Deer Hunting in Southwest MS?

[marshman]

Sorry for the double post...I posted this in the deer hunting forum as well but thought it may get more views here...How is the deer hunting in SW MS? I lived in Greenville for 10 years so I am familiar about the deer hunting in the delta are and along the MS river and also over in the hills around Greenwood-Grenada-Winona area. I moved to SE TX last summer and the deer hunting here is horrible. Most hunters here drive 5-8 hours to get to the central TX hill country or south TX brush country. But most leases or clubs out there are in the $2000-$5000 range. Its only about a 4 hour drive for me to the Natchez area so i was thinking of checking into the hunting in the SW part of MS. I would mainly be interested in the area say from Natchez eastward to the Brookhaven area or maybe as far north as Hazlehurst then southward along I-55 to the LA state line then back westward towards the MS river.

Also what is the average cost for a club in that area? thanks in advance for any info anyone can pass along.

[marshman]

87 views and not one comment???????

[ScottyLee]

Ill bite, deer hunting in and around natchez can be good... lots more potential for big deer than Brookhaven area.... lived and hunted pike amite lincoln and franklin counties all my life.... and consistently franklin adams and amite produced more bigger deer than further east..... land leases anywhere from 8-18 an acre..... hope this helps

[deltadukman]

Learn to say "yeah bruh" to all the coonazzes and deal with them tresspassing all over your place.

[kb7722]

Learn to say "yeah bruh" to all the coonazzes and deal with them tresspassing all over your place.

^^^^^this and the hunting sucks. STAY HOME!

[stang67]

I've peaked in and read the thread a few times now, so I'll post.

I've hunted NW Jeff cty for 20 years. (For only the last 5 my mailing address has been S LA ) My thoughts apply to all of the cty west of 61 ----> Don't bother.

We used to be a part of the state that many deer hunters lusted after. I'd opine that the region is below avg now (no better than many counties well to the east). Though I won't fully blame our neighbors to the south, I imagine much of it has to do with coonass encroachment (I hereby copyright the term). The area was some of the first in MS to start seeing a rapid increase in lease prices. I think with so much of the acreage leased at a high rate, the lessees aren't willing to pay $20-50 per acre and be content with only killing, say, one doe and one buck every year. Moreover, I personally feel that the MDWFP is feeding many groups a line of bullcrap (man I didn't want to use that word) about needed doe harvest. Though many don't realize it, there's no need now (nor a benefit) to kill 3-4 does per person. EVERYONE is trying to, though. Put simply, ALOT of hunters are just killing too many deer.

I'm not one of these to bemoan someone shooting a 2.5 year old buck -- I really want people to be happy with their time spent in the deer woods, though I happen to find great enjoyment without pulling the trigger. However, I am convinced that over-harvest is the cause of the region's issues. And I understand much of that which I complain about is very localized. Still...

[marshman]

Thanks stang for the input. i didnt realize the hunting was that bad in that part of the state. i appreciate the honest opinion.

[RebelYelp]

stang, I think you're right on, our problem is however that populations in the northern part of the state, delta, and a handful of other areas have exploded. Until the state decides that a one size fits all approach isn't working, it'll continue to get worse.

[stang67]

stang, I think you're right on, our problem is however that populations in the northern part of the state, delta, and a handful of other areas have exploded. Until the state decides that a one size fits all approach isn't working, it'll continue to get worse.

That's one thing that I can't reconcile with the model I have in my head, though. Are others managing their trigger fingers that much better than in the area we speak of? I know plenty of LA folks that hunt in Wilkinson county, and they don't talk about the problems that I see in Jefferson cty.

Our deer are getting more nocturnal each year, too, which is very bothersome.

[Matt S]

I hunted around fayette for about 5 years. This was 10 years ago and longer tho. There were a lot of deer and they were decent size I think the biggest I saw killed was a 145. We had about 1200 acres and was forced to kill 32 does a year by the biologist. That was a few too many. We would pull both jawbones on some deer to make the quota every year. They said they would pull the lease from us if we didnt meet quota 2 years in a row

[rubrail]

there can be some fine hunting in those areas you describe but they'll usually be in small select pockets of land. That land is usually hard to find and very expensive once you find it. For example, Bolte has arguably the most jam up land on the MS river south of Illinois and its right smack in the middle of the area you speak of, though you'll never get to hunt that. There are also several public areas that hold a trophy buck or two. I'd never drive 4-5 hrs to hunt them though when there are similar odds of killing a trophy several hours closer to SE TX.

All that is to say, if you just want to kill a few deer each year, there are several places much closer to SE TX which IMO would suffice. If you want to come to SW MS to kill a trophy deer, you might just do that, but to increase your odds on an established club, you'll probably pay at least the $2k that they're paying in TX.

I've killed just as many deer at my old lease south of Lufkin, TX as I did in Claiborne or Adams Counties, MS.... but hunting in MS was a much prettier site. If that's what you want, then go for it but don't expect a deer behind every tree.

[marshman]

I am in extreme SE TX and there are just no deer in the area. To find just average hunting I will have to drive at least 4 hours north or west. problem with TX hunting is unless your on what they call MLD, you can only shoot does until Thanksgiving weekend. I'm just a deer hunter, trophy bucks are great and all but i get excited when I shoot a doe as well.

[RebelYelp]

stang, I think you're right on, our problem is however that populations in the northern part of the state, delta, and a handful of other areas have exploded. Until the state decides that a one size fits all approach isn't working, it'll continue to get worse.

That's one thing that I can't reconcile with the model I have in my head, though. Are others managing their trigger fingers that much better than in the area we speak of? I know plenty of LA folks that hunt in Wilkinson county, and they don't talk about the problems that I see in Jefferson cty.

Our deer are getting more nocturnal each year, too, which is very bothersome.

I think it's the combination of several things,

1. everyone wanting bang for their buck like you said, ie. i paid X amount of money and that means I should kill X amount of game

2. Every tom, dick, and harry with 20 acres and a corn feeder kills their state allotment of whitetails, or does their best to

3. Pine needles are everywhere and most aren't managed

4. After years of saying they are no threat, recent studies have shown that the surge of the coyote has significant impacts on deer populations.

5. No ag land so to speak, goes along with # 3.