Louisiana
500,000
Est. Whitetail Population
294,000
No. Licenses Sold Annually
$35
Basic hunting and big-game licenses are $20. Bow and primitive firearm license are $15 each.
Resident hunting license and deer permit
$300
Basic hunting and big-game licenses are $200. Deer licenses are $100.
Non-resident hunting license and deer permit
184 6/8"
Taken by John Lee in Madison Parish in 1943.
Record B&C Typical Stat
62
Total B&C Typical Entries
281 6/8"
Taken by James H. McMurray in Tensas Parish in 1994 and ranks 19th overall.
Record B&C Non-Typical Stat
29
Record B&C Non-Typical Entries
Check out the latest info for Louisiana. Image by J. Edwards
Season Dates (2024):
Louisiana is broken into 10 deer areas, and rules and regulations vary greatly in each. Please check the LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE & FISHERIES (LDFW) WEBSITE for specific season dates. Most archery seasons open Sept. 21 or Oct. 1 this year. Primitive Firearms seasons, Firearms seasons, Firearms with Dogs seasons, and Youth and Honorably Discharged Veterans seasons follow, with openers generally falling in late October through mid-November, and closing dates in late January.
The Grade: B
Louisiana is becoming a southern sleeper state for big whitetails, with abundant opportunities for both resident and no-resident hunters. Bag limits are generally six deer per season, with no more than three of them being antlered and no more than four being antlerless.
Antler Nation Knowledge:
Been asking Santa for a big Louisiana buck? It’s pretty clear where your best odds are. Some of the best trophy bucks are along the Mississippi River and parishes within the floodplain. Realtree’s Tyler Jordan bagged one of his biggest bucks to date, a 190 4/8-inch stud, at Honey Brake in Catahoula Parish in December of 2020.
Numbers and body size are best in the state along the river basin. It has the nutrients and food sources to produce better body sizes and antler development. More specifically, Avoyelles, Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, Natchitoches, Rapides, and Tensas parishes consistently crank out studs. Most of the remaining parishes in the northern half of the state create the next tier of big-buck producers. There are also a few hotspots in the middle of the state, but the coastal areas have a smaller deer population, in number and in size.
“The Mississippi Alluvial Valley is well known for producing large-bodied and large-antlered bucks in Louisiana,” said deer program manager Johnathan Bordelon. “However, portions of western and northwestern Louisiana are often overlooked. Many of these areas are managed for older-age bucks, and they produce their fair share.”
Some of these big deer are taken on public land. Certain wildlife management areas, conservation areas, national forests, refuges, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lands and other property types are open to hunting, totaling more than 1.6 million acres. These are scattered across the state, providing opportunities for people to hunt all of the state’s physiographic regions. Sure, some spots are under water (for duck hunting), but pockets of quality deer habitat exist. Use the LOUISIANA OUTDOOR EXPLORER MAP to find a public hunting spot near you.
Finally, for those with extended time to hunt, the breeding season in Louisiana spans a four-month window, depending on location. The wide range in dates allows hunters to pursue rutting deer during an extended period if they are willing to travel and hunt in different breeding zones.
“Harvest trends have revealed an increase in reported and estimated harvest in recent years,” Bordelon said. “Louisiana has a diverse range of breeding dates across the state depending on region, this provides an opportunity for hunters to pursue deer during the rut over an approximate four-month period, depending on location.”
