The best private turkey habitat in this region lies west of the main Mississippi River levee. The land east of the levee is heavily used for agriculture; consequently, the best turkey hunting land there is on public property. If you don’t have access to the batture lands west of the levee, your best bet is to skip the WMAs with smaller acreage and head to Sharkey and Issaquena counties to the Delta National Forest.

The Delta NF is home to the 58,480-acre Sunflower WMA. Composed of bottomland hardwoods and wetlands, the tract is seasonally flooded. While the turkey hunting is good in this area it also easy to “get turned around” and disoriented in this seemingly endless hardwood bottom. Be sure to carry a compass or GPS device, and don’t forget the mosquito repellent.

If you are looking for a turkey hunting opportunity for a youngster during the early Youth Season, look into Mahannah WMA. In the southern tip of Issaquena County, Mahannah is closed during the regular season, so this is the single opportunity to challenge its gobblers.

Nearby, Dahommey NWR in Bolivar County is also worth a look. The tract contains 9,100 acres, of which 1,050 are maintained in agricultural fields.

Region 3
Biologists and most turkey hunters alike are very optimistic about this section of the state. Most of the turkey hunters had a good supply of longbeards to work during the 2007 season. The possible exception is the very northern part of the region where some hunters did not fare as well as those in the middle and southern portions. The MDWFP statistics show that the 2006 hatch averaged just over 2 poults per hen, which should mean a good supply of 2-year-old gobblers this year.

Obviously, from the reports the counties in the southern 1/3 of the region are the places to start your search for a longbeard.

While you are likely to find good densities of turkeys on public lands in this area, you are also going to find heavy densities of hunters. The WMAs in the southern part of this region are Bienville, Tallahala, and Caney Creek. All three are located in portions of Jasper, Newton, Scott and Smith counties.

Be aware that hunting the first ten days of the season is by quota drawing on these three WMAs. After that they open to the general public.

Moving north through the region, there are also opportunities for good hunting on public lands. Okatibbee WMA with 6,883 acres and the 7,655-acre Nanih Waiya WMA are both worth investigating.

In the extreme northern tier favorites are Choctaw WMA and the 48,000 Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge. While you are in the neighborhood check out John W. Starr WMA in Oktibbeha and Winston counties.

Region 4
According to Program Coordinator Dave Godwin, Region 4 is a really good turkey habitat region, and historically hunters have had good success here. The harvest, while down slightly in 2006, was still the best in the state. Many hunters in this region had a good season last year and are upbeat about 2008. However, Godwin feels there will be fewer 2-year-old gobblers this year as a result of a poor hatch in 2006.

At the north end of this region lies Yazoo County, home of Panther Swamp NWR’s 38,500 acres hardwood bottomland. Like nearby Delta NF, it’s subject to seasonal flooding. Turkey hunting is by quota drawing only on Panther Swamp and is limited to April 1 to May 1.