Arkansas’ firearm season begins for Searcy tomorrow, Nov. 11. Local hunters are now able to hunt bear using a rifle until Nov. 30 and deer until Dec. 3 within specific areas. In addition to deer and bear, Arkansans statewide are able to hunt quail through Feb. 4, crow through Feb. 19, and rabbit and squirrel through Feb. 28.
In preparation for the start of the season, hunters from all over Arkansas begin by gathering their supplies and tactics and scouting out an area a month or so in advance for a future hunt, according to junior duck hunter Enoch Williams.
“We begin to scout about a month before the season begins,” Williams said. “We must prepare our decoys, clothes, shells, clean our guns and load up our trucks for each hunt.”
According to Williams, he typically hunts about 20 days a year and wakes up as early as 2:30 a.m. to beat competition. Williams said he hunts both in Arkansas and when he is home in Tennessee. Williams said there are a lot of sanctioned hunting areas within 30 minutes of Harding’s campus.
Henry Gray Hurricane Lake hosts a 17,000-acre wildlife management area (WMA) offering deer, quail, rabbit hunting, fishing and camping. The Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge hosts over 15,000 acres, another area close to campus that Williams visits often.
According to the Department of Public Safety officer Kevin Davis, about 100 Harding students have firearms in the Public Safety vaults on campus. Students check in their guns and can gain access to them by going to the Public Safety Office. There is a separate weapons closet that holds student firearms. Each firearm is given a barcode that will match a student’s ID. This is a free service to all students and it helps promote safety on campus.
“It is a complete courtesy safety rule, because you can’t have weapons on campus other than these measures,” Davis said. “That is something the university wanted to make sure we provided to our students who do hunt, but they have to go through those procedures and that is the only way it is going to happen.”
Senior Ryan Holt prefers bow hunting and looks forward to the weekend by participating in daily target practice and strategic planning.
“Game trails are good signs of how active wildlife are in a particular location,” Holt said. “I like to see a lot of acorns around. It’s always nice to come across a rub or scrape to verify that a deer was there at some point and will likely return to the area. I found a spot this year riddled with chestnuts, so I’m hoping that will work out in my favor.”
Refer to the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission for more information about licenses and regulations while hunting on Arkansas land.
Written by Carson White and Jacob Ardrey
