Hot Springs State Forest WMA
| Zone | County |
|---|---|
| 365 | Garland |
Three-point rule
Acres: 3,273
2026-27 Closed Seasons
- Deer firearms (permit youth hunt available)
- Bear firearms (permit youth hunt available)
- Alligator
2026-27 Crow
Sept. 3, 2026-Feb. 21, 2027. Open Thursdays through Mondays only. No limit.
2026-27 Deer
Deer Archery: Aug. 29-31 (one antlered buck only); Sept. 26-Feb. 28.
Deer Modern Gun Youth Hunts (permit required): Nov. 7-8 and Jan. 2-3.
WMA Deer Bag Limit: Three deer, no more than two antlered bucks (3-Point Rule applies), which may include:
- Two antlered bucks with archery,
- Three antlerless deer with archery.
- During youth hunt, youths may take two deer, one antlered buck (no antler restrictions) and one antlerless deer.
2026 Bear
Bear Archery: Sept. 9-Nov. 30.
Bear Modern Gun Youth Hunt: Nov. 7-8 (deer permit holders only).
2026-27 Quail
Nov. 1, 2026-Feb. 7, 2027. Daily limit – 6
2026-27 Rabbit
Sept. 1, 2026-Feb. 28, 2027. Daily limit – 8
2026-27 Squirrel
May 15, 2026-Feb. 28, 2027. Dogs allowed. Daily limit – 12
2027 Turkey
Turkey Youth Hunt (permit required): April 10-11. One legal turkey.
Turkey Firearms Hunt (permit required): April 19-21, April 24-26 and May 1-3 and May 7-9. One legal turkey.
Age
Added in 2025
Area Notes
- Free georeferenced maps are available for this WMA and others at https://apps.agfc.com/maps/. These maps are frequently updated and include features such as parking, types of road and land boundaries.
- Trapping is closed on that portion of the WMA lying within the Hot Springs city limits.
- Shotguns and rimfire rifles using legal ammunition may be used to take crow, furbearers, quail, rabbit and squirrel on areas designated on the public use map as open for firearms.
- Shotguns using legal ammunition may be used to take dove on areas designated on the public use map as open for firearms.
- Firearms legal for taking deer are allowed during modern gun youth permit hunt on areas designated on the public use map.
- Firearms legal for taking wild turkey are allowed during the youth permit hunt and regular turkey season permit hunt on areas designated on the public use map.
- ATV/UTV use is prohibited.
- Camping is prohibited.
- The use of dogs to chase wildlife for pleasure and for field trials is prohibited.
- Portions of the WMA are not open for public use.
Ownership
Arkansas Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry
Phone
833-356-0933