Louisiana · Rabbit · 2026–27 Edition
Louisiana Rabbit Season 2026–27: Dates & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Rabbit | Statewide, private lands only | Oct 3 – Feb 28 |
02 — Bag limits
| Daily | 8 |
|---|---|
| Possession | 24 |
| Legal gear | Any gear on private lands generally allowed for quadrupeds, but rabbit and squirrel specifically may not be hunted with a breech-loaded rifle or handgun larger than .22 caliber, any centerfire rifle, or a muzzleloading firearm larger than .36 caliber; air rifles are explicitly legal for rabbit |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (October 3, 2026) 06:33 — 19:19
Rule: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset — the general 'Quadrupeds & Resident Game Birds' shooting-hours rule stated on page 28 of the official 2026-2027 LDWF Hunting & WMA Regulations, which covers rabbit (raccoon and opossum are the only listed exceptions, legal day and night). Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Louisiana sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Rabbit hunters in Louisiana need a Louisiana hunting license.
Louisiana hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in Louisiana — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does rabbit season start in Louisiana?
The 2026–27 opener is October 3, 2026. See the table above for the full window.
When does rabbit season end in Louisiana?
The 2026–27 closing date is February 28, 2027.
Is there a closed season on rabbit in Louisiana?
Yes — see the dates above. Outside that window, taking rabbit is closed in Louisiana.
How many rabbits can you shoot in Louisiana per day?
2026–27 bag limits: Daily — 8. Possession — 24. Legal gear — Any gear on private lands generally allowed for quadrupeds, but rabbit and squirrel specifically may not be hunted with a breech-loaded rifle or handgun larger than .22 caliber, any centerfire rifle, or a muzzleloading firearm larger than .36 caliber; air rifles are explicitly legal for rabbit. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting rabbit in Louisiana?
On opening day (October 3, 2026) legal light runs 06:33 to 19:19. The rule is: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset — the general 'Quadrupeds & Resident Game Birds' shooting-hours rule stated on page 28 of the official 2026-2027 LDWF Hunting & WMA Regulations, which covers rabbit (raccoon and opossum are the only listed exceptions, legal day and night). Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Louisiana sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt rabbits on my own land in Louisiana without a license?
No — Louisiana's own agency lists only two hunting-license exemptions (hunters 17 and under, and residents born before June 1, 1940), and landowners aren't among them.
Verified · Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries · Last verified 2026-08-14
Publisher's note. wlf.louisiana.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetchers (confirmed again this session, including via curl with a browser user-agent) — a known access issue for this project. Worked around it by pulling the same PDF ('26LAHD.pdf', header-dated 'UPDATED JULY 7, 2026 LOUISIANA 2026-2027 HUNTING & WMA REGULATIONS') from the Wayback Machine's mirror of the official URL and reading the text directly. Page 28 of that document, the '2026-2027 QUADRUPEDS & RESIDENT GAME BIRDS SCHEDULE', states verbatim: 'Rabbit | Oct. 3 - Feb. 28 | 8 | 24' (daily / possession) and the season note on the same page reads 'RABBITS: Oct. 3-Feb. 28, statewide, private lands only,' which also matches the Advocate's coverage of LDWF's proposed 2026-27 dates. This is genuine, current 2026-27 official data (not a fallback to last season), just retrieved through an archive mirror rather than a live fetch of the LDWF domain.