Out of all the states throughout the country that hold monster whitetail buck populations, most would scoff at the idea of Louisiana ever being mentioned amongst anyone’s top ten. Most Bayou State hunters know Louisiana holds decent bucks, but apparently the hunters of Madison, Tensas, and Concordia Parishes know it better, because a national magazine has just listed Louisiana at—get this—the #1 destination in the United States for shooting a record book buck.
In the July 2009 issue of Buckmasters’ Gunhunter Magazine, an article outlining top gun hunting destinations in the US proclaims, “No other state comes close to matching the number of record-book bucks Louisiana has yielded to bearers of firearms between 2005 and 2007.” Accompanying the text is a map outlining the top producing parishes in Louisiana, with Madison, Tensas, and Concordia Parishes leading the charge. This brow-raising information comes directly from entries into the Buckmasters Whitetail Trophy Records, which requires a minimum score of 140 inches, excluding inside spread, in order to be recognized.
Green states are the top 10 states for firearm-taken whitetail bucks qualifying for the "Buckmasters Trophy Whitetail Records." Red parishes/counties are unequivocal hot-spots, with Louisiana handily outranking all the other 49 states.
How can Louisiana possibly beat out legendary icons like Illinois, Ohio, and Kansas? First of all, the Buckmasters scoring system has its strongest presence in the Deep South, and this coupled with the long-established and regionally acclaimed Simmons’ Big Buck Contest in Bastrop, might possibly encourage a disproportionate amount of Louisiana buck registrations. This matter aside, it’s still an amazing feat, since Louisiana unquestionably beat out all southern states where the BTR scoring contests are most prevalent. The article followed with, “A state has to grow the deer long before a hunter shoots it or a measurer tapes it, and all things considered, Louisiana stands tall above the rest.”
This news comes on the heals of another recent article published in Rack Magazine mentioning North-Central Louisiana as a hot-spot for hunters seeking monster bucks. One needs no lease to have a chance at a record book buck though, since Louisiana is blessed with an abundance of public lands that fall within the aforementioned areas, including Big Lake, Buckhorn, Boeuf River, Red River, Three Rivers, and Dewey Wills WMAs, as well as Tensas NWR. All have produced their fair share of record book bucks, including the 11th largest whitetail in the world, and all are open to the public for hunting.
15 Responses to: Louisiana Takes Top Spot for Record Bucks
WOW!!!!….Now thats an eye opener.
Hopefully no one outside Louisiana reads Buckmasters……..
I’ve often wondered how many old timers killed a big buck, showed it to a few buddies, posted a pic at the local gas station, and then that’s all that was said. I wonder how many 130″ horns are sitting in someone’s paw-paw’s old shop with just the horns, a velvet cover, and a board? I bet out of state hunting licences sales go up in a year or two…..and the price will soon follow!! HAHAHA!
man im glad to hear that…finally getting the recognition this state deserves…wonder if the Bayou Bucks DVD had any influence on that with its Big Buck Profiles?? hmmmmmmmm.
Good thing I did not spend my money to go to Illinois. hehehehe
Good Luck while you are traveling I will be hunting down south. I’ll hit those after I take down Grassy Lake.
Darn, I knew if I let em walk somebody would talk. Shhh! Keep it quiet cause I haven’t got mine……yet.
Like I said THESE ARE THE GOOD OL’ DAYS of deer hunting in LA
Well, there goes the neighborhood!!!
That’s great to hear!!! Like you guys I’m sure, you know of several bucks that score high enough to make the books but, aren’t in the books. There is a reason. So, you can keep the lease you have for the time being. LOL This information should help the doc’s and lawyers and companies and people that still have money to burn drive the price of real estate and leases up even higher than what they are in those areas. As if it’s not high enough. Look out common folk who like to hunt. Won’t be much longer.
And it’s getting better every year!
Like i said before, wish i was out there now. I knew it wouldnt be long before people start to realize the caliber of deer this state can grow. It should only get better from here.
Been hunting two of the three parishes solid for 10 years now. Big Lake and Tensas NWR cover two of those parishes(Madison and Tensas). Also Buckhorn…. PUBLIC LAND!!!!!!! Gotta love it!!
Just might be because more people let deer walk now. If you let them go, they will grow.
I personally think the higher number of bucks in the book has alot more to do with shooting than letting walk. In places like Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, etc the bag limits are not a big as ours. Also less time to hunt. Most of them are mainly archery with some black powder or shotgun seasons thrown in there, along with limited rifle hunting. I think we have a huge number of 130-150 class deer but not very many over that.
Great…here come the outfitters! Get ready for club dues and lease costs to skyrocket! That article is the worst that could have happened to Louisiana!