Louisiana Hunters: Big Rule Changes Coming for 2025–2026 Season

🐊 KNGT 🐊 | Louisiana — Louisiana hunters will see a lot of new rules for the 2025–2026 season. Its that time again where the hunters need to sit down and read the rules to make sure you dont get a big ticket for doing something wrong. Lots of rules have changes and I recommend going to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Website to review them before hunting season starts.

Louisiana New  Hunting Licenses, No More FOMO for Non-Residents

If you live outside Louisiana and like to hunt here, there’s good news: Non-Resident Lifetime Licenses now exist. That means a non-resident can buy one license and use it for life, no having to renew every year.

Deer Rules Got a Shakeup in Louisiana

In Deer Area 4, hunters used to be allowed to take 3 deer. Now they can take 4 deer, but there’s a catch: at most 2 antlered (male deer) or 2 antlerless (female deer). So you have to balance what you take, can’t take 4 of only one type.

Also, the “Primitive Firearms Season” is special. If you are 65 or older, you may use any legal weapon during that special deer season, in every deer area. So older hunters get more flexibility.

Changes for Small and Weird Creatures

There is no daily limit on nutria anymore. If you want, you could trap or shoot as many as allowed by other rules.

The pintail duck bag (how many you are allowed to take) changed: it used to be 1 pintail per day; now it’s 3 pintails per day, but you can take no more than 1 female.

In turkey hunting, some areas in East Carroll Parish have new boundaries or rules. Also, the Turkey Youth Lottery (a special drawing for young hunters) has been removed in two Wildlife Management Areas (Pomme de Terre WMA and Spring Bayou WMA). Now if you are a qualified youth, you can just hunt turkeys like everyone else.

With so many tweaks, hunters need to read the rules before heading out. If you are 65+, you get more freedom in the deer season. If you like ducks or pintails, your bag limits changed. And WMAs have new rules on what tools or equipment you can bring.

If you break these rules, you might lose your license or get fined, nobody wants that. So read the new 2025–2026 hunting guide before you go into the woods or swamp.

Stay safe and happy hunting, and don’t mess with trail cameras during turkey season!