Natural State bowhunters looking to fill the freezer would do well to test the Gulf Coastal Plain. Trophy hunters might prefer the Arkansas deltas Photo by Michael H. Francis.

Being a serious bowhunter (my wife, Connie, prefers the term “fanatic”), I hold in my mind what I suppose is a somewhat unusual idea of what heaven must be like.

First, the deer season in heaven should be a long one -- running from, say, about the first of October through to the end of February. Second, heaven should have a growing deer herd -- about 1 million animals -- including some big bucks. Finally, since we’re talking about the perfect place, a decent portion of heaven’s best land must be open to public hunting.

Well -- surprise! Heaven sounds a lot like Arkansas.

DARTBOARDS & BOWHUNTERS
Several years ago, while researching another bowhunting forecast for Arkansas Sportsman, I jokingly wrote that the best way to find a good bowhunting spot here in the Natural State was to take a dart and throw it at a map of the state. Where that dart stuck, except for smack dab in the middle of the Arkansas River, there was likely to be good bowhunting.

That’s as true today as it was back then, maybe even more so. According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, there are more deer in our state today than at any point in the past, and the deer herd is either at or nearing carrying capacity in virtually every region of the state! It’s entirely possible that a good buck is walking around on a 40-acre farm in the mountains; or on a 2,000-acre lease in the Gulf Coastal Plain, or even inside the city limits of many municipalities around the state.

How can we identify those best places for bowhunters? First, we must define our preferences.

If you’re merely looking for venison, it’s a no-brainer: Head for the flatlands south of Little Rock. The deer-per-acre figure for the area inside the Gulf Coastal Plain is higher than that anywhere else in the state.

If your focus is on headgear, hunt our deltas, those rolling seas of green running east from Little Rock all the way to the Mississippi River. Food sources, age, good genes -- all there.

All parcels of Arkansas land fall into one of three categories. Private land comprises that which you can hunt only with the owner’s written permission. Public land, completely open as long as you follow statewide harvest guidelines, includes the Ozark and Ouachita national forests as well as a handful of smaller acreages across the state. Last, what I term “semi-private land” is technically public land controlled by state and federal agencies. These are our wildlife management areas and national wildlife refuges.

Some of the very best bowhunting available today, particularly in terms of quality, exists on these semi-private areas. That’s due, in part, to limited and controlled access, but more important is the lessened gun hunting that is typically allowed on these areas.

A total of 10,614 deer were taken with archery tackle during 2006-07, the most recent year for which statistics were available. Add in another 4,608 taken by crossbow hunters, and you have a total of 15,222 whitetails resting in freezers around the state. That figure is an increase of 3,581 animals, or 31 percent over the preceding season, when 11,631 deer were taken.

With the guidelines in place, let’s take a look at some of the areas around our state that stand out as bowhunting hotspots.