Mississippi Velvet Buck Permits Are Available for the September 2026 Archery Season

Mississippi’s velvet deer season is back on the calendar, and hunters who want in need the special Velvet Season Permit. Permits are available beginning August 1, 2026, anywhere hunting and fishing licenses are sold.

The season runs September 11-13, 2026. It is archery only, including longbows, recurves, compound bows, and crossbows. Hunters may take one legal buck for their Deer Management Unit during the three-day season, and that buck counts against the annual antlered deer bag limit.

The season is limited to private lands and opted-in public lands. Mississippi says that as of the 2026 Velvet Season, no Wildlife Management Areas or open public lands that follow statewide regulations are participating. Hunters looking at any public land with its own rulebook need to check that specific property before assuming it is open.

That is the part that matters: opportunity does not cancel responsibility. An early velvet hunt is a great chance for bowhunters, but it comes with a narrow window, a special permit, land restrictions, and buck rules that need to be followed clean.

Legal harvest is not complicated when hunters do the homework. Buy the right permit, know your Deer Management Unit, confirm the land is actually open, and remember that one velvet buck is still part of your annual buck limit. The hunt only works if hunters keep it above board.