I haven't hunted Mississippi for a dozen years, but did manage to kill a couple of birds there in 4 trips. I should have bagged a couple more, but didn't, due to hunter error.
I now hunt Alabama each spring, not because I wouldn't give MS a try, but simply because I now have a good friend in Alabama, and enjoy visiting and hunting with him.
Anyway, hunting public land in virtually any state can be challenging, and rewarding. These message boards can be a valuable resource, but, honestly, many resident hunters, will give you either no information at all, or what they do tell you will be misleading. Many states require registration of kills on WMA's. Look those figures up. Compliance is often far from 100%, but it can at least give you an idea of the population of birds. Call the NWTF biologist for the state you are interested in hunting and ask which areas have had good hatches the past few years.
Generally speaking, public areas nearest to population centers are going to be hunted the most. Also public areas in portions of a state with little public land are likely to be heavily hunted. If your schedule allows for it, avoid hunting weekends, ESPECIALLY the first weekend of the season, as everyone and their brother will be in the woods. Southern states have long seasons, and later can often be better, both from the standpoint of working birds, and the number of hunters in the woods. Many guys have short attention spans, and hit it hard at the first of the season, but even if they don't tag out, will get sidetracked with fishing trips, yard work and honeydo's after a few weeks. Also, most nonresidents from up north tend to hunt the beginning of the season, and are gone after the first couple of weeks. Good luck with your plans. Neill
