New This Year
New This Year 2026-27
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission passed several new regulations or changes to established regulations since the 2024-25 hunting season. The following are the changes that will most affect hunters in 2026-27. Changes that affect the 2026-27 waterfowl season will be included in the AGFC’s 2026-27 Waterfowl Guidebook.
- All persons 16 years of age and older using AGFC-owned wildlife management areas and lakes must possess an annual AGFC WMA/Lake Conservation Permit (WMC, $10.50). Exceptions: Persons with a valid Arkansas hunting or fishing license, persons traveling through a WMA on a direct route or designated through-trail without engaging in any activity, or persons on a public road (other than an AGFC-maintained road) or navigable waterway. (Code 19.03)
- The WMA General Use Permit has been eliminated.
- Arkansas’s early buck-only archery hunt was moved to a week earlier in the year, to Aug. 29-31, to avoid conflict with the opening weekend of dove season. Also, additional WMAs have been added to this year’s hunt (see pages 66-107).
- The deer bag limits on WMAs were standardized to 3 deer, no more than 2 antlered bucks. The minimum antler requirements for bucks on all WMAs have been clarified.
- The deer bag limits for each private land deer zone have been standardized to 4 deer, no more than 2 antlered bucks; the statewide bag deer limit remains at 6 total deer.
- Button bucks now count toward a hunter’s antlerless bag limit statewide. They must be checked as a button buck, but they do not count against a hunter’s antlered buck bag limit.
- The Resident Trapper’s Permit has been eliminated.
- Resident Turkey Tags and Resident Bear Tags have been eliminated as individual license products and will be automatically uploaded to each resident hunting license holder.
- Leased Land permits for individual WMAs have been consolidated into a single WMA Leased Land Permit that costs $75 and is valid for all Leased Land WMAs.
- Camp Robinson Special Use Area has been renamed Lake Conway WMA. J. Perry Mikles Blue Mountain SUA is now J. Perry Mikles Lick Creek WMA. New WMAs open for hunting this season are Queen Wilhelmina State Park WMA in Polk County, Hell Creek Natural Area WMA in Stone County and Oakwood WMA in Desha County.
- In obtaining the acreage for Oakwood WMA from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the AGFC transferred 2,236 acres in Ashley and Union counties that were part of Beryl Anthony Lower Ouachita WMA to Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge.
- All bicycles, including electric bikes, are allowed only in specified areas or designated trails on AGFC-owned WMAs (as indicated on the AGFC’s public use maps, online mapper or posted signage).
- Possession limits have been eliminated for small game animals and game birds. Possession limits will still be maintained for all migratory birds as required by federal regulations.
- Sylamore WMA’s two hunting units (north and south) with different regulations have been combined into one zone to simplify regulations for hunters.
- Centerfire cartridge firearms are now allowed during modern gun season in deer zones 4 and 5.
- Bear archery season in zones 1 and 2 has been changed to open annually on the closest Wednesday to Sept. 11 to make the bear harvest more stable and predictable from year to year.
- The requirement for submitting a harvested bear’s premolar has been eliminated. However, successful hunters are still encouraged to submit a premolar to be used in maintaining trends on the age structure of the bear population.
- During alternative firearms deer season, only the following action types are legal: bolt-action, break-action, falling block, lever-action, pump-action, rolling block and straight-pull. No semiautomatic centerfire firearms are legal for use during the season unless the upper receiver assembly has been replaced with one of the aforementioned action types.
- Hunting dogs in pursuit of deer, fox or coyote must be equipped and monitored with devices that allow remote GPS tracking and behavior correction while on public land. (Collars are not required during sanctioned field trial events approved by the AGFC.)
- The Nonresident Hunting Dog Owners Permit fee has increased from $20 to $100.
- Alligators may be captured with the use of bowfishing tackle on privately owned water only during alligator season. Additional restrictions apply. See www.agfc.com/hunting/more-game/alligator/season-dates for more information.
- Dog-proof traps are allowed during regular furbearing season. The size of allowable foot-hold traps in land sets was increased to 7 inches.
- Lakes Atkins, Charles, Hinkle and Wilhelmina are open to hunting.
- Regulations for dogs for the new Lake Conway WMA (formerly Camp Robinson SUA) and J. Perry Mikles Lick Mountain WMA (formerly J. Perry Mikles Blue Mountain SUA) now align with other WMAs. A valid Arkansas hunting license is required for training dogs and the use of dogs for field trials on Commission-owned WMAs.
- Sevier and Grant counties were added to Tier 2 of the CWD Management Zone.
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