JACKSON — Hunters in Mississippi will have several opportunities to participate in hunts on public and private lands this fall. 

Bowhunters can purchase a special velvet hunting season permit on August 1 ahead of the buck only season from Sept. 17 to 19. Resident permits are $10 and can be purchased online or at stores who sell MDWFP licenses. Non-Resident permits are included in the $50 deer permit. 

The velvet season is legal buck only, private land only and archery only. Harvested bucks must be reported through gamecheck on the MDWFP app or online the day of harvest and a sample must be submitted for Chronic Wasting Disease testing five days after harvest. 

Applications for fall WMA Draw hunts open August 1, 2022. Visit MDWFP.com/draws. Deer hunts, including Canemount WMA, opens August 1 and closes August 31. Early Teal opens August 1 and closes August 15, dove opens August 1 and closes August 15, while Rabbit opens August 1 and closes Oct. 15, 2022. 

Canemount WMA, located near Lorman, had 325 hunters apply for archery hunts in the 2020 to 2021 season and only 144 were drawn. They also had 692 hunters apply for gun season in the 2020 to 2021 season and only 240 were drawn. 

All hunters must have a valid WMA permit, lifetime hunting license or youth exempt license in order to apply for a draw hunt.

Additionally, anyone who wishes to use National Wildlife Refuges must purchase a permit for the 2022 to 2023 season. This permit opens August 1, 2022. Hunters along the Mississippi River can purchase permits for St. Catherine Creek NWR and other refugees of the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex at TRComplex.RecAccess.com