This is Louisiana's published 2026-27 season, the whole state at once. A pin reads its deer area off the map and cuts this to the seasons, arms and limits that apply there.
Louisiana deer seasons
2026-27
3 antlered deer per licence year. Six deer a season, no more than three antlered or four antlerless — except Area 1 (six, no more than two antlered or five antlerless), Area 4 (four, no more than two antlered or two antlerless) and Area 10 (three, no more than two antlered or two antlerless). The daily limit everywhere is one antlered and one antlerless, when legal. Regulations, printed pp. 14 and 38.
Archery
Bow or crossbowPrinted in 4 columns — check which covers your deer area.Four to five months, opening in September or October depending on the area.
Areas 1, 2 and 4
Oct 1 – Jan 31Either sexAgainst the area's season limit — six deer in Areas 1 and 2, four in Area 4.
Areas 3, 7, 8 and 10
Sep 19 – Jan 15Either sexAgainst the area's season limit — six deer in Areas 3, 7 and 8, three in Area 10.
Area 6
Oct 1–15Antlered onlyOct 16 – Feb 15Either sexSix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
Areas 5 and 9
Oct 1–15Antlered onlyOct 16 – Nov 22Either sexNov 23–26Antlered onlyNov 27–29Either sexNov 30 – Dec 11Antlered onlyDec 12–13Either sexDec 14–18Antlered onlyDec 19–20Either sexDec 21 – Jan 31Antlered onlyFeb 1–15Either sexSix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
- The deer licence covers archery and primitive firearms as well as the gun seasons, and includes the tags. Regulations, printed p. 6.
- In Areas 5, 6 and 9 the first fortnight of October is bucks only, and in Areas 5 and 9 archery turns bucks-only again whenever a bucks-only firearms season is running. Regulations, printed p. 38.
- Areas 1, 2 and 6 each run an extra bucks-only archery season, with or without velvet, inside the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone only — Area 1 on 12-20 September, Area 2 on 29 August to 6 September, Area 6 on 12-20 September. This app does not resolve the CWD zone, so they are not in the calendar. Regulations, printed p. 38.
- An archer hunting where firearm hunting is not allowed by agreement of the landowner or lessee is exempt from hunter orange; everywhere else, orange is required whenever a firearms deer season is in progress. Regulations, printed p. 26.
Primitive Firearms
Primitive firearmPrinted in 4 columns — check which covers your deer area.A week in autumn and a week in winter, on dates the area sets.
Areas 1, 4 and 6
Nov 14–20Either sexJan 25–31Either sexAgainst the area's season limit.
Area 2
Oct 24–30Either sexJan 18–24Either sexSix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
Areas 3, 7, 8 and 10
Oct 10–16Either sexJan 4–10Either sexAgainst the area's season limit — six deer, or three in Area 10.
Areas 5 and 9
Nov 14–20Either sexJan 25–31Antlered onlySix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
- The deer licence includes primitive firearms privileges. Regulations, printed p. 6.
- Areas 5 and 9 close their late January primitive week to antlerless deer: it is bucks only. Regulations, printed p. 38.
- Anyone hunting any wildlife during an open firearms deer season while carrying buckshot, slugs, a primitive firearm or a centrefire firearm must display 400 square inches of hunter orange or blaze pink. Regulations, printed p. 26.
Firearms, Still-hunt Only
Any legal firearm, still-hunting only — no dogsPrinted in 6 columns — check which covers your deer area.The long firearms stretch, hunted without dogs.
Areas 1 and 4
Nov 21 – Dec 11Either sexJan 4–24Either sexAgainst the area's season limit — six deer in Area 1, four in Area 4.
Area 2
Oct 31 – Dec 9Either sexSix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
Areas 3, 7 and 8
Oct 17 – Nov 29Either sexSix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
Area 6
Nov 21 – Dec 11Either sexSix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
Areas 5 and 9
Nov 21–22Either sexNov 23–26Antlered onlyNov 27–29Either sexNov 30 – Dec 11Antlered onlySix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
Area 10
Oct 17 – Jan 3Either sexThree deer, no more than two antlered or two antlerless.
- Still-hunting means without dogs. Louisiana splits its firearms season into a still-hunt stretch and, in nine of the ten areas, a stretch where dogs may be used. Regulations, printed p. 38.
- In Areas 5 and 9 this stretch alternates between either-sex and bucks-only every few days. Regulations, printed p. 38.
- 400 square inches of hunter orange or blaze pink on head, chest and/or back — or, on private land, a cap or hat in one of those colours instead. Regulations, printed p. 26.
Firearms, with or without Dogs
Any legal firearm, with or without dogsPrinted in 5 columns — check which covers your deer area.The stretch when deer may be hunted with dogs — in nine of the ten areas.
Areas 1 and 4
Dec 12 – Jan 3Either sexAgainst the area's season limit.
Area 2
Dec 10 – Jan 17Either sexSix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
Areas 3, 7 and 8
Nov 30 – Jan 3Either sexSix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
Area 6
Dec 12 – Jan 24Either sexSix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
Areas 5 and 9
Dec 12–13Either sexDec 14–18Antlered onlyDec 19–20Either sexDec 21 – Jan 24Antlered onlySix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
- Area 10 has no dog season at all. Regulations, printed p. 38.
- In Areas 5 and 9 this stretch alternates between either-sex and bucks-only, and most of it is bucks only. Regulations, printed p. 38.
- Deer may not be taken with the aid of dogs on private land completely surrounded by a wildlife management area. Regulations, printed p. 47.
- 400 square inches of hunter orange or blaze pink. Regulations, printed p. 26.
Youth and Honourably Discharged Veterans
Any legal firearmPrinted in 3 columns — check which covers your deer area.A week on private land, either-sex, before the main firearms seasons open.
Areas 1, 4, 5, 6 and 9
Oct 31 – Nov 6Either sexAgainst the area's season limit.
Area 2
Oct 10–16Either sexSix deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
Areas 3, 7, 8 and 10
Sep 26 – Oct 2Either sexAgainst the area's season limit.
- Private land only. Regulations, printed p. 38.
- Either-sex in every area that runs it. Regulations, printed p. 38.
- A physically challenged season, also either-sex and also on private land, runs 3-4 October statewide. Regulations, printed p. 38.
New This Season
What changed since last year, and is therefore easiest to get wrong.
- The possession limit for Deer Area 1 has changed to six per season, not to exceed two antlered or five antlerless deer.
Legal Arms
Louisiana 2026-2027 Hunting & WMA Regulations weapon specifications, as the digest prints them.
Archery
Regulations, printed pp. 28 and 38
- Bows and crossbows, throughout the archery season.
Primitive firearms
Regulations, printed p. 28
- Primitive firearms as the regulations define them, during the primitive firearms season.
Firearms
Regulations, printed pp. 28, 38 and 47
- Any legal firearm during the firearms seasons.
- Dogs, during the stretch of the firearms season the area sets aside for them — in nine of the ten areas.
- Dogs at any time in Area 10, and dogs on private land completely surrounded by a WMA.
Hunting Hours and Orange
What the state defines as legal light, and what has to be worn in it.
Legal Shooting Hours
Regulations, printed p. 14
Half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. Wildlife management areas and federal lands set their own hours — check the individual schedule.
Fluorescent Orange
Regulations, printed p. 26
Not less than 400 square inches of hunter orange or blaze pink on the head, chest and/or back. Required of anyone hunting any wildlife during an open firearms deer season while carrying buckshot, slugs, a primitive firearm or a centrefire firearm. On privately owned land a hunter orange or blaze pink cap or hat may be worn instead of the 400 square inches. A hunter in an elevated stand on private land is exempt — but must wear it walking to and from the stand where firearm hunting is allowed. An archer on land where the owner or lessee does not allow firearm hunting is exempt entirely.
Sundays
Regulations, which print no Sunday exception for deer
Louisiana sets no Sunday restriction on deer hunting: every season runs each day it is open.
Standing Rules
The parts of the digest that are true every day of the season.
Bag limits
Regulations, printed pp. 14 and 38
- Daily: one antlered and one antlerless deer, where antlerless is legal.
- Season: six deer, no more than three antlered or four antlerless.
- Area 1: six, no more than two antlered or five antlerless.
- Area 4: four, no more than two antlered or two antlerless.
- Area 10: three, no more than two antlered or two antlerless.
Tagging and validation
Regulations, printed p. 22
Tag the deer with the appropriate carcass or electronic tag before it is moved from the harvest site. Record the date of kill against the tag number on the harvest report card portion of the deer licence, or report electronically. Record the date and parish of kill on the carcass tag, or report that electronically too. The tag stays attached to the deer at camp and while it is carried to the hunter's home or to cold storage.
Wildlife management areas
Regulations, printed pp. 47 and following
- A WMA Access Permit is required to use any LDWF-administered land; hunters 17 and under are exempt.
- A self-clearing permit is required for all activities on a WMA — check in before the day's activity and check out on leaving.
- Hunters may enter no earlier than 4 a.m. and must be out no later than two hours after sunset.
- WMA deer seasons are for legal antlered deer unless the individual schedule says otherwise.
- Private land completely surrounded by a WMA follows the state seasons, not the WMA's — except that deer may not be taken there with the aid of dogs, the owner must join the deer management assistance programme, and baiting is not allowed.
- Drones are prohibited on WMAs, and trail cameras are prohibited during turkey season.
Tagging and Reporting
The clock that starts the moment the deer is down.
Regulations, printed p. 22
Every deer must be reported tag before the deer is moved from the harvest site.
- Attach the carcass tag, or validate the electronic tag, before moving the deer
- Record the date of kill against that tag number on the harvest report card portion of the deer licence, or report electronically
- Record the date and parish of kill on the carcass tag, or report it electronically
- The tag stays attached at camp, and on the way to your home or to cold storage
Where This App Is Coarser Than the Digest
Said plainly, because an absence is easy to read as a permission.
- Deer areas follow rivers and highways, not parishes, so this state is resolved against a shipped boundary layer — LDWF's own Deer_Areas_2015. That layer carries a 2015 vintage in its name; Louisiana's ten deer areas have been stable since, but check LDWF's own map on printed p. 14 if a pin lands near a boundary.
- Areas 5 and 9 alternate between either-sex and bucks-only every few days from late November to late January, and archery follows the firearms season's colour: "Either-sex (unless a Bucks Only season is in progress)". Those alternations are transcribed block by block here, but they are intricate enough to be worth checking against the printed schedule before you shoot a doe.
- Areas 1, 2 and 6 each run an extra bucks-only archery season inside the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone only. This app does not resolve that zone, so those seasons are not in the calendar — see the flag on the area and printed p. 38.
- Wildlife management areas, wildlife conservation areas and the federal lands each run their own deer schedule, and a WMA deer season is for antlered deer only unless its own listing says otherwise. None of that is in the season table.
- LDWF's breeding-date map splits Louisiana into fortnightly bands running from late September to late February — the earliest ground is the southwest coast and the latest is the Atchafalaya basin and the Florida parishes — which is why the firearms seasons run into late January in some areas and end in early January in others. The rut meter carries one date, 15 December, and a pin two parishes away can be a month from it. The department also warns that peak buck movement runs one to two weeks ahead of peak breeding, which is what the meter's own curve does. The map is not carried parish by parish because it is not drawn parish by parish: its bands cut through parishes and through the deer areas, and many parishes hold two or more of them, so there is no parish or area the map gives a single date to.
- Louisiana publishes no open statewide parcel service, so there are no property lines on the map here.
Useful Numbers
The agency, when the app cannot answer it.
- Deer programme
- Dr Jeffrey Duguay, [email protected]
- Seasons and regulations
- wlf.louisiana.gov/page/seasons-and-regulations
- Lottery hunts
- wlf.la.gov/page/lottery-hunts
Transcribed from the published 2026-27 Louisiana digest. Where this app and the digest disagree, the digest is the law. Read the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries digest.