Game Check, MDWFP's harvest reporting program, is a vital tool for wildlife conservation and sustainable resource management. By accurately reporting your harvest, you help biologists and wildlife officials track population trends, set responsible hunting regulations, and ensure future generations can enjoy Mississippi’s rich outdoor heritage. 

Benefits of Harvest Reporting

  • Monitor populations and harvest data more effectively than an annual hunter survey. The details gathered will improve regulatory decisions and allow for adaptive approaches to management.
  • More thoroughly evaluate the impact of season frameworks on turkeys, deer, hunters, and hunting success.
  • Provide timely and efficient county-level harvest data, allowing MDWFP to identify areas with low harvest rates that we could target as areas that need to be improved.
  • Identify Mississippi's hunting public, which would allow for targeted and species specific surveys to understand the desires of this hunting group.
  • Demonstrate to the hunting community that harvest management and bag limits are important and especially critical to those species that have a season limit.
  • Provide population data that is critical for managing diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease.

How to Report Your Harvest

Wild Turkey Game Check

Wild Turkey Game Check is a program designed to track wild turkey harvest information on a county-by-county basis. Wild Turkey Game Check is required by law and requires all hunters in Mississippi to report their harvest before 10 p.m. on the day of harvest.

Things to Know:

Before You Hunt:

  1. Obtain any required hunting licenses and permits.
  2. Create an account in the MDWFP License System. Learn how to create an account

After You Harvest:

  1. No matter how you are submitting your report, the reporting process must begin before you move the turkey from its harvest location.

After Your Hunt:

  1. You have until 10:00 PM on the day of harvest to submit your required harvest reporting.
  2. There are three ways to submit your Game Check:
    1. Online through the MDWFP License System
    2. Remotely through the MDWFP HuntFish Mobile App
    3. By Phone through 1-800-BE-SMART

Once you complete the harvest-reporting process, you will receive a confirmation number. This number must be documented on the harvest record.

Game Check Instructions

Submitting Game Check via Website:

  1. Sign in to the new MDWFP system.  
  2. Access Game Check 
    • On the landing page, click “Game Check” from the top menu bar. It will be highlighted in gold. 
    • On this screen, you will see options for “Available” and “Submitted” reports. On the “Available” tab you should see “Turkey Game Check” and a green button to “Report Game Check” on the right portion of the screen. Tap the “Report Game Check” button. 
    • This will take you to a game check survey. Fill out the survey with the correct information and click “Next.” On the next screen, click “Save.” 
    • A confirmation number will appear on the screen - record this number for your records
  3.  Review Submitted Surveys 
    • To view past submissions, tap the “Submitted” tab and survey name to see all submitted entries. 

Submitting Game Check via MDWFP HuntFish App:

  1. Download the MDWFP HuntFish Mobile App and sign in.
    1. We recommend doing this prior to heading outdoors, especially if you are a first time user of the new HuntFish app and will require account setup.
  2. Access Game Check and Tags
    • From the home screen, tap the “Game Check and Tags” icon. 
    • Select the “Check Game” at the bottom of the screen.  
    • On the next screen, select a Game Check survey and fill it out. 
  3. Submitting a Game Check Without Internet Connection 
    • If you are in the field without service or an internet connection, you can still submit a Game Check. 
    • Complete the game check process, entering the required information. 
    • Tap “Save”—you will see a pending submission notice on your screen. 
    • Once your device regains service, open your app and verify that the survey shows as completed. 
    • This will validate your report, and you will receive a confirmation via email and in your app inbox. 
  4. Review Submitted Surveys 
    1. To view past submissions, tap the survey name to see all submitted entries. 
    2. Once you've finished, tap back to return to the licensed Game Check view, then tap back again to return to the home screen. 

Submitting Game Check via 1-800-BE-SMART:

  1. Download a Game Check physical form.
    1. This may completed on a simple piece of paper and does not require an official Game Check form.
  2. Once you've harvested a turkey, record the following on your form:
    1. Name
    2. Hunting License Number
    3. Address
    4. Phone Number
    5. Date of Harvest
    6. Beard Length
    7. Spur Length
    8. County of Harvest
  3. You must then submit that information through the MDWFP mobile app, website or by calling 1-800-BE-SMART by 10:00 PM on the day of harvest to complete your required reporting.
  4. You will receive a confirmation number through whichever submission method you used.

White-Tailed Deer Game Check

White-Tailed Deer Game Check is a voluntary program designed to track harvest information on a county-by-county basis. By reporting your deer harvests, you will aid the future of wildlife conservation in Mississippi. 

Things to Know

Before You Hunt:

  1. Obtain any required hunting licenses and permits.
  2. Create an account in the MDWFP License System. Learn how to create an account

There are two ways to submit your Game Check:

  1. Online through the MDWFP License System
  2. Remotely through the MDWFP HuntFish Mobile App

Once you complete the harvest-reporting process, you will receive a confirmation number via email.

Game Check Instructions

Submitting Game Check via Website:

  1. Sign in to the new MDWFP system.  
    • If you have not done so, please create a new account by following these instructions (link to How to log in and create an account.)
  2. Access Game Check 
    • On the landing page, click “Game Check” from the top menu bar. It will be highlighted in gold. 
    • On this screen, you will see options for “Available” and “Submitted” reports. On the “Available” tab you should see “Deer Game Check” and a green button to “Report Game Check” on the right portion of the screen. Tap the “Report Game Check” button. 
    • This will take you to a game check survey. Fill out the survey with the correct information and click “Next.” On the next screen, click “Save.” 
    • A confirmation number will appear on the screen - record this number for your records
  3.  Review Submitted Surveys 
    • To view past submissions, tap the “Submitted” tab and survey name to see all submitted entries.

Submitting Game Check via MDWFP HuntFish App:

  1. Download the MDWFP HuntFish Mobile App and sign in.
    1. We recommend doing this prior to heading outdoors, especially if you are a first time user of the new HuntFish app and will require account setup.
  2. Access Game Check and Tags
    • From the home screen, tap the “Game Check and Tags” icon. 
    • Select the “Check Game” at the bottom of the screen.  
    • On the next screen, select a Game Check survey and fill it out. 
  3. Submitting a Game Check Without Internet Connection 
    • If you are in the field without service or an internet connection, you can still submit a Game Check. 
    • Complete the game check process, entering the required information. 
    • Tap “Save”—you will see a pending submission notice on your screen. 
    • Once your device regains service, open your app and verify that the survey shows as completed. 
    • This will validate your report, and you will receive a confirmation via email and in your app inbox. 
  4. Review Submitted Surveys 
    1. To view past submissions, tap the survey name to see all submitted entries. 
    2. Once you've finished, tap back to return to the licensed Game Check view, then tap back again to return to the home screen. 
Download the MDWFP HuntFish App
Submit your Game Check quickly and conveniently through the new MDWFP HuntFish App!
Download

More Information

App-Placeholder-Image
MDWFP HuntFish App

The Mississippi HuntFish app provides easy access to information and services such as a digital license display, regulations, season dates, game check, and much more.

White-tailed deer - Photo by Monita McCool
White-Tailed Deer Program

The MDWFP White-tailed Deer Program's goal is to provide a quality white-tailed deer population statewide and offer maximum outdoor recreational opportunity to the public without negatively affecting the resource.

Eastern wild turkey
Wild Turkey Program

Over the last three decades, Mississippi has consistently boasted one of the largest turkey populations in the country. The MDWFP Wild Turkey Program is dedicated to the conservation and management of wild turkeys throughout the state.