LDWF Cites Louisiana Man for Night Hunting on Public Road

As a youngster growing up in Louisiana back in the 1970's, I vividly remember when a deer was rarely even seen here in the Bayou State.

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Thoughts of actually killing one were those of myth and legend.

According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, due to timber reduction and overpopulation, by the mid-1920's, Louisiana's deer population had fallen to a dismal estimate of around 20,000.

By the late 1940's LDWF began managing deer, setting seasons and restocking deer. By the early 1950s, managers had built a successful restocking program, moving deer from the Delta National Wildlife Refuge and importing other deer from Texas and Wisconsin. Deer were restocked in 42 parishes. Because of the success of those LDWF efforts, today's Louisiana deer population is estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000.

Average hunters in the Bayou State routinely see multiple deer on outings and many, especially those hunting private property, have little trouble harvesting our extremely liberal limit of six deer per year, if that's their desire.

That's why stories like this latest from LDWF are so disturbing.  It's not hard to "play by the rules" in Louisiana, so violations of this nature make even less sense.

However, we learn from LDWF that on January 2, 2026, Ralston Nugent, 22, of Deville, La., was cited by enforcement agents for alleged deer hunting violations in LaSalle Parish.  Those violations include taking deer during illegal hours and taking deer from a public road.

According to the report, LDWF agents were on patrol when they observed a vehicle stopping several times on top of a levee around 11:00 pm. Agents stopped the vehicle and observed a freshly harvested deer in the bed of the truck.

In the interview that agents conducted with Nugent, he admitted to harvesting the antlerless deer earlier that night with a rifle on the Diversion Canal Levee Road on a portion of the Dewey Wills Wildlife Management Area (WMA).

Agents seized the rifle use in connection with this case. Agents also seized the deer and donated it to a local charity.

Taking deer during illegal hours brings a $900 to $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail. Taking deer from a public road carries up to a $350 fine.

Nugent will also face civil restitution totaling $400 for the replacement value of the illegally taken deer.

Agents participating in this case are Sgt. Raymond Davis, Corporal Jeremiah Fletcher and Corporal Ryan Durand.