| Lottery | Approximate Availability | |
|---|---|---|
| Start | End | |
| Turkey (Youth and General) | Early January | Early February |
| Alligator WMA/Public Lakes | Early-May | Mid-June |
| Elbow Slough Dove | Mid-June | Late July |
| Bear | Late-August | Late September |
| Deer (Youth, Esler Field Disabled Veteran, Floy McElroy and Sabine Physically Challenged Hunter) | Mid-July | Late August |
| Waterfowl (Youth, Sherburne General and Disabled Veteran, Bayou Pierre) | Mid-July | Late August |
| White Lake Conservation Area (Teal, Youth, Marsh, Rice Field) | Mid-June | Late September |
Lottery Hunts
LDWF’s wildlife management areas offer lottery hunts for youth hunters, physically challenged hunters, disabled veterans, and the general public to hunt alligator, bear, deer, dove, turkey, and waterfowl. There are also lotteries for hunts and fishing/boating permits at White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area.
Applications for lottery hunts are available online typically around the following periods:
Youth
The minimum age for lottery hunters is 10 years old. Youths 17 and under participating in a lottery hunt must obtain a Youth Hunting license. Youth participating in a waterfowl lottery hunt, must also obtain a Mandatory Harvest Information Program (HIP) certification.
Preference System for Lottery Hunts
There is a preference system for lottery hunts to provide unsuccessful applicants from previous years and new applicants a better chance of being selected for a lottery hunt. An applicant’s name will be entered into the lottery using the following system:
- Once for applicants who were successful on their previous application.
- Twice for new applicants.
- Each unsuccessful application will result in an additional preference point (applicant’s name entered again into the lottery). Once an applicant is successful, the preference system balance returns to one.
The preference system continues as patterned above with no maximum balance. The preference system is lottery specific. For example, being selected for the Turkey Lottery will not affect your preference balance in the Alligator Lottery.
For group lotteries, the highest preference balance of any applicant in the group is used for the lottery draw. If a group is successful, the preference balance for all applicants in the group will be reduced to one.
The black bear lottery preference system is outlined here: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/black-bear-hunting-lottery