When it comes to small-game-hunting opportunities, Arkansas truly is the sportsman’s Land of Opportunity. The Natural State offers an exciting array of possibilities for in-the-field fun.
Rabbits and squirrels provide sport for small-game hunters statewide, and if you do your homework, you can also find blue-ribbon hunting for bobwhite quail, migratory game birds, furbearers and other quarry. Indeed, the biggest problem an Arkansas small-game hunter faces is not so much finding game as it is deciding what to hunt and where.
That’s where we can help. Let us direct you to a few out-of-the-way hot spots where the odds for success are great.
Scatter Creek WMA, Mixed Bag
The 5,000-acre William E. Brewer/Scatter Creek Wildlife Management Area in Greene County is tailor-made for the upland-game enthusiast. Cottontail rabbits and bobwhite quail thrive along woodland borders and old pastures, offering visiting hunters a small-game challenge. Hunting squirrels in the WMA’s oaks and hickories is also a popular pursuit here.
Quail hunting is very popular, and the local population of bobwhites has responded well to the planting of partridge peas, lespedeza and other food crops. Though very few quail were found on Scatter Creek when the land was first purchased in 1986, today the quail population is healthy. The hunting season runs Nov. 1 through Feb.4, with a daily limit of six. Bird dogs are allowed.
Scatter Creek also has abundant rabbits. The best place to find them and quail is in the field systems and the food plots alongside them. Creek bottoms are planted with 20-foot-wide food plots containing corn, milo, sunflowers, sorghum, alfalfa and/or clover. Rabbit season started Sept. 1 and extends through the end of February, with a daily limit of eight.
Both fox and gray squirrels can be hunted in the extensive hardwood/pine forest that covers 70 percent of the WMA, with a season that extends through Feb. 28. Hunters can keep 12 bushytails daily in their bag.
Scatter Creek contains four separate tracts of land. The largest, the Spain Tract, covering more than 1,500 acres, is reached by following Arkansas 135 north from Paragould to the junction of Arkansas 34. Turn left (west) on Arkansas 34, and go about 2.5 miles until you see the sign directing you north into the WMA. The Prater Tract is reached by continuing west on 34 about 1.5 miles to Thurman Road. Turn left on Thurman, and 1/2 mile down the road, you’ll see signs marking the area’s boundary. To reach the two remaining tracts, continue west on 34 to Arkansas 141. Traveling northeast
on 141, you go 8/10 mile to reach the 600-acre Smith Tract, and 2 miles farther to reach the 400-acre Crow Tract. Signs on 141 mark turns into these areas.
Big Piney Creek, Squirrels
For real fun this month, load up your canoe and your shotgun, and head for that portion of Big Piney Creek that flows through the Ozark National Forest in Newton, Johnson and Pope counties. On this beautiful river, you can experience one of the most enjoyable pastimes available to Arkansas hunters — float-hunting for squirrels. It’s easy to plan a float that lasts several hours or several days.
Squirrels are usually plentiful in streamside hardwoods along the river. You can either hunt from your canoe or use it to carry you from one pocket of woods to another, taking a few squirrels from each area. (Be mindful, however, that private property borders the stream in places. Posted land should not be entered.)
Perhaps the most popular beginning point for float trips is the Helton Farm access at Treat (Forest Road 1805), where local landowners allow canoeists to put in for a small fee. Ten miles downstream is Long Pool, a Forest Service campground complete with restrooms, changing rooms, loading/unloading areas and a parking lot. (The Long Pool site is a fee area except for the winter season.) The last major access point is another 5 miles downstream at Arkansas 164.
Sportsmen can also find squirrel action on the Illinois Bayou (North, Middle and East forks) just a few miles east in the national forest, and on portions of the Mulberry River between Cass and Ozone. All three streams offer excellent smallmouth bass fishing, too, and many sportsmen fish between morning and afternoon squirrel hunts. Squirrel season on these areas is the same as statewide, running through the end of February with a daily bag limit of 12.
Bottomland WMAs, Swamp Rabbits
Though swamp rabbits have declined in numbers as wetlands disappear, there are still healthy huntable populations to be found on many of Arkansas’ bottomland wildlife management areas. Some of the best areas are the Sulphur River WMA south of Texarkana, the Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois d’Arc WMA near the town of Hope, the Petit Jean River WMA in Yell County and the George Dunklin Jr. Bayou
Meto WMA southwest of Stuttgart. Other swamper hot spots include the Cut-off Creek WMA near Dermott, the Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA near Bald Knob and the Sheffield Nelson
Dagmar WMA near Brinkley. Seasons run through Feb. 28 with a daily bag limit of eight. Dogs are allowed except during firearms deer hunts.
These king-sized rabbits provide the supreme small-game-hunting challenge. They’re twice as big as cottontails, leading dogs on longer chases. Look for swamp rabbits in canebrakes, honeysuckle thickets and dense stands of sweetgum saplings in stream floodplains. Fresh rabbit pellets atop a log or stump are a sure sign that swamp rabbits are using an area.
The field loads of 7 1/2 or 8 shot preferred by cottontail hunters are far too light for swamp rabbits. Gear up to standard loads, or even short magnums of 4, 5 or 6 shot. A good pair of rubber boots is as important for comfort.
Be sure to check hunting regulations and confirm season dates before pursuing small game on any of the aforementioned areas. Pick up a current copy of the Arkansas Hunting Guidebook at any license dealer statewide, or visit the commission’s website at www.agfc.com. Good hunting!