The refuge is located primarily south of state Highway 70, which runs between DeValls Bluff and Brinkley in Jackson, Woodruff, Prairie and Monroe counties. The 44,000-acre facility, like many other areas in the delta, simply has everything in place to produce big bucks, including cover, food source and limited access. Cache River is actually the upper reaches of what becomes White River NWR further south, with much of its interior located between the confluence of the Cache and White rivers. It was, along with Dagmar WMA, one of the primary focal points for the recent search for the ivory-billed woodpecker.

I've hunted Cache River on several occasions, and have found that a boat is all but a necessity unless you can get permission to cross private farmland to reach some of the better spots. Prime areas of big-buck activity seem to lie within the dense hardwood pockets back along the numerous feeder creeks and bayous, or along some of the more remote edges of crop fields shielded from roadways.

Gun hunting is limited to a single five-day blackpowder segment in mid-October and a five-day modern gun segment in mid-November. The rut seems to peak in late November, so I would opt for the late-season gun hunt if given a choice. Both the blackpowder and modern gun hunts involve quotas, and permits are required. Antler restrictions follow the 4x4 slot limit: 4 or more points on one side of the rack, or 4 or fewer points on both sides combined.

Up in the northeastern corner of the delta, lying south of Corning and east of Pocahontas, is what I believe to be a real sleeper in terms of big-buck potential. Remember back a couple of decades ago, when vast parts of this area were completely closed to hunting? Even today Deer Zone 4 has drastically reduced gun hunting seasons, so it doesn't take a real genius to figure out that there are still some bucks walking around up there with age on them.

Dave Donaldson/Black River WMA is a 26,000-acre facility that allows only three days of gun hunting, in the form of a permit-only blackpowder hunt in mid-October. "Most of Black River is bottomland hardwoods like nuttall, overcup, pin and water oaks," says area manager Paul Provence. "We have an active timber harvest program in effect, but a lot of the hardwoods here fall into the 90-year-old category. There are also croplands along the sides, so we have good food sources for deer. In addition, a lot of the interior is really hard to get to, so that means we have some good bucks here."

Realistically, with such limited gun hunting, the true potential for Black River is in bowhunting, the season for which runs Oct. 1 through the end of January.

I've saved the crème de la crème for last. If you're looking for a big-buck Valhalla here in Arkansas, White River NWR is it. This sprawling facility runs for miles upon miles along the White River, its 160,000 acres taking in parts of four different counties -- Arkansas, Monroe, Phillips and Desha.

This area has been a consistent big-buck producer virtually from the time of its inception back in the 1950s. The most recent book buck taken there is Wayne Lindsey's current state-record archery buck, which scores 177 7/8 P&Y points and was taken in 1998. However, Jim Finch took his 174 6/8 typical off Mozart, that legendary hunt club that forms the western boundary of the refuge, in 1999. Jim's buck probably has grandbucks and granddoes on White River NWR as we speak.