June 28, 2023
LITTLE ROCK – Deer hunters shooting for some of Arkansas’s best public land opportunities will have the full month of July to apply for one of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Wildlife Management Area Deer Permit hunts. Applications for these hunts are available from 8 a.m. July 1 until midnight July 31 through the AGFC’s licensing system at www.agfc.com.
Hunting deer on privately owned land and many WMAs throughout the state requires only a hunting license with big-game privileges, but many of the AGFC’s most popular areas can become crowded or overhunted without special restrictions. On many of the most popular areas, the AGFC conducts special draw hunts to maintain healthy deer herds and high-quality hunting experiences.
WMA Deer Hunt Permit applications are available for $5 per application type. Successful applicants receive their permit without additional fees. Each hunter may submit one application for each type of permit hunt: youth hunt, archery, muzzleloader and modern gun. Mobility-impaired individuals also may apply for special mobility-impaired hunts through the permit system. Hunters must be at least 6 years old by the beginning of the hunt, and hunters applying for youth hunts must be at least 6, but no older than 15, the day the hunt begins.
To apply for a youth hunt, the youth hunter must be logged in under his or her own Customer ID in the licensing system. Youth hunts do not appear as an option to choose in the licensing system for any hunters older than 16.
Hunters applying for regular modern gun and muzzleloader hunts may do so as individuals or they may apply as a group of up to four, using the AGFC’s party hunt system. To apply as a group, the party hunt leader applies normally. Once the permit application is completed and paid for, he or she will receive a party hunt code listed underneath the application line on their updated hunting license via email. They may then share that code with up to three other individuals. The rest of the party will then apply, and respond “yes” when asked if they are members of a party hunt. They may then enter the code and continue with their application and payment. Applying as a party does not increase the chances of each individual being drawn.