 10-inch inside spread or 13-inch main beam in the Hills and Southeast, 12 or 15 inches in the Delta, though one of the three may fall short on private land.
- Hunting over bait is illegal, but you can hunt near a supplemental feeder at any distance, with feed and feeders at least 100 yards from the property line. No baiting on national forests.
- Crossbows are legal in archery season.
- In any firearm season every deer hunter, bowhunters included, must wear 500 square inches of solid orange or pink, unless in a stand 12 feet up or a fully enclosed blind.
- After November 30, landowners, lessees, club members and guests can use any legal weapon on private land during primitive weapon seasons, with the right license.
- CWD was first confirmed in February 2018, in an Issaquena County buck, and MDWFP asks hunters to turn in deer heads for testing.
Sources: MDWFP 2026-2027 Mississippi Outdoor Digest (PDF); MDWFP 2019-2020 Mississippi Deer Program Report (PDF).
Checked against the linked sources on September 30, 2026. Seasons and rules change every year, so confirm with the agency before you hunt.
What changes the hunt in Mississippi
- Region matters before anything else. Mississippi’s breeding and chase windows can differ by weeks, so use the region you hunt instead of applying a statewide date.
- Weather is context, not a trigger by itself. A meaningful temperature change can create opportunity, but wind, access, food, hunting pressure, and the regional rut phase determine whether a particular sit is worth taking.
- Pressure and clean access matter through every regional window. Hunt the stand only when you can enter and leave without pushing deer through bedding, feeding, or likely travel cover.
Get a ground-specific read
A Mississippi rut calendar gives you the regional breeding window. RackIQ adds the conditions that decide the actual hunt: your terrain, wind, access, hunting pressure, weather, rut phase, cameras, and property history.
Start with your first Scored Call, then keep the outcome with it.
Common questions
When is the rut in the Mississippi Delta?
Early to late December. MDWFP's breeding-date map puts the northwest corner at December 6 to 13 and most of the north Delta at December 13 to 20, with the south Delta running into late December.
When does the rut peak in southeast Mississippi?
Last in the state. Forrest, Wayne and Harrison breed January 16 to 24, and Perry, Greene, George, Stone and Jackson January 24 to February 6. MDWFP puts breeding in its Southeast Zone at January through mid-February.
How much does Mississippi's rut vary?
About two months, from December 6 in the northwest corner to February 6 on the coast, and neighboring counties can sit weeks apart, especially in the northeast. Check your own county on MDWFP's map.
Plan the hunt
Turn the regional window into a sit: How to Hunt Each Rut Phase · How to Hunt the Wind · Deer Hunting Access Routes · Do Deer Move After a Cold Front?.
Rut dates for other states: Kentucky · Tennessee · Missouri · Iowa · or see all state rut calendars.