General Hunting Regulations
Hunting Regulations
Violations Points
Transferring Wildlife
Carcass Importation Restrictions
Legal Hunting Equipment
Hunter Orange Requirements
Hunting Dogs
Nuisance Animals
Hunting on Private Property
Hunting Near a Residence
Posting Land Requirements
USDA Forest Service Regulations
It is not legal to:
- refuse an officer’s lawful request to inspect your wildlife, tackle, hunting equipment, devices, license or any item that can reasonably contain wildlife.
- interfere with an officer performing his duties or flee from an officer.
- aid, accompany or abet someone else in a violation.
- hunt or fish after license revocation or suspension.
- transport illegally taken wildlife across state lines. You may ship wildlife from Arkansas if you display on the package your name and address and the species and quantity of wildlife.
- waste the edible portions of game, fish or waste marketable fur.
- fail to comply with the terms of a Commission-issued permit.
- buy or sell wildlife (or their parts) except for pelts or carcasses of furbearers, squirrel tails, deer antlers, deer hides or feathers from nonmigratory game birds. For more information, refer to AGFC Code of Regulations 18.03.
- hunt 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, unless legally hunting furbearers. Trappers may carry a .22 caliber rimfire firearm while checking sets at night. Refer to the 2008-09 Arkansas Waterfowl Regulations Guidebook for shooting hours for migratory game birds and waterfowl.
- shoot across, from or within 100 feet of the centerline of any city, county, state or federally maintained road (see exceptions below).
- Exception 1: Trappers may use legal firearms to harvest animals caught in legally set foothold and Conibear (body-gripping) traps
- Exception 2: Licensed/permitted falconers may hunt with and trap birds of prey in accordance with state and federal falconry regulations.
- shine an artificial light from a public road, street, highway or within a wildlife management area, except when hunting bullfrogs or furbearers.
- hunt or possess a hunting device in state or national parks. Exceptions are Buffalo National River WMA (Page 79) and Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area (Page 96).
- possess wildlife taken by someone else, unless accompanied by a signed statement from the taker, stating name, address, species, date taken and license number. This requirement also applies to deer camps, commercial storage/processing facilities, fur buyers and taxidermists.
Violation Points
Violation points are assigned to hunters convicted of fish and wildlife violations. The accumulation of 18 points for violations within three years may result in the revocation of hunting and fishing privileges for one year. The accumulation of 30 points within five years may result in the loss of licenses and privileges for three years. Access to Commission-owned lands will be prohibited if hunting privileges are revoked as a result of violations. Boating violations are not considered toward revocation.
A hunter with 12 points will be ineligible to apply for deer, turkey or elk permits. A conviction for selling wildlife may result in lifetime revocation of hunting and fishing licenses. Double points are assessed: when an adult 21 or older is convicted of committing a violation while accompanying a youth under 16; for violations committed by a Guide License holder; for any violation of trout harvest regulations committed in a trout catch-and-release area; for bass-related violations on lakes Monticello, Lower White Oak, Columbia, SWEPCO, Pickthorne and Austell. Violation points are assigned for convictions of fish and wildlife regulations in the following manner:
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Hunting or fishing after revocation of license
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30
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Hunting in closed season
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30
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Night hunting
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30
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Importing or release of imported mammals, reptiles or birds
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30
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Taking of endangered species
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30
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Taking of bald eagle
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30
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Taking fish with electrical devices or toxic substances
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30
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Violating elk season regulations
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30
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Releasing feral hogs on WMAs
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30
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Violating feral hog dog restrictions
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30
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Concealed weapon permit violation
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30
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Violating legal bull elk requirements
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18
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Taking prohibited antlerless elk
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18
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Violating bear season regulations
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18
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Shooting a denned bear
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18
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Counterfeiting license
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18
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Road hunting
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18
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Illegal taking of alligator
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18
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Taking of raptor
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18
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Violating mussel shell taker/seller/buyer license /reporting requirements
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18
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Selling game fish
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18
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Selling bullfrogs
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18
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Nonresident commercial fishing
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18
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Commercial fishing for certain fish in lower Ouachita River
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18
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Hunting turkey over bait
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18
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Violating special guide license requirements
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18
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Violating guide restrictions on WMAs (guides)
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18
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Using dogs during deer season where prohibited
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12
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Failure to properly tag after taking game
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12
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Failure to properly check game
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12
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Illegally hunting bear over bait
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9
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Violating guide restrictions on WMAs (hunters)
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9
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Hunting, fishing, trapping, releasing hunting dogs or pursuing wildlife with dogs without landowner/lessee permission
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9
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All other regulation violations
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6
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Transferring Wildlife
It is illegal to possess wildlife taken by someone else, unless accompanied by a signed statement from the taker, stating name, address, species, date taken and license number. A driver’s license number with state of origin may be substituted for the hunting license number. A hunter education card number or date of birth may be substituted for the hunting license number for hunters under 16 years of age.
Transfer Wildlife Form
Carcass Importation Restrictions
Currently, 36 states and 2 Canadian provinces have adopted regulations affecting the transportation of hunter-harvested cervids. In October 2005, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission approved a carcass importation restriction to further increase Arkansas’s protection against chronic wasting disease.
One theoretical mode of disease transmission is through infected carcasses. Since the suspected infectious agent (prion) is concentrated in the brain, spinal cord and lymph glands, it is important to keep these items from CWD-positive states out of Arkansas.
A cervid is any member of the Cervidae family, including white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, sika deer, fallow deer, mule deer and caribou.
The following U.S. states and Canadian provinces are CWD positive:
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Alberta
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Colorado
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Kansas
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Illinois
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Minnesota *
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Montana *
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Nebraska
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New Mexico
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New York
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Oklahoma *
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Saskatchewan
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South Dakota
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Utah
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West Virginia
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Wisconsin
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Wyoming
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*States and provinces where CWD has been found in captive cervids only.
This list also includes any other state or province where a positive case of CWD has been detected as confirmed by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) or Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
It is unlawful for hunters to import, transport or possess in Arkansas any portion other than boneless meat from a cervid carcass originating or taken from any captive facility or within any enclosure from any area that has a known case of chronic wasting disease (CWD). Deer or elk harvested in commercial wildlife hunting resorts in Arkansas may be transported or possessed providing that a Chronic Wasting Disease sample is collected.
Hunters may bring the following items back into Arkansas:
Legal Hunting Equipment
Click here to view the regulations pertaining to hunting equipment
Hunter Orange Requirements
Hunter orange, chartreuse or blaze camouflage must be worn by all hunters during modern gun or muzzleloader deer, elk and bear seasons.
The colored area of the garment must total at least 400 square inches above the waist. In addition, a hunter orange or chartreuse head garment must be worn. If you are hunting in an area closed to firearms deer, elk and bear seasons or if you are hunting migratory birds, these safety colors are not required.
Hunting Dogs
Each hunting dog must have a collar with its owner’s name, phone number and address. Waterfowl retrievers do not need to wear collars while hunting or retrieving so long as the collar bearing the owner’s name, address and phone number is carried. Handguns or shotguns with blank ammunition may be used while training bird dogs.
Individuals or organizations may hold captive on a temporary basis raccoons, foxes, coyotes or pen-raised quail for the purposes of dog training or sanctioned field trials with the approval of the AGFC chief of wildlife management.
Using dogs to chase wildlife for pleasure is prohibited April 1-May 15 with these exceptions: 1) hunting within fox and coyote enclosures, 2) during sanctioned field trials, and 3) chasing for pleasure is allowed from 60 minutes after sunset until 60 minutes before sunrise, from April 1-May 15.
Coyotes and foxes may not be chased for pleasure during a firearms deer season where dogs are prohibited. The only killing equipment that may be carried is that which may legally be used in a hunting season open at the time and place of the chase.
During the spring youth turkey hunt, the use of dogs to chase wildlife is prohibited from 60 minutes before sunrise until 60 minutes after sunset.
Dogs may be used to chase deer for training purposes Oct. 1-Dec. 31, from 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset, only in deer zones where dogs can legally be used for hunting deer during the modern gun deer seasons. Possession of a killing device is prohibited when using dogs to chase wildlife for pleasure or when training/allowing dogs to chase deer unless a modern gun deer season is open when and where dogs are allowed.
Nuisance Animals
Beaver, coyote, muskrat, nutria, striped skunk and nongame wildlife other than migratory birds and endangered species that are causing damage to property may be taken during daylight hours or trapped the entire year.
Live traps: Nuisance animals may also be removed by landowners (or their designees) at any time without a Depredation Permit using live traps. Trapping in towns must be in compliance with municipal ordinances. Wildlife must be released unharmed outside the municipality’s boundaries. Live traps must have the trapper’s name and address or his vehicle operator’s license number or the current vehicle license number registered to the trap user.
A Depredation Permit from the AGFC, (501) 223-6381 or available from all AGFC regional offices (found on page 4), is required to trap or shoot nuisance game animals other than beaver, muskrat, nutria, coyote and striped skunk outside of the trapping season. A Depredation Permit is required to shoot any nuisance wildlife at night. Landowners or their designees with Depredation Permits may use any trapping method legal for use in the fur-trapping season. Conibear or comparable body-gripping traps with jaw spreads of up to 10 inches may be used inside buildings. Cage-style live traps may be used. Traps set in the outdoors must be marked with name and address, vehicle operator’s license number or current vehicle license number (registered to the trapper). Firearms may be used day or night if specifically approved by the Commission employee issuing the Depredation Permit.
Hunting on Private Property
Find out who owns the land or water and get verbal or written permission from the landowner or leaseholder before hunting, fishing, trapping or releasing hunting dogs or pursuing wildlife with dogs on private property.
If the property is not posted, verbal permission is required. If posted, each person must carry written permission.
Download Printable Permission to Hunt Card
Written permission is not required if the person hunting is a relative of the landowner or lessee and permission can be verified.
Hunting Near a Residence
To hunt within 150 yards of a residence, hunters using firearms must have written permission from the owner or occupant. For archery hunting, hunters must have written permission to hunt within 50 yards of a residence. Written permission is not required of the landowner or members of their family on the landowner’s property.
Posting Land Requirements
Who may post property? The owner or lessee.
How should property be posted? By enclosing land with a fence; or forest land:
- Signs may be placed not more than 100 feet apart and at each road entrance. The signs shall bear the words “POSTED” and/or “NO TRESPASSING” in letters at least 4 inches tall. Signs shall be readily visible to a person approaching the property.
- Vertical paint marks at least 8 inches in length may be placed on trees or posts no more than 100 feet apart and at each road entrance. The paint marks shall not be less than three feet nor more than five feet high, and shall be readily visible to a person approaching the property.
Cultivated land, orchards, pasture land, impoundments, other:
Same as above but the distance between signs or paint marks may be up to 1,000 feet.
Which paint should be used? Posting paint is purple tree-marking paint prescribed by the Arkansas Forestry Commission at (501) 296-1940. Most paint stores can help.
USDA Forest Service Regulations
www.aokforests.com
Ozark - St. Francis National Forest
605 West Main Street • Russellville, AR 72801 • (479) 964-7200
Ouachita National Forest
P.O. Box 1270 • 100 Reserve Street • Hot Springs, AR 71902 • (501) 321-5202
State and federal game and fish laws are applicable to National Forest lands. Forest Service law enforcement officers enforce these laws. Listed below are additional regulations that apply to these forests. For more information, contact the offices above or the local district ranger.
Camping facilities are provided in designated sites. Some campgrounds require a fee. Camping in primitive campsites with no facilities is allowed on a first come/first served basis. Starting the day the camp is set up, campsite use is restricted to 30 days in undeveloped campsites and 14 days in developed campsites. Undeveloped campsites may not be reserved by any method. Camping or operating/parking motorized vehicles is not allowed in wildlife openings/food plots.
The following acts are prohibited and are located within the 36 Code of Federal Regulations (36 CFR):
Leaving a campfire without extinguishing it. This includes leaving a fire unattended, or allowing a fire to escape. Note: The person or persons responsible for allowing a fire to escape could be liable for suppression and damage costs.
Removing any forest product without permit or contract. The gathering of firewood that is dead and down for camp use is allowed.
Damaging a natural feature or other property of the U.S. This includes any vegetation, soil, timber or other property.
Removing a natural feature or other property of the U.S. Digging in, excavating, disturbing, injuring or destroying any prehistoric, historic or archaeological resource, structure, site or artifact. (The possession or use of metal detectors within a prehistoric, historic or archaeological site is prohibited.)
Constructing roads or structures without authorization. This includes using All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), Off Highway Vehicles (OHVs) or other vehicles to make new trails or roads. Permanent structures such as permanent tree stands or buildings are prohibited. Portable tree stands are allowed but must be removed by season’s end.
Note: The Ouachita National Forest requires all tree stands to be moved within 14 days of their original placement.
Baiting of game species is prohibited.
Discharging a firearm or other implement capable of taking human life on or across a Forest Service road or within 150 yards of a campsite, residence or occupied area. Abandoning personal property. This includes deer stands, campsites or other personal property.
Placing a vehicle or other object as an impediment or hazard to others.
Failing to properly dispose of all garbage, including any paper, can, bottle or sewage. Sanitary dump stations are at the following recreation areas: Albert Pike, Blanchard Springs, Cedar Lake, Charlton, Lake Sylvia, Lake Wedington, Little Pines, Long Pool and Shady Lake.
Leaving the road or trail in a damaged condition.
Interfering with the use of a road, trail or gate. This includes placing a campsite, vehicle or other structure in front of a gate or open road.
Violation of any state traffic law. This regulation applies to all National Forest roads and any state highways or county roads within the transportation system crossing National Forest lands.
Possessing a beverage defined by state law as an alcoholic beverage. This includes possessing an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, or while in the act of hunting.
On Ouachita National Forest:
Operating any motorized vehicle on a forest development road or any portion thereof that is posted as closed, or closed by an earthen mound, gate or other object is prohibited. This includes all motorized vehicles including ATVs and OHVs. All trails going around the gate, sign or over an earthen mound are not legal trails and are in violation of this regulation.
In April 2009, the Ouachita National Forest will have a designated system of roads and trials for public motor vehicle use. Once maps are published, it will be unlawful to travel off designated routes. Check with the Forest Service after March 31, 2009 to obtain these motor vehicle use maps.
On Ozark National Forest:
Operating any motorized vehicle on a route not designated in the Motor Vehicle Use Map is prohibited. Any road or trail in the Ozark National Forest not classified as a designated route or trail is closed to motorized vehicle use, including ATVs and OHVs. Maps of the designated routes are available at www.AOKForests.com or at any Forest Service office.
Forest Service maps can be purchased from the Forest Supervisor’s and District Ranger’s Offices.
Who needs a permit?
Any individual, business, outdoor organization, interpretive venture or educational group providing commercial outfitting or guiding services on National Forest lands for profit or nonprofit. This includes businesses whose clients use National Forest lands, such as horse camps adjacent to federal lands. Contact the National Forest or Ranger District office in the area where you propose to conduct your operations. On the Web, see http://www.fs.fed.us/passespermits/ for information about the permitting process.
Natural Heritage Commission
The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission’s System of Natural Areas represents some of the best, and last, remnants of Arkansas’s original natural landscape. Lands within the System of Natural Areas provide vital habitat for imperiled plant and animal species. Inclusion and recognition of some Natural Areas in the Wildlife Management Area system ensures these lands are protected, while providing opportunities for public use.
Every effort has been made to provide maximum opportunity, maintain safety, protect healthy wildlife populations and adhere to the conservation values that resulted in the Natural Heritage Commission’s inclusion of these properties in the System of Natural Areas. Management activities (prescribed burns, site monitoring, nonnative species removal) may occur during various hunting seasons.
Travel within these natural areas is limited to foot traffic to minimize erosion and disturbance to sensitive habitats. Motorized vehicles, horses, camping and construction of permanent hunting stands are prohibited on ANHC natural areas. The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission regulates removal of vegetation and nongame animals through collection permits.
Some areas have limited access and it is the hunter’s responsibility to obtain permission to access adjacent private landowner’s property.
Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission
1500 Tower Building,
323 Center Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Phone: (501) 324-9619