Wildlife conservation officers stay busy year-round, but things really crank up the first Saturday in September. That’s when the first dove season opens.
From then until spring it’s one season after another.
This past Monday, officers Jimmy Hutson of Amite County and Randy Cooley of Franklin County spoke to the Liberty Area Chamber of Commerce at the Cotton Gin Restaurant in Liberty.
Officers not only patrol southwest Mississippi counties but also the Mississippi River from the Louisiana state line to north of Port Gibson, Hutson pointed out.
They do everything from check hunting and fishing licenses to search for escaped convicts, respond during weather disasters and investigate shooting accidents.
“It’s really a lot busier than most people think,” Hutson said.
“It’s not boring, You don’t ever know what’s going to happen.”
On Sept. 3, dove season opens and the lead will fly.
“People get together. They’ll hunt doves. Then they’ll have a good cookout. It’s just an enjoyable time,” Hutson said.
Deer archery season opens Oct. 1 in southwest Mississippi. “Then the pressure starts picking up pretty good,” Hutson said.
Next come small-game seasons as hunters go after squirrels and rabbits.
“Not as many people squirrel hunt now as it was 20 years ago or 30 years ago,” Hutson said.
“The reason is there’s not as many hardwoods as there was 20 years ago or 30 years ago.”
Youth deer gun season starts Nov. 5 for kids 15 and under, including in the Homochitto National Forest.
The state has several special youth hunting seasons that start before regular seasons in order to give youngsters a head-start and increase their chances of success.
“His first deer is going to be his trophy of a lifetime, I can promise you,” Hutson said. “He’ll never forget it.”
A special primitive weapon hunt follows, and then it’s the main deer gun season, with dogs allowed, starting Nov. 19.
Regular primitive weapon season begins Dec. 2, followed by deer gun without dogs Dec. 16 and the second deer gun with dogs Dec. 24.
The final primitive weapon season opens Jan. 19. Spring turkey season kicks off in March.
That’s just an overview. Hutson didn’t go into waterfowl, quail, raccoon and other seasons.
One big change this year is restrictions on hunting with dogs in the Homochitto National Forest.
From Nov. 1 to Jan. 31, all dog hunters must get a permit to hunt with dogs in the national forest — any kind of dog hunting, not just deer. And all hunting dogs must have a tracking collar with the permit number.
That regulation came after numerous complaints from landowners as well as conflicts among hunters over the use of dogs.
“There’s no sense falling out with anybody over deer hunting,” Hutson said. “I’ve seen people mad enough to kill each other.”
Such problems aside, “the people that hunt and fish are the best people in the world,” Hutson said. “They’ve usually got family. They usually care for their family. They take their kids hunting and fishing.”
Unfortunately, that tradition appears to be fading. Hutson attributes part of the decline in hunting to divorce and the break-up of the family unit.
What can really be dangerous is when one kid takes another one hunting with no adult supervision, Hutson said.
Meanwhile, conservation officers run into all kinds of situations.
Hutson recalled the time he got a call about a bear trying to break into a house south of Liberty. He and officer Don Foreman drove to the scene and found a bear cub with a chain on its leg trying to get into a trailer, where a man was holding the door shut.
People in the trailer had been barbecuing when “all of a sudden the bear opened the door and the bear stuck his head in the door. Immediately they slammed the door on the bear’s head,” Hutson said.
The people pinned the bear’s head in the door and tied a dog chain to the leg but couldn’t restrain the hungry critter, which had obviously been somebody’s pet.
Unable to locate the owner, officers took it to the Jackson zoo.
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For a complete list of hunting seasons and regulations, visit http://home.mdwfp.com/.
