This area's capacity for producing such high-quality animals has to do with the fertility of the region. Nutritious deer foods are readily available as a result of the rich soils in the area. Coupled with this are robust genetic material and a situation that enables deer to get some age on them. As a result, bowhunters have the potential to take some top-quality bucks from this region of the state.

While bow season opens over most of western and northwestern Louisiana around Oct. 1, the peak of the rut does not occur until mid to late November. Moreland believes that several wild-life management areas in this portion of the state should offer highly promising bowhunting opportunities.

"The Fort Polk area along with Jackson-Bienville, Sherburne and Ouachita should all be good this coming season," he said. "One reason for this is the fact that the deer harvest on these areas was somewhat down last year. This means there should be a significant carryover of deer into the coming season. Add to that the abundance of forage and hard mast and there should be plenty for bow hunters to smile about this next season."

Reflection on last year's growing season makes Moreland optimistic that bowhunters around the state should see some good deer this coming hunting season. "Over most of the state, the mast crop has been good," he stated, "and with the abundance of rain throughout winter and into early spring, there should be plenty of succulent forage for the deer. As a result, fawn production should be good over the majority of the state."

Another prime public area for bowhunters is often overlooked. While most hunters head for smaller hotspots to hunt deer, there is a gigantic public area, the Kisatchie National Forest, covering a big part of north and central Louisiana that doesn't get as much hunting pressure.

The U.S. Forest Service breaks this huge 600,000-acre area up into five ranger districts. The northern-most Caney Ranger District comprises three units: the Middle Fork the Corney Lake, and Caney Lakes. The three units of the Caney District cover an area of some 33,000 acres.

In addition to the Caney Ranger District, other districts, scattered from central Louisiana to the northernmost part of the state include the Catahoula, Calcasieu (which consists of the Evangeline and Vernon units), Winn and Kisatchie Ranger Districts. More specifically, the Calcasieu District is the farthest south; the Vernon unit is located near Leesville, and the Evangeline lies south of Alexandria. The Kisatchie District sits just south of Natchitoches, with Winnfield serving as the virtual southern boundary of the Catahoula district and the western boundary of the Winn District.

Bowhunters looking for variety in habitat types might want to give the Kisatchie National Forest a closer look. Hilly, rocky terrain; cypress sloughs; hardwood bottomlands; red clay pine hills: Kisatchie has it all.

With so much land available to bowhunters, those who go after deer with archery equipment have an excellent chance to hunt without being crowded by other hunters. Ideally, those planning to hunt Kisatchie NF will have done their homework by scouting areas they plan to hunt well before season opens.

The opportunity to sit undisturbed in a climbing stand overlooking a hardwood bottom, ridge or cypress brake is a plus for those who hunt this special national forest. When you stop to think about it, the people who came up with the nickname "Sportsman's Paradise" for the state of Louisiana knew what they were talking about. When it comes to premier bowhunting opportunities, our state has them from border to border. Add to that the diversity of peak breeding dates around Louisiana, and any serious archer who doesn't mind logging some miles around the state will be able to hunt with a bow virtually non-stop from mid-September through the end of January.