By John N. Felsher
Despite another hurricane battering the coast,everything points to an outstanding deer season in southern Mississippi this year. Two warm, wet andearly springs in 2011 and 2012 allowed deer to recover from winter quickly. In addition, great habitat conditions should mean another super hunting season. In a typical year, about 200,000 hunters bag between 275,000 and 300,000 deer in Mississippi. Ironically, superb habitat conditions in 2011-12 led to sportsmen bagging about 50,000 fewer deer than average, said William McKinley, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks deer program supervisor in Jackson. With a record crop of acorns and other natural foods, deer simply didnât need to travel far toeat last year. Consequently, hunters saw and bagged fewer deer, despite high herd numbers.
âThe herd looksexcellent across the state,â McKinley said. âIt was stunning how many big deer were taken in the first week of bow season in October. We came off a mild winter with a huge mast crop that left deer inexcellent condition. A lot more mature bucks survived. Now that theyâre a year older and bigger with good growth conditions this year. All of this should translate into an excellent antler growth year.â
The biggest bucks in the state traditionally come from the bottomlands along the Mississippi River.enriched by periodic floods from the great river, nutrient-rich soils in these bottom lands encourage excellent plant growth, which makes deer bigger and healthier.
âThe wildlife management areas in the Delta always produce the best deer in the state because of the quality of the habitat,â McKinley explained. âIn southern Mississippi Copiah County WMA always has a high harvest rate and some quality deer. Leaf River WMA consistently produces a high harvest with good quality animals. During the 2011-12 season, Little Biloxi WMA produced some really good deer.â
In August 2012, Hurricane Isaac blew through parts of Mississippi. The storm knocked down trees and blew acorns to the ground. However, since the mast crop came inearly this year, fewer acorns on the ground could force more deer to use food plots later in the season, a good thing for many hunters.
âIn general, hurricanes are great for deer,âexplained Justin Thayer, the MDWFP top deer biologist for the southern third of the state. âWhen a storm knocks down trees, more sunlight reaches the ground, promoting lush new plant growth. Hurricane Isaac didnât significantly impact the deer herd in southeastern Mississippi, but it did opened up some additional habitat.â
With sandy, acidic soils and an abundance of pines, southeastern Mississippi doesnât normally produce the kind of monster bucks found in the Mississippi Delta. However, some lands can produce good deer.
Bottom lands along the Pearl, Leaf and Pascagoula rivers hold some big deer. Land managers can alsoenhance habitat on their properties to grow quality deer despite poor soils. While sportsmen may or may not see giant bucks, they should see abundant deer this fall.
âI think weâll have a very strong deer season this year,â Thayer predicted. âWe expect a good harvest. After a year with a low harvest because of a great mast crop, we typically have an expanded population. Many bucks that probably would have been harvested in a normal year were allowed to grow for another year. Th is year, the mast crop looks strong in many places, but itâs not a record
year like 2011. Weâve had two really good years of growth to make deer healthy.â
For complete deer season dates and hunting zone boundaries, see www.mdwfp.com/media/7311/hunting_seasons.pdf. Seasons may vary on some public lands, so consult the regulations for that particular piece of property before hunting.