Fort Chaffee WMA (66,000 acres southeast of Ft. Smith) was closed last fall because of military training on the base. The good news is that a lot of deer made it through the hunting season, and those are available to hunt this season. Aside from bowhunting, a two-day muzzleloader season and two-day modern gun season take place in late November, both by permit only, and that is all the gun hunting that takes place on Chaffee. A $20 permit is required, along with an orientation class. Call 1-877-478-1043 for info.

Winona WMA (160,000 acres between Russellville and Hot Springs in Saline, Garland and Perry counties) is another of those "big" WMAs that exist in the mountain regions.

Last year, hunters took 255 deer there. An added plus is that Winona is one of the best black bear areas in Arkansas, so with a little luck you may get the opportunity to add a bear rug to your cabin. Muddy Creek WMA (160,00 acres southeast of Waldron) is another large area with a reputation for good deer hunting. The area claimed 119 deer in 2007-08.

Mt. Magazine WMA (140,000 acres south of Paris) saw the harvest of 146 deer last season -- a substantial increase over previous years.

To sum up: The Ouachitas really do mirror the Ozarks. There are many spots within both that will provide fair to good hunting opportunity. Scouting before the season is a definite help, and if you're an "outsider," it can be vital. Don't ever forget about the effect that the orange-clad hordes can have on deer movement, especially around opening day of the modern gun season.

THE GULF COASTAL PLAIN
The flat timberlands south of Little Rock afford the best deer hunting to be found anywhere within the borders of the Natural State; as we've seen, the figures prove it.

The fact is that if you were to divide the state exactly in half, more than two-thirds of the total kill would come from the southern half. The bad news: Just about all of that land is private, most in the form of land leased to private clubs by timber company owners.

The 64,000-plus acres of Felsenthal NWR (west of Crossett in Union, Ashley and Bradley counties) lie right in the middle of the state's best deer-production area. It's an area of great diversity of terrain, running from pine ridges to hardwood bottoms to swampland.

Last season, hunters at the area claimed 480 harvested deer, making it the second-ranked public area statewide in managed harvest, and most of those kills came during the pair of two-day modern gun permit hunts in November. There is also a two-day blackpowder hunt in mid-October.

The 56,908 acres of the Casey Jones WMA lie within Ashley and Drew counties, but they're segmented. To avoid the crowds, target the sections along the Drew-Ashley county lines west of Fountain Hill, along with those down along the Arkansas-Louisiana line east of the Beryl Anthony WMA. Hunters killed 189 deer on these lands last fall, but it's difficult to get a read on where the best numbers might be.