Four District 4 counties really stand out when it comes to the harvest of first-quality deer: Kemper, Lauderdale and Clarke counties, which are along the Alabama line, are all beginning to turn some heads when it comes to the quality of deer being taken from within their boundaries. Then there's Madison County, which produces not only lots of whitetails but also a lot of very big ones.

District 5
For as long as I can remember, Southwest Mississippi has been known as the "Trophy Triangle." It has all the ingredients necessary to produce numbers of top-quality deer.

Bordered on the west by the Mississippi River, the district contains a number of very fertile river bottoms such as Big Bayou Pierre, Little Bayou Pierre, Big Black River, Cole Creek, Clark Creek, Buffalo River, Amite River, St. Catherine Creek and the Homochitto River. The extremely good deer habitat is one of the reasons that District 5 contains the highest concentration of white-tailed deer in the state.

The greatest part of the land in District 5 is privately owned. However, some good deer hunting opportunities are to be had on public land in the district. The Homochitto National Forest, which contains both the Caston Creek and Sandy Creek WMAs, offers good deer options if you don't mind coping with a little competition. Not far away is St. Catherine Creek NWR with more than 26,000 acres of prime deer habitat.

Finally, there is Copiah County WMA near Hazlehurst, which is considered by many to be the state's best-kept secret. Composed of 6,583 acres of outstanding deer habitat, this small tract boasts the highest deer harvest rate per acre of any of the Magnolia State WMAs. With those kinds of statistics, you can bet that Copiah County WMA won't stay a secret for long.

Since the metropolitan area of Jackson is less than an hour's drive away, hunting pressure is certain to increase. Planning to have your hunting trips take place during the week may help avoid some of the hunting pressure that you're sure to encounter on the weekend.

District 6
More than two years have passed since Hurricane Katrina devastated this area of the state. The effects of that monster storm will be observed for years to come. But what will the deer hunting prospects be for those counties along the Mississippi Gulf Coast?

According to Chad Dacus, the deer in District 6 are in very good shape. They've been under little hunting pressure in the last two years owing to the inaccessibility of hunting areas. Now, finally, the roads have finally been cleared of debris and food plots planted.

Two WMAs in the region on which deer hunters should focus their attention are Leaf River, in Perry County, and Chickasawhay, in Wayne County. Encompassing over 122,000 acres, Chickasawhay is the largest WMA in Mississippi; the sheer size of this property makes scouting a necessity. At just over a third of the size of the Chickasawhay, Leaf River WMA is a sizeable tract in its own right. Both of these WMAs should provide good deer hunting opportunities this fall.