Quail Hunting Season in Mississippi: Dates, Limits, and Rules for 2026-27
October 14, 2026
Quail hunting season in Mississippi runs more than three months, but the state’s wild bobwhite numbers are modest, so knowing the rules before you head out matters as much as knowing where to find a covey. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) sets one statewide season, one daily limit, and a handful of license rules that change depending on whether you hunt wild birds, public land, or a shooting preserve.
This article walks you through the dates, the species, the bag limits, the paperwork, the legal gear, the shooting hours, and where to hunt. Regulations can change, so confirm anything you plan to rely on with the MDWFP before opening day.
Quail Hunting Season Dates in Mississippi
According to the MDWFP Quail Program page, the quail season runs from November 26, 2026 to March 7, 2027, with a daily bag limit of 8 quail. The state’s hunting seasons and bag limits table lists the same Nov. 26 to Mar. 7 window for bobwhite quail.
That is a slightly earlier start than last year. The 2025-26 season opened on November 27 and closed March 7, per the MDWFP. The opener lines up with Thanksgiving week, which makes it an easy hunt to build a family trip around.
Important Note: Some third-party sites list different quail dates, including a November 1 opener and a WMA-only restriction. Those figures conflict with the MDWFP’s own published season, so treat the agency’s dates as the authority and check the current Mississippi hunting digest before you go.
| Season | Dates | Daily Bag Limit |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | November 27, 2025 to March 7, 2026 | 8 |
| 2026-27 | November 26, 2026 to March 7, 2027 | 8 |
If you are planning a full fall calendar, the same state agency sets the dates for other species. Our guides to dove hunting season in Mississippi and deer hunting season in Mississippi help you stack hunts without double-booking weekends.
Quail Species You Can Hunt in Mississippi
For practical purposes, the only quail you will hunt in Mississippi is the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). The state’s seasons table lists it simply as bobwhite quail, and StateHunting.org calls it the headline upland species in the state.
Bobwhites favor places where grass meets brush. A habitat guide from Dive Bomb Industries points to field edges, young pine stands, briar patches, and fallow fields as the places they thrive. They nest and roost in thick ground cover but feed in nearby open areas, especially early morning and late afternoon.
Expect to work for your birds. MDWFP small game biologist Rick Hamrick told Quail Forever in its 2021 forecast that populations are scattered across isolated habitat patches and that hunters have to cover a lot of ground to find coveys.
Quail Bag and Possession Limits in Mississippi
The daily bag limit is 8 quail, according to the MDWFP. That number applies statewide during the regular season and is the same on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lands in north Mississippi, where the Vicksburg District regulations list 8 per day for bobwhite quail.
The MDWFP pages I reviewed do not state a possession limit. Ultimate Upland notes that it is not explicitly stated and guesses at three times the daily limit, which is not an official figure. Check the printed Mississippi hunting digest or call the MDWFP before you hold more than one day’s bag in your freezer or cooler.
Pro Tip: Pen-raised quail released on private land still count against the state limit. The MDWFP says state bag limits must be observed unless you hunt on a licensed shooting preserve or hold a dog training permit.
Wild birds are off limits once the season closes. The MDWFP states plainly that wild birds cannot be legally taken outside the state quail season, so any spring or summer bird work needs to follow the permit rules covered in the preserve section below.
Licenses and Permits Required to Hunt Quail in Mississippi
You need a valid Mississippi hunting license to hunt quail, whether you are a resident or a nonresident. Dive Bomb Industries confirms a hunting license is required for both groups, and the MDWFP says a license is required even to hunt released pen-raised birds on private land.
If you hunt a state Wildlife Management Area, you also need a WMA User Permit. The MDWFP says it can be bought anywhere hunting licenses are sold and is required of anyone hunting a WMA unless exempt from buying a hunting and fishing license.
| License or Permit | Resident Cost | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Sportsman License | $45 | Broad hunting and fishing privileges |
| All Game License | $25 | Hunting for all game species |
| WMA User Permit | $15 (nonresident $30) | Access to most state WMAs |
| Youth Under 16 (voluntary exempt) | $2.30 | Youth privileges and WMA access |
Those fees come from StateOutdoors.org and StateHunting.org, which both posted them in their 2026-27 season pages. Both are third-party summaries, so confirm prices at the point of sale.
Questions about buying a license can go straight to the agency. The MDWFP lists a licensing phone line at 1-800-5GO-HUNT on its quail page.
Quail hunters who also chase woodcock or doves need to be H.I.P. certified for migratory birds, according to Ultimate Upland. Quail themselves are not migratory game birds, but if you plan a mixed upland day, take care of the certification first.
Legal Weapons and Methods for Quail Hunting in Mississippi
The MDWFP pages I reviewed focus on season, bag limit, and licensing, and they do not spell out a quail-specific weapons list. In practice, quail hunters in Mississippi use shotguns, and Dive Bomb Industries suggests 6 or 7.5 shot depending on the cover. Check the current Mississippi hunting digest for shot size, plug, and ammunition rules before you load up.
Dogs are the standard method. Bird dogs find and point coveys, and the state even offers a Tamed Quail Shooting Dog Training Permit for people who want to train dogs on pen-raised quail outside the statewide season.
Public land adds its own restrictions. On Corps of Engineers lakes in north Mississippi, for example, the Vicksburg District rules say firearms in boats underway or ATVs in transit must be unloaded and cased. It also bars hunting within 1,000 feet of any dam, building, construction site, or public use area unless otherwise marked.
Pro Tip: WMA brochures can override the statewide baseline on dog use, open days, and shooting hours. Read the specific area brochure before you load the dog box.
Shooting Hours and Sunday Hunting Rules for Quail in Mississippi
The MDWFP quail pages do not list quail-specific shooting hours, and the sources I reviewed did not give a firm statewide figure for them. Ultimate Upland notes that hours for migratory game birds run from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset, but quail are not migratory birds, so do not assume that window applies. The MDWFP’s seasons and bag limits page covers legal hunting hours, so check it for the current quail hours.
The same goes for Sunday hunting. I could not confirm a quail-specific Sunday rule from the sources reviewed, so call the MDWFP or read the current hunting digest before you plan a Sunday outing. Public land managers can also set their own open days, which is another reason to read area regulations first.
If you want a Sunday-friendly option, a licensed shooting preserve is worth asking about, since preserve hunts run on their own schedules under the preserve’s license.
Quail Hunting on Public Land and Hunting Preserves in Mississippi
Public land gives you real options. The MDWFP says quail hunting is open on Wildlife Management Areas, National Forests, National Wildlife Refuges, and Corps of Engineers lands, though quail presence varies with habitat quality. Dive Bomb Industries names the Bienville, Homochitto, and DeSoto National Forests, along with WMAs such as Charles Ray Nix and Hell Creek, as places to scout.
The MDWFP also runs quail call-counts on selected WMAs each June, and results are posted on its quail program page. Looking at those numbers is a smart way to pick a starting point.
Shooting Preserves and Released Birds
Preserves solve the scarcity problem. The MDWFP says a hunting license is required to harvest pen-raised quail on a shooting preserve, and a shooting preserve license or dog training permit lets you take more released birds than the bag limit allows or hunt released birds outside the statewide season.
Commercial operations advertise accordingly. Prairie Wildlife in the Black Prairie says its season runs October 1 to April, depending on weather, with unlimited quail, guides, and dogs included. Packages there include hunts of 2.5 to 3 hours for groups of two or three.
Compare the options before you book:
- WMAs and national forests: Free to scout, require a license (plus a WMA permit on WMAs), and demand lots of walking.
- Private land with released birds: Regular season only, and state bag limits apply.
- Shooting preserves: Longer seasons and higher bird numbers, with fees set by the operator.
If you are building out a full Mississippi hunting calendar, our other state guides cover turkey hunting season in Mississippi, bear hunting season in Mississippi, and alligator hunting season in Mississippi.
Plan around the November 26 opener, carry your license and WMA permit, and keep a copy of the MDWFP regulations on your phone. Mississippi’s wild quail rewards hunters who put in the miles, and a preserve hunt is there when you want a guaranteed covey rise.