Optimistic Outlook

CONDITIONS GOOD FOR MODERN GUN DEER SEASON

By Flip Putthoff

Posted: November 12, 2009 at 4:23 a.m.

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SPRINGDALE — Deer hunting and the War Eagle Fair are worlds apart, but they share a common thread.

Thousands of fairgoers file through the crafts tents over four days in October. That many hunters take to the woods for a single day in November when modern firearms deer season opens.

Brad Miller, deer program coordinator for the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, estimates that 300,000 Arkansans will hunt deer when the modern firearms season opens on Saturday.

The season runs through Dec. 6 in most of the state.

Some 800,000 to 1 million deer roam inside Arkansas’ borders, he said.

Northwest Arkansas hunters in pursuit of a buck with heavy antlers, or those after any deer for the freezer, should find the 2009 season to their liking.

Game & Fish Wildlife Officer Lt. Bill Ruby, assigned to Washington County, said there is no shortage of bucks or does in the region.

“Deer are everywhere,” he said.

A hat-rack buck may step into range anywhere, but Ruby said western Washington and Benton counties harbor some of the biggest trophy deer.

“The deer population in those areas is lower. There is less density,” Ruby said. That promotes good antler growth, in part, because deer have plenty to eat.

Hunters have ample opportunity to kill a doe this season. Female deer are abundant across the state. Hunters have two to five days to harvest does, depending on what zone they’re in.

Doe days are Nov. 14-18 in deer zones 1 and 1A, which takes in most of Northwest Arkansas. Doe days are Nov. 14-15 in zones 2 and 6, on the region’s eastern and southern edges.

The biggest issue facing hunters in Northwest Arkansas this season is the aftermath of last winter’s ice storm. Deer coordinator Miller said fallen limbs and trees could prevent access into some areas on private and public land.

“Hopefully people won’t just go out on Saturday morning to find they can’t get intotheir favorite areas. I’d encourage them to scout them out if they haven’t done so already.”

The ice storm also curtailed the production of acorns in many areas. Acorns are a staple for deer in the Ozarks. This could work in the favor of hunters because deer have to roam more to find food, putting them within range of more gun barrels.

Two of the area’s largest tracts of public land, McIlroy Madison County Wildlife Management Area, and Hobbs State Park are closed to deer hunting during the modern firearms deer season. Hunting in these areas will be by permit only in early December.

The Wedington Unit of the Ozark National Forest is open to archery hunting only during the modern firearms deer season.

New this season is the elimination of wildlifecheck stations. Hunters now check their deer by phone using the new Telecheck game checking system. Deer are checked by calling a toll-free telephone number that is listed on a hunter’s license.

Deer can also be checked online at www.agfc.com.

Some hunters say doing away with wildlife check stations takes some of the social aspect away from deer hunting. Wildlife check stations were gathering places for hunters who enjoyed seeing who got what when others brought deer to the check station.

Ruby said he hasn’t heard any complaints about the Telecheck system.

“It does make it a lot easier. Any hunter with a cell phone can check a deer right there just by making a call,” Ruby said.

Outdoor, Pages 8 on 11/12/2009

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