Arkansas

Arkansas offers exceptional and varied deer hunting across four distinct physiographic regions: the rugged Ozark Mountains, the Ouachita National Forest, the fertile Mississippi Delta, and the Gulf Coastal Plain.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) operates progressive 3-point antler restriction rules that allow young bucks to reach maturity. Top trophy areas span the rich bottomlands of the Delta (including the Cache River and White River NWRs) and the rolling pine-hardwood timber of south Arkansas. Archery season runs five full months from September to February, complemented by modern gun seasons during the November rut.

Arkansas represents one of the greatest black bear conservation success stories in the world. Once nearly extirpated, a landmark reintroduction program restored thousands of bears to the Ozark and Ouachita mountains.

AGFC manages bear hunting across four Bear Zones through archery, muzzleloader, and modern gun quota hunts. Bears feed heavily on wild white oak acorns, hickory nuts, and autumn berries in rugged mountainous terrain. Spot-and-stalk hunting along rocky mountain ridgelines in October delivers a premier wilderness challenge.

Spring turkey hunting in Arkansas is a revered tradition across the Ouachita and Ozark mountain ranges and coastal plain pine woods.

AGFC sets a 16-to-21 day spring season starting in mid-April. Hunters hike mountain benches at dawn, listening for resounding gobbles echoing across deep hollows before executing stealthy calling setups with diaphragm calls.

Arkansas is home to a wild free-ranging elk herd living along the pristine limestone bluffs and hardwood forests of the Buffalo National River valley in Newton and Searcy counties.

AGFC issues limited lottery permits for public and private land hunts in October and late October. Hunters pursue bugling bulls in secluded river hollows and mountain meadows in a stunning Ozark setting.

Feral hogs are classified as an invasive nuisance species in Arkansas. AGFC allows hog harvest on private lands year-round with any weapon, and during open firearms deer seasons on public WMAs.