Unlicensed hunter arrows 208-inch buck, LDWF says

Todd Masson

The Times-Picayune

Never call a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agent to come measure your deer if you forgot to buy your license before you shot it.

An Abbeville man learned that lesson the hard way Saturday, according to the department. Officials say Senior Agent Douglas Anderson received a call at 10 a.m. Saturday about a trophy buck that had been shot on a private lease in Avoyelles Parish near Simmesport by a guest hunter. The club wanted someone to come measure the buck for record purposes.

Upon arrival, Anderson was informed that the deer may have been shot by an unlicensed hunter. He says he interviewed the hunter, Glen Toups Jr., 40, and Toups confessed to not having a basic hunting license, big-game license or deer tags.

The agent cited Toups for the violations, and seized the deer, which was unofficially scored as a 208-inch buck. Taken by a licensed hunter, it would have qualified as one of the largest bow kills ever in Louisiana.

The state’s largest non-typical archery buck was a 219 1/8-inch deer taken by Billy Husted in Tensas Parish in 2007. The No. 2 deer was Rodney Lee’s 203 5/8-incher taken in East Feliciana parish in 1983.

Not possessing deer tags carries a $100 to $350 fine and up to 60 days in jail. Hunting without basic and big game licenses each brings a $50 fine and up to 15 days in jail. Toups may also face civil-restitution charges totaling $2,033 for the replacement value of the illegally taken deer.

The deer meat was donated to charity, and the head and antlers are being held as evidence by the department. Officials were unable to provide a photo of the deer.