Louisiana hunting and fishing laws

If you were born on or after September 1, 1969, you must complete a Hunter Education Course. You are exempt while hunting under the direct supervision of a licensed Louisiana hunter born before Sept. 1, 1969, or of someone 18 years old and over holding a valid unrestricted Louisiana license. Supervision means audible voice range and direct line of sight at all times while hunting.

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Residents and nonresident hunters age 18 or older must have a Basic Hunting License. Those under 18 hunting game other than deer or turkey, or merely spectating, need no license, while youth hunting deer or turkey need a Youth Hunting License.

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Applies to: Deer

RS 56:143 requires not less than four hundred square inches of material of a daylight fluorescent orange color, or blaze pink, displayed on the head, chest and/or back by any person hunting during open gun deer season while possessing buckshot, slugs, a muzzleloader or a centerfire rifle.

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Applies to: Deer

On posted private land you may instead wear a cap or a hat that is completely covered with hunter orange or blaze pink material. Hunters in elevated stands on posted private land are exempt, as are archery hunters on posted land where firearm hunting is prohibited by owner or lessee agreement.

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Louisiana has no statewide Sunday hunting restriction; seasons run seven days a week, and the bear season by rule runs through a Sunday. Check individual WMA and refuge schedules for area-specific hunting days.

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Hunting hours for resident game birds and animals are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. WMAs and federal lands may differ.

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Applies to: Deer

Bait is defined as any substance used to attract game via ingestion. Baiting, hunting over bait, or possession of bait is prohibited on all WMAs, although bait may be kept in a vehicle traversing or parked on a WMA road. Private land is not covered by that prohibition, so baiting deer on private land is permitted, and that reading is by omission and worth a direct pamphlet confirmation.

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Applies to: Bear

Bear hunting is by lottery permit only. Hunting over raw or processed bait and using a scent lure are allowed during the bait period the department sets by rule each year, but raw sweet potatoes and chocolate may not be used as bait or scent.

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Applies to: Furbearers

Outlaw quadrupeds, meaning feral hogs, coyotes and armadillos, may be taken from one-half hour after official sunset to one-half hour before official sunrise by the landowner, lessee or agent holding the landowner's written permission and contact information in his possession.

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Applies to: Furbearers

Any legal firearm may be used with or without the aid of artificial light, infrared, or laser sighting devices or night vision devices, and suppressors are allowed with a valid ATF permit. The hunter must notify the parish sheriff's office within 24 hours in advance of any such activity or immediately upon taking the animal.

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Applies to: Deer

Before hunting, get carcass or electronic deer tags. Immediately upon harvest, tag the deer before moving it, recording the date and parish, and validate within 72 hours by text-to-tag, the LDWF web portal or LA Wallet, or by phone. Evidence of sex, including the head or sex organs, must stay on the deer while in camp or the field or en route home, until it is tagged and validated.

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Louisiana law prohibits entering another's land without express, legal or implied authorization, so get the landowner's permission before hunting. Land may be posted with purple paint: vertical lines at least 8 inches long and 1 inch wide, 3 to 5 feet off the ground, no more than 100 feet apart on forest land (1,000 feet on other land).

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