Public Land Elk Hunting Permit Applications Available May 1

 

UPDATE:

Some essentials for 2014 elk hunt permit seekers

LITTLE ROCK – It’s the elk hunting permit application time of the year, and you are chomping at the bit. You may get draw for an Arkansas exclusive – and it is all free.

Here are a few points to keep in mind:

Applications must be done online at agfc.com from May 1 through May 31.

You have to be an Arkansas resident to apply for a public land permit. It doesn’t matter how long you have lived in the state as long as you have an Arkansas driver’s license.

You have to have a current sportsman or lifetime hunting license at the time of application.

And be serious about wanting to hunt elk in Arkansas.

The applying is the easy part. For 23 lucky persons, a phone call will come late in June with the astounding good news, “Congratulations. You have won a 2014 elk hunting permit.”

The work then begins for you. Scouting the territory where you will hunt is absolutely a must. This is rugged mountain country along the Buffalo River, and hunters need to become acquainted with it. A packet of information from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will arrive in the mail after you are notified of winning the permit.

Get some assistance for the hunt. One helper is a minimum, and two or three helpers are commended. They can aid in finding an elk, and – most of all – they can help you field dress and get the big carcass to your vehicle if you are successful on the hunt.

If elk are new to you, consider a visit to Boxley Valley in late afternoon for a look at some of these magnificent animals. This is off limits to hunting, but you can get acquainted with and appreciate elk.

Your permit will specify the dates – either Oct. 6-10 or Oct. 27-31. Make arrangements as soon as possible for lodging. October in the Buffalo River country is popular with visitors. A number of camping areas are available too.

Don’t try to improve your chances by making more than one application. Applications are computer checked. In case of duplicates, all from the same person are thrown out.

Do apply, however. Think of the enjoyment if your name is drawn at the Buffalo River Elk Festival in Jasper June 28.

* * *

LITTLE ROCK – If you want to have a chance to bag Arkansas’s largest game animal, then mark May 1 on your calendar. That’s the day the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission open’s up its public elk hunting permit process.

The application period is open during the month of May, and both the applications and the 25 available elk permits are free.

There are a few requirements. Applicants 16 or older must have a current Arkansas sportsman hunting license or an Arkansas lifetime hunting license. They also must be at least 6 years old to hunt big game in the state – elk, deer, bear and turkey. 

All applications must be made online on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s website here.

One additional permit for the 2014 hunt is issued to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for fundraising. Eighty-five percent of the proceeds from this granted permit are returned to Arkansas for wildlife habitat work. In addition, a youth permit is given to the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation and Arkansas Wildlife Federation for fundraising activities. 

Three permits will be issued to Arkansas residents who complete applications during the Buffalo River Elk Festival at Jasper in late June. For these, the winners must be present.

Two hunts, five days each, are scheduled this year – Oct. 6-10, and Oct. 27-Nov. 31. 

Permit winners will be notified by phone or mail and will receive an information packet by mail. Hunters will be required to attend an elk hunting orientation and training session held the day before the opening of each hunt.

Improving elk habitat near the Buffalo River is another benefit of the permit process. Many applicants send donations to the elk program for food plots, prescribed burning and other work in the elk range. A donation is not a requirement for permit application, and a donation does not improve chances of being drawn for a permit.

Applications for private land elk hunt permits will be available June 1-July 15.

Courtesy Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

 

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