40 Miss. Code. R. 2-1.16 - [Effective until 6/30/2025] O'KEEFE WMA REGULATIONS

A. Regulations for O'Keefe Wildlife Management Area in Quitman County.

SPECIES	SEASON	COMMENTS
DEER
Archery	Oct. 1 through the Friday prior to Thanksgiving.	Antlerless deer and legal bucks.
Youth Deer	Saturday two weeks prior to opening day of Primitive Weapon season through the Friday prior to Thanksgiving.	Antlerless deer and legal bucks.
Primitive Weapon	Saturday prior to Thanksgiving -Dec. 15	Antlerless deer and legal bucks.
Gun	Dec. 16 - Dec. 31	Legal bucks.
Primitive Weapon	Jan. 1 - Jan. 31	Antlerless deer and legal bucks.
TURKEY	Closed
YOUTH SQUIRREL	Sept 24 - 30
SQUIRREL	Oct. 1 - Feb. 28 May 15 - June 1
RABBIT	Saturday nearest Oct. 15 - Feb. 28
RACCOON	Jul. 1 - Sept. 30	Friday and Saturday nights.
RACCOON, OPOSSUM, & BOBCAT	Oct. 1 - Feb. 28
TRAPPING	Nov. 1 - Feb. 28
WATERFOWL	Same as statewide seasons. See WATERFOWL in SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS.
YOUTH, VETERANS, and ACTIVE MILITARY WATERFOWL	See WATERFOWL in SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS.
POST SEASON LIGHT GOOSE CONSERVATION ORDER	Open after waterfowl season.	See Federal Regulations.
DOVE		See DOVE in Special Instructions.

Whenever the opening date set above falls on a Sunday, the season shall begin on the preceding Saturday.

B. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:

1. WMA USER PERMIT: All persons using this wildlife management area, except those exempt from purchasing an annual hunting or fishing license, must carry on their person an annual statewide Wildlife Management Area User Permit. This permit is required in addition to completing the daily visitor use permit or by using the WMA Check-In App and any required license and may be purchased wherever licenses are sold.

2. CLOSED AREAS:

1) The portion of the WMA in Tallahatchie County.

2) No deer hunting in flooded greentree reservoir prior to 1 p.m. FOR INFORMATION ON FLOODED GREENTREE RESERVOIR, see map at permit stations or at www.mdwfp.com.

3. BAG LIMITS: Same as statewide bag limits, except the bag limit on antlerless deer is one (1) per day. All harvested deer count towards statewide bag limits, unless otherwise stated.

4. DEER DATA COLLECTION: All deer harvested must be checked at the WMA headquarters and recorded on WMA Daily Use Permit Card or WMA Check-In App by the hunter who harvested them before leaving the WMA. If WMA personnel are not available to check the deer, the hunter is responsible for collecting and legibly recording ALL biological data (weight, antler measurements, and jawbone). Instructions and equipment will be provided. All heads from antlerless deer harvested on O'Keefe WMA must be deposited in the O'Keefe WMA CWD collection freezer.

5. LEGAL BUCKS: Legal bucks are those with an inside spread of at least 16 inches OR one main beam length of at least 20 inches. For hunters 15 years of age or younger any antlered buck is a legal buck.

6. DOG RESTRICTIONS:

a. Deer hunting with dogs is prohibited.

b. Small game hunting with dogs is allowed during any small game season.

7. LEGAL WEAPONS: Only centerfire rifles, shotguns with slugs, primitive weapons, and centerfire handguns may be used for deer hunting.

8. WATERFOWL: Waterfowl hunting closes at 12 p.m. Waterfowl hunters must vacate the WMA by 1 p.m., except during the Youth, Veterans, and Active Military waterfowl hunt which shall run concurrent with the statewide waterfowl Youth, Veterans, and Active Military hunt. Hunters may not leave the parking area prior to 5 a.m. Hunters are allowed no more than 25 shotgun shells per person in the waterfowl hunt areas, except during the Post Season Light Goose Conservation Order Hunts. No gas boat motors allowed in the greentree reservoir. All decoys, boats, and blinds must be removed from the hunting area by 1 p.m. each day.

9. OFF-ROAD MOTORIZED VEHICLES/ATVs: ORVs/ATVs/Electric Bicycles are allowed on designated roads or trails for hunting and fishing access only. Off-road use of ORVs/ATVs/Electric Bicycles is allowed for retrieval of harvested deer or hogs. Additionally, electric bicycles may be ridden on marked foot-traffic trails only by users 65 years of age and older. They may not be ridden on any leveed roads or trails.

10. HORSES: Horseback riding is prohibited during WMA deer and turkey seasons. At all other times, horseback riding is restricted to roads open to motorized vehicles and designated ATV trails. Squirrel hunting from horses is allowed in February on entire area. Raccoon hunting from horses is allowed during nighttime hours.

11. CAMPING: No camping allowed.

12. DOVE: Hunting hours for opening day are 2:00 p.m. until sunset. No entry prior to 1:00 p.m. on opening day. During the remaining statewide season framework, dove hunting hours are from 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset.

Notes

40 Miss. Code. R. 2-1.16

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 49-1-29, 49-4-4, and 49-5-13.

Updated April 2014 Amended 7/5/2015 Updated April 2016 Amended 6/26/2016 Updated April 2017 Amended 6/24/2017 Updated April 2018 Amended 7/7/2018 Amended 6/28/2019 Updated August 2019 Amended 10/28/2019 Amended 6/17/2020 Amended 6/17/2021 Amended 6/27/2022 Amended 6/26/2023 Amended 7/25/2024