Hunting in Arkansas: The Animal You Can Hunt Year-Round

Arkansas is a go-to state for hunters, and as the hunting section of Arkansas.com notes, it "is well populated by a wide variety of Arkansas wildlife found on several million acres of public lands."

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Arkansas has a complex system of game management that allows hunting of various species in different regions of the state at different times, with some seasons being only a few days long while others overlap – for example, raccoons can be hunted day or night for about half the year, but in summer, only at night.

There is one beast that residents and visitors can hunt year-round in the state, which is the feral hog. These ate escaped pigs that are seen as an invasive species (as the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) notes, they are not native to the United States), are considered a threat to the state, which allows them to be hunted year-round – although only on private land, by the landowner or with the landowner's express permission. They are also smart, tough, and quick to adapt. In fact, Arkansas prefers trapping feral hogs in entire family groups, and frets that hunting simply teaches the hogs to watch out for human contrivances of any sort.

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Trapping is statistically superior to hunting in reducing hog counts, but with hunting being an Arkansas tradition, the state accommodates it. So, fans of bacon who can cozy up to farmers confounded by relentless porcine insurgencies can always, with a bit of industriousness, find a place to pit their gunnery skills against what may be the smartest beast on four legs, and do it all year round in the "Natural State." Feral hogs may be puny compared to their wild boar cousins, who can weigh in at up to half a ton, but they are a lot more accessible in Arkansas.

Those people who hunger for hog but prefer more scenic surroundings for their hunts need not despair: there is also a limited feral pig season on public lands during deer, bear, and elk seasons (which vary from year to year; see the AGFC's seasonal game summary for current details).

This article is for information only. Please check current regulations before hunting.

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