Mississippi Duck Season 2026-2027: Dates, Bag Limits & Rules
Duck season in Mississippi for 2026-2027 follows the state’s familiar late-November opening, with a short split tease in early December before the long main run carries hunters through the end of January. Mississippi uses a single statewide waterfowl season — there are no duck hunting zones to track — and the 2026-2027 season includes a three-way split: a two-day November opener, a three-day December teaser, and a main stretch from December 9 through January 31. Before you go afield, remember that migratory bird regulations can change, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) is always the final word on season dates, bag limits, and public land rules. Verify current rules with MDWFP before every hunt.
For a broader look at hunting across the state, see our complete guide to Mississippi hunting seasons.
Mississippi Duck Season 2026-2027 at a Glance
| Information | 2026-2027 Details |
|---|---|
| Regular Duck Season | Nov. 27–29, Dec. 4–6, and Dec. 9–Jan. 31 (statewide, three segments) |
| Hunting Zones | None — one statewide season |
| Daily Bag Limit | 6 ducks (with species restrictions below) |
| Possession Limit | 3× the daily bag limit (18 ducks) |
| Shooting Hours | One-half hour before sunrise to sunset |
| Youth Waterfowl Days | Feb. 6–7 (same bag limits and shooting hours as regular season) |
| Veteran/Military Days | Feb. 6–7 (combined with youth days) |
| Early Teal Season | Sept. 19–27, 2026; daily limit 6, possession 18 |
| Required License | Mississippi hunting license (or exempt status) |
| Mississippi Waterfowl Stamp | Required, age 16+ ($10 resident / $19 nonresident) |
| Federal Duck Stamp | Required, age 16+ ($29 as electronic stamp through MDWFP) |
| HIP Registration | Required, free, completed when buying your license |
Mississippi Duck Season Dates for 2026-2027
The 2026-2027 duck, merganser, and coot season is official and statewide. It is split into three segments:
Statewide Regular Duck Season
| Segment | Dates |
|---|---|
| Segment 1 | Nov. 27–29, 2026 |
| Segment 2 | Dec. 4–6, 2026 |
| Segment 3 (main season) | Dec. 9, 2026 – Jan. 31, 2027 |
Opening day is Friday, Nov. 27, 2026, and the season closes Sunday, Jan. 31, 2027. The short November and early-December segments give hunters early looks at arriving birds before the main run, when the bulk of the season’s 40+ hunting days fall across the heart of the winter migration.
If you also hunt geese, note that the regular goose season (Canada, snow, blue, Ross’s, white-fronted, and brant) runs Nov. 13–29, Dec. 4–6, and Dec. 9–Jan. 31 — opening two weeks earlier than ducks. The September Canada goose season runs Sept. 1–30, 2026 (closed on Roebuck Lake in Leflore County).
Mississippi Duck Hunting Zones
Mississippi does not divide the state into duck hunting zones. The duck, merganser, and coot season dates and bag limits above apply statewide, from the Delta’s flooded timber to the Gulf Coast marshes. This makes trip planning simple: wherever you hunt in the state, the same season segments, bag limits, and shooting hours apply.
That said, local rules still matter. Individual wildlife management areas (WMAs) and national wildlife refuges can impose their own access systems, blind requirements, and draw hunts, so always check the rules for the specific property you plan to hunt — details are covered in the public land section below.
Mississippi Duck Season Bag Limits
The 2026-2027 daily bag limit is 6 ducks, with the following species restrictions:
| Duck Species | Daily Limit | Important Restrictions |
|---|---|---|
| Mallard | 4 | No more than 2 may be hens |
| Hen Mallard | 2 | Counted within the 4-mallard limit |
| Wood Duck | 3 | Sub-limit within the 6-duck total |
| Northern Pintail | 3 | Sub-limit within the 6-duck total |
| Canvasback | 2 | Sub-limit within the 6-duck total |
| Redhead | 2 | Sub-limit within the 6-duck total |
| Scaup | 1 or 2 | 1 per day Nov. 27–29, Dec. 4–6 and Dec. 9–17; 2 per day Dec. 18–Jan. 31 |
| Black Duck | 2 | Sub-limit within the 6-duck total |
| Mottled Duck | 1 | Sub-limit within the 6-duck total |
| Other Ducks | — | Fill out the 6-duck total; mergansers and coots have separate limits — see the official regulations |
The possession limit is three times the daily bag limit — 18 ducks — for all migratory game birds in Mississippi.
Two details deserve attention. First, the scaup restriction is date-sensitive: you may take only one scaup per day through Dec. 17, then the limit rises to two per day for the rest of the season. Because scaup (bluebills) often show up in big numbers on Mississippi’s oxbow lakes and coastal waters, that’s a restriction worth remembering in the field. Second, the one-mottled-duck cap reflects the species’ limited Gulf Coast population — if you hunt the coastal marshes, be certain of your identification before shooting.
What License Do You Need to Hunt Ducks in Mississippi?
Ducks require more paperwork than almost any other game in Mississippi. Here’s the full stack:
Mississippi Hunting License
- Residents 16 and older need a valid Mississippi hunting license — options include the Small Game Hunting/Freshwater Fishing license ($10), All Game Hunting/Freshwater Fishing license ($25), or Sportsman License ($45).
- Nonresidents 16 and older need a nonresident hunting license — a Small Game Hunting license ($95) or All Game Hunting license ($300), plus shorter options like a 7-Day Small Game license ($38).
- Hunters under 16 are exempt from Mississippi license and waterfowl stamp requirements (a voluntary license is available for under-16 hunters).
Mississippi Waterfowl Stamp
Every person 16 and older hunting waterfowl in Mississippi must hold the State Waterfowl Stamp — sold as an electronic privilege through MDWFP’s licensing system. It costs $10 for residents and $19 for nonresidents. Note that even the $45 Sportsman License does not include the waterfowl stamp; it must be purchased separately. A Federal Duck Stamp is also required (see below).
Federal Duck Stamp
All waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and older must carry a current Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. The 2026-2027 stamp costs $25 if purchased physically and $29 when bought as an electronic stamp (E-Stamp) through MDWFP’s licensing system. Under the Duck Stamp Modernization Act of 2023, Mississippi is one of the states authorized to sell E-Stamps: you receive an immediate proof of purchase valid for the season, and the physical stamp is mailed after March 10. If you buy a physical stamp, it must be signed to be valid for hunting — a retail receipt is not a legal substitute. Stamps are valid July 1 through June 30 of the following year. Details are available from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Duck Stamp program.
HIP Registration
The Harvest Information Program (HIP) is a free federal-state registration required of all licensed migratory bird hunters, every year, in every state they hunt. When you buy your Mississippi license you’ll answer a short survey about last season’s harvest — that data helps MDWFP estimate harvest, set frameworks, and guide conservation. HIP registration costs nothing but is mandatory; you’re not legal without it.
Summary Table
| Requirement | Resident | Nonresident | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunting License | Required 16+ | Required 16+ | Under 16 exempt |
| HIP Registration | Required | Required | Free; done at license purchase |
| Mississippi Waterfowl Stamp | Required 16+ ($10) | Required 16+ ($19) | Electronic privilege |
| Federal Duck Stamp | Required 16+ ($25/$29) | Required 16+ ($25/$29) | E-Stamp valid; physical stamp must be signed |
Mississippi Duck Hunting License Costs for 2026-2027
| License or Permit | Resident Cost | Nonresident Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Hunting License | $10 (Small Game) / $25 (All Game) / $45 (Sportsman) | $95 (Small Game) / $300 (All Game) / $150 (7-Day All Game) / $38 (7-Day Small Game) |
| Waterfowl Stamp/Validation | $10 | $19 |
| Federal Duck Stamp | $25 physical / $29 electronic | $25 physical / $29 electronic |
| HIP Registration | Free | Free |
| WMA User Permit (if using WMAs) | $15 | $30 |
| Youth (under 16) | Exempt (voluntary license available) | Exempt |
A few notes: all annual licenses are valid for one year from the date of issuance, a small processing fee applies at purchase, and the nonresident processing fee was reduced to $2.49 for 2026-2027. If you plan to hunt WMAs, the WMA User Permit is required before any use of a WMA. Lifetime licenses are also available for residents ($500 birth–12; $1,000 age 13+), but they do not include the waterfowl stamp.
Youth Waterfowl Hunting Days in Mississippi
Mississippi’s Youth, Veteran, and Active Military Waterfowl Days run Feb. 6–7, 2027 — a dedicated weekend after the regular season closes, giving young and service-connected hunters the ducks to themselves.
- Eligible ages: Youth waterfowl hunts are for hunters under 16 years old.
- Supervision: Youth must be accompanied by a licensed adult; the adult accompanying a youth hunter may not hunt during the youth portion.
- Licenses and stamps: Hunters under 16 are exempt from Mississippi license, waterfowl stamp, and Federal Duck Stamp requirements. Adults accompanying them need their licenses even though they can’t shoot.
- Bag limits and hours: Same as the regular season — a 6-duck daily limit with all species restrictions, and shooting hours from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.
Veteran and Active-Duty Military Waterfowl Hunting Days
Veterans and active-duty military waterfowl hunters share the Feb. 6–7, 2027 special hunt days with youth hunters. Veterans (as defined under federal migratory bird frameworks — those who served in the active U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, or Coast Guard, including reservists and National Guard members called to active duty) and current active-duty members may participate.
- Documentation: Carry proof of service status, such as a military ID, veteran designation on a driver’s license, or other qualifying documentation.
- Licenses and stamps: All standard requirements apply — hunting license, Mississippi waterfowl stamp, Federal Duck Stamp, and HIP.
- Bag limits: Regular season bag limits and shooting hours apply.
These days are distinct from the regular season: they occur after the Jan. 31 close and are reserved solely for youth, veteran, and active military hunters.
Early Teal Season in Mississippi
Yes — Mississippi offers an early teal season ahead of the regular duck season:
- Season dates: Sept. 19–27, 2026
- Legal species: Blue-winged, green-winged, and cinnamon teal
- Daily bag limit: 6 teal
- Possession limit: 18
- Shooting hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset
- Required licenses/permits: Standard requirements apply — a valid hunting license (if 16+), Mississippi waterfowl stamp (16+), Federal Duck Stamp (16+), and HIP registration.
Early teal regulations differ from the regular duck season in an important way: the 6-bird limit applies to teal only, so be certain of identification — early September mornings can also bring wood ducks and other puddle ducks that aren’t legal during the teal-only season. Weather in late September is warm, so plan for birds that are active early and late and often high-flying.
Mississippi Duck Hunting Shooting Hours
Legal shooting hours for ducks and all migratory game birds in Mississippi are one-half hour before sunrise until sunset. The same hours apply during the early teal season and the special February youth/veteran/military days. The only exception in the migratory framework involves the Light Goose Conservation Order, which has its own rules.
Keep in mind that some public hunting areas — particularly managed waterfowl WMAs and refuges — may post entry times or access rules that differ from the statewide standard, so verify local property rules before your first morning afield.
Where Can You Hunt Ducks in Mississippi?
Public Land
Mississippi offers extensive public waterfowl hunting. MDWFP manages more than 50 wildlife management areas across roughly 665,000 acres, and a large share of them are actively managed for waterfowl — flooded timber, greentree reservoirs, and moist-soil units concentrated in the Mississippi Delta. Nationally significant destinations include national wildlife refuges such as Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee, Coldwater River, Dahomey, and Tallahatchie (the latter three requiring Mississippi’s North Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge Permit, $15 resident / $15 nonresident, in addition to standard licenses).
Remember that every WMA and refuge layer adds its own rules: the statewide WMA User Permit ($15 resident / $30 nonresident) is required before any use of a WMA, and individual areas may restrict access days, boat motors, blind locations, or parking.
Private Land
Most of Mississippi’s duck hunting — especially the famous flooded timber and flooded agricultural fields of the Delta — happens on private land. You must have landowner permission; Mississippi trespassing laws apply, and written permission is strongly recommended. Outfitters and leases are common, particularly around Greenville, Greenwood, and the managed waterfowl impoundments of the alluvial plain.
Public Hunting Draws and Reservations
MDWFP runs WMA draw hunts for waterfowl. Each fall, the agency accepts applications (historically through early-to-mid October) for waterfowl draw hunts on selected WMAs; drawn hunters receive assigned access on specified days. Applications are submitted through MDWFP, and results are typically announced before the season opens. If you want a shot at the state’s most managed, high-quality public waterfowl hunts, apply during the application window — and check the MDWFP waterfowl program page each summer for the exact deadline, since it can shift year to year.
Important Mississippi Duck Hunting Regulations
Key rules that apply to duck hunting in Mississippi:
- Non-toxic shot is mandatory. You must use USFWS-approved non-toxic shot for all ducks, geese, and coots.
- Shotguns: Federal migratory bird rules apply — shotguns must be incapable of holding more than three shells unless plugged, and fully automatic firearms are prohibited.
- Electronic calls: Electronic calls are not permitted for regular duck hunting (they are allowed only during the special Light Goose Conservation Order).
- Baiting: Hunting migratory game birds with the aid of bait, or over a baited area, is a federal violation.
- Wanton waste: You may not waste or abandon edible parts of game birds you harvest.
- Species identification: You’re responsible for identifying every bird before firing — critical given the scaup date change, the one-mottled-duck limit, and mallard hen caps.
- Retrieval: Make reasonable efforts to retrieve downed birds; a trained dog helps in flooded timber.
- Transportation: Harvested migratory birds should be kept identifiable — one fully feathered wing or head must remain attached while being transported until the birds reach your home or a processing facility.
- Public lands: No refuse, offal, or feathers may be left on public lands, and individual WMA/refuge rules layer on top of statewide regulations.
Best Ducks to Hunt in Mississippi
Mississippi sits squarely in the Mississippi Flyway, and the state’s mix of flooded timber, oxbow lakes, rice and soybean fields, and coastal marsh supports a wide range of species:
- Mallard: The Delta’s flooded timber and flooded bean fields are classic mallard country, with the best action typically from mid-December through January as northern birds push down behind cold fronts.
- Wood Duck: Abundant throughout the state’s bottomlands, creeks, and beaver swamps — Mississippi’s 3-wood-duck limit is generous, and early-season segments often produce fast wood duck action at first light.
- Gadwall: One of the most commonly harvested ducks in the state; they favor shallow flooded fields and moist-soil units and stack up in the Delta all winter.
- Green-winged Teal: Late-season favorites, arriving in numbers with colder weather; they decoy readily on small water.
- Northern Shoveler and American Wigeon: Common in managed moist-soil and shallow impoundments across the Delta.
- Northern Pintail: Early migrants that show up with the November opener on big water and flooded fields.
- Scaup (Bluebill): Common on the Mississippi River oxbows and coastal waters — remember the one-bird limit until Dec. 18.
- Canvasback and Redhead: Present in limited numbers, mostly on larger open water near the coast and big rivers.
- Mottled Duck: Year-round residents of Gulf Coast marshes; the strict one-per-day cap applies, so identification matters.
Exact migration timing varies with weather — northern cold fronts are the most reliable driver of when fresh birds reach Mississippi.
Tips for Hunting During the Mississippi Duck Season
- Scout before every hunt. Mississippi water levels swing quickly with rain and river stages. The same slough that held hundreds of gadwall in December can be dry — or flooded into the timber — a week later.
- Watch the weather up north. The first two November days and the early-December teaser often depend on whether cold fronts have pushed fresh mallards and wood ducks south. Follow migration reports and plan your main-season days around big pushes.
- Match your spread to the water. In flooded timber, small spreads of 6–18 decoys with a good drain-hole landing zone work well; on oxbow lakes and the river, larger rafts of diver and puddle duck decoys pull birds from a distance.
- Call less in the timber. Mississippi ducks — especially mallards and wood ducks in pressured public areas — hear plenty of calling. Subtle, confident hen chatter and whistling for wood ducks and wigeon often out-produce aggressive calling.
- Concealment is everything. Mississippi’s flooded timber can leave you exposed; use natural brush and keep faces covered. On the coast and big water, low-profile boat blinds are essential.
- Work the wind. Set up so birds finish into the wind on your landing hole, and reposition if birds won’t commit.
- Identify before shooting. With the scaup date split and mottled duck cap, confirm species before you shoot — it’s both a legal and a courtesy issue for your party.
- Check access and water levels. Call or check MDWFP’s WMA waterfowl condition updates before public-land trips; boat ramps and access roads can flood or close.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mississippi Duck Season
When does duck season start in Mississippi for 2026-2027?
The regular statewide duck season opens Nov. 27, 2026, runs Nov. 27–29 and Dec. 4–6, then resumes Dec. 9 and continues through Jan. 31, 2027.
How many ducks can you shoot in Mississippi?
The daily bag limit is 6 ducks, with sub-limits: 4 mallards (max 2 hens), 3 wood ducks, 3 pintail, 2 canvasback, 2 redhead, 2 black duck, 1 mottled duck, and 1 scaup per day (2 per day from Dec. 18–Jan. 31). The possession limit is three times the daily limit.
Do you need a duck stamp to hunt in Mississippi?
Yes — hunters 16 and older need both the Mississippi State Waterfowl Stamp ($10 resident / $19 nonresident) and the Federal Duck Stamp ($25 physical / $29 electronic), plus a hunting license and free HIP registration.
Does Mississippi have duck hunting zones?
No. The 2026-2027 duck season dates, bag limits, and shooting hours apply statewide with no zones.
What are the shooting hours for ducks in Mississippi?
One-half hour before sunrise to sunset for all migratory game birds, including during teal season and the special February hunt days.
Is there an early teal season in Mississippi?
Yes — Sept. 19–27, 2026, with a 6-teal daily limit and 18-bird possession limit, requiring the same licenses and stamps as regular waterfowl hunting.
What are the youth and veteran waterfowl days in Mississippi?
Feb. 6–7, 2027, for youth hunters (under 16) plus veterans and active-duty military. Bag limits and shooting hours match the regular season, and adults accompanying youth may not hunt.
Can nonresidents duck hunt in Mississippi?
Yes. Nonresidents need a nonresident hunting license (annual, 7-day, or short-term options), the $19 nonresident waterfowl stamp, a Federal Duck Stamp, and HIP registration — plus a WMA User Permit for public lands.
Before You Hunt: Check the Latest Mississippi Regulations
Migratory bird regulations, public land rules, WMA access conditions, and emergency closures can change from year to year — and even mid-season. The 2026-2027 details in this guide reflect the official MDWFP-published regulations as of September 8, 2026, but you should always confirm current rules with MDWFP immediately before heading afield, especially when hunting WMAs, national wildlife refuges, or draw-hunt areas.