Nearly half a million hunters will be in the woods and fields today for the opening day of Arkansas' modern gun deer season.
Although Arkansas is famous for its world-class duck hunting, opening weekend of the modern gun deer season is the state's biggest event in terms of participation.
Modern Gun Deer Season
SEASON DATES Today-Dec. 6: Zones 1, 1A, 2, 3, 6, 6A, 7, 8, 8A, 10 and 11.
Today-Dec. 13: Zones 4A, 5A, 14, 15.
Today-Dec. 25: Zone 16, 16A, 17.
Today-Dec. 20: Zone 9, 12, 13.
Today-Nov. 22: Zones 4B, 5B.
Today-Sunday: Zone 4.
Nov. 21-22: Zone 5
BAG LIMIT Varies by zone. Hunters may kill as many as six deer, but no more than two legal bucks.
SHOOTING HOURS 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset.
GAME CHECK Hunters can check deer by calling (877) 507-4263, going online at agfc.com, or with the AGFC’s smart phone application.
REQUIREMENTS Hunters are required to wear a fluorescent cap and vest or jacket and must possess a proper hunting license and tags. Hunters also should carry an ink pen and a rubber band, a length of wire or a zip tie so they can fill out their tag and attach it to their deer before transporting. Hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1969, must be hunter education certified.
FUN FACTS
• Arkansas hunters kill an average of 1 deer per person annually.
• 53 percent of hunters actually kill a deer.
• Since 2013, the AGFC has offered certificates for hunters who kill their first deer. You can paste a photo into the certificate document online and print a certificate worthy of framing.
• Hunters can help feed less fortunate Arkansans by donating a deer to Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry (AHFC.org).
Keith Stephens, chief of communications for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said about 300,000 licensed hunters will take part in opening day. If you include hunters younger than 16 and those older than 65, Stephens said the number is actually closer to 500,000.
"It's a huge thing," Stephens said. "Ever since I was a kid, that's the thing our family looked forward to the most. It's a tradition.
"There's football season, and there's deer season. Everybody in Arkansas looks forward to both."
In 2001, the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies produced a document titled "Economic Importance of Hunting in America." Of the 430,694 licensed hunters in Arkansas, the report noted that 314,429 hunted deer exclusively.
Deer hunting generated more than $212 million in retail sales in Arkansas, and a total economic impact of $383 million in our state. It also contributed $12 million in state sales taxes and motor fuel taxes.
According to the report, deer hunting also created 4,363 jobs in Arkansas, generating $89 million in wages, $4.3 million in state income taxes and $9 million in federal income taxes.
Of the 208,075 deer that hunters checked in the 2014-2015 deer seasons, nearly 70 percent were killed during the modern gun season. Of those, 37,204 were killed during the opening weekend, more than any other weekend.
By comparison, hunters killed 31,162 deer on opening weekend in 2014.
Hunters killed 43,450 deer in the first three days of the 2014 modern gun deer season, compared to 38,041 in the first three days of the 2013 modern gun season.
Arkansas schedules its modern gun deer season to coincide roughly with the rut, or the whitetailed deer's breeding period. The peak of the rut varies across the state, but by mid-November rutting activity should be occurring in all parts of the state, said Cory Gray, the AGFC's deer project leader.
For those who don't hunt private land, Arkansas offers more than 3 million acres of public hunting in the Ozark and Ouachita national forests. About 25 percent of Arkansas' deer hunters pursue their game on public land.
Deer hunters are required to wear a fluorescent cap and vest or jacket during the modern gun season. They also must possess a hunting license and proper tags and should carry an ink pen and a rubber band, length of wire or zip tie so they can fill out their tag and attach it to their deer before transporting it.
Successful hunters can check deer using a smart phone with the AGFC's game check application, online at agfc.com, or by calling (877) 507-4263.
Hunters also can check daily deer kill totals at agfc.com. Under the "Resources" tab click "Scientific Reports" and then click "Online Harvest Stats for Deer and Turkey."
Sports on 11/14/2015