A muzzleloader category was also established in 1992 in response to the growing popularity in this sport. In the Louisiana Big Game Records Program, muzzleloader typical trophies are ranked beginning at 120 B&C points for typicals and 150 B&C points for non-typicals. The nationally acclaimed Longhunter Society begins their trophy ranking at 130 and 160 B&C points for typical and non-typical whitetails, respectively.

For more information regarding the Louisiana Big Game Records and trophy whitetail hunting in Louisiana, write or contact: Scott Durham, Louisiana Big Game Records Chairman, LDWF, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000; (225) 765-2351.

Maps for the WMAs listed above can also be obtained at the LDWF headquarters on Quail drive or any District LDWF office. For season dates, rules and regulations for deer hunting on public lands, please consult the 2006-07 edition of the Louisiana Hunting and Wildlife Management Area Regulations booklet.

DISTRICT I
When it comes to trophy deer in northwestern Louisiana, let's just say that District I has a history of surrendering monster bucks with typical and non-typical antlers. The parishes that make up District I are Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Claiborne, De Soto, Red River and Bienville.

This district is home to the current No. 2 typical, an 11-point whitetail that scored 184 4/8 B&C points. The Bossier Parish deer was harvested by Ernest O. McCoy in 1961. Also, Bill Ethredge's 23-point non-typical was harvested in Caddo Parish in 1988. This beautiful buck scoring 219 6/8 B&C points is currently listed as No. 6 in the non-typical whitetail category in the Louisiana Big Game Records. Other notable non-typical bucks from this district in the Top 10 include J.H. Thurmon's 21-point buck from 1970, which scored 206 7/8 B&C points, and a 22-point buck, scored at 206 4/8 B&C, that was picked up.

Two other record-book bucks appear here: a 171 1/8 B&C typical trophy taken by David Long in Bossier Parish and a 145 4/8 archery trophy taken by John L. Smith in Caddo Parish. In 2005, Thomas Rambin took a 148 5/8 non-typical in De Soto Parish.

DISTRICT II
District II -- comprising Union, Lincoln, Jackson, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, West Carroll and East Carroll parishes -- has historically offered some of the finest bowhunting in the Bayou State.

Along the Mississippi River to the east, Pope & Young trophies are the rule of thumb in East Carroll Parish. Cottonwood Plantation in East Carroll can boast the state's current No. 2 archery typical. This majestic 12-point buck, taken by David Roselle of Vicksburg, scored 170 3/8 B&C.

Regarding the Willow Point Islands of Tara, the Louisiana Big Game Records already include some 15 Willow Point trophies in the Archery Typical division, one standing as the current No. 5 -- a 10-point buck scoring at 161 5/8 B&C points taken by F. Lane Mitchell in 1993.

In November 1998, the No. 7 archery division typical was taken here, a 10-point trophy scoring 158 7/8 B&C points that was harvested by Brian Arceneaux of Lafayette.

As part of an intensive management plan of controlled harvests and supplemental food planting, Willow Point's outstanding habitat effectively carries a sizable and healthy deer herd. Live weights of up to 280 pounds were recorded recently, and since 1988, over 100 bucks with gross scores over 125 B&C points have been harvested here by bow.