11th Elk Hunt Opens in Arkansas With Two Bulls Taken
September 25, 2008
COMPTON - For the 11th year, a handful of fortunate hunters went after elk in the Buffalo River country.
They had favorable weather  cool nights, warm days and clear skies Âin their favor. But the hunting was a challenge. One bull elk was taken the first day near sunset, and one was downed the second day near sunset.
Gary Jashinsky Jr. lives in Cabot and is stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base. He had one of four public land permits for the September 2008 hunt and scored with a 6X6 bull elk, meaning six points on each side of its antlers.
Jashinsky eased out into a field in the Hasty area close to the Buffalo River late Tuesday afternoon. He spotted the bull, shot with his .30-06 rifle and hit the bull. But it didn’t go down. Jashinsky fired again and the bull dropped.
The first success of the hunt was on the private land portion of the hunt and this area has a quota of three elk. Kevin Shaddox of Springdale was hunting on land owned by his family near the Boone-Carroll county line.
Shaddox, hunting with his father, Dorwin Shaddox, said they heard one bull elk but didn’t find it. Later in the day they sat in a ground blind, heard another and began using a call. The bull answered. After some more calls, the bull came into good shooting range, 50 yards.
Shaddox fired once with his .300 Magnum rifle, and the 5X6 bull dropped. It was his first elk hunt. Shaddox is 31 and a fleet manager for J.B. Hunt Co.
The September elk hunt will continue through Friday or until the private land permits and the private land quota are filled. Another hunt will be Dec. 8-12.
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Going Hunting in Arkansas? Check For Road Closings and Detours First
September 11, 2008
LITTLE ROCK – Gustav is gone, the rains have abated, hunting seasons are underway – and Arkansas sportsmen are on the move.
Save yourself a possible headache and check road conditions before you leave home, suggests the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Hunters and fishermen often travel across the state or just a few miles from home to participate in their activities. The travel may be on interstates, on two-lane paved highways or on graveled back roads. The torrential rains from Hurricane Gustav left roads in the state flooded in many places and washed out in a few spots.
An example is Arkansas Highway 7 between Russellville and Harrison. This is a major route for hunters and recreationists headed to the Buffalo River country. The highway is closed just south of Pelsor in extreme northern Pope County, and major repairs are underway. Detours are lengthy.
If you are traveling, a starting point for road conditions can be the Internet. Go to http://www.arkansashighways.com/Roads/roads.htm
. Click on “road closings.” This is a web site of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, and it gives current closings of federal and state highways in Arkansas.
But it doesn’t list county roads or national forest roads or other remote routes that sportsmen may use.
For these, a phone call can help. If you don’t know a person living in the area, try the county road department of the county where you’re headed. Can’t find a phone listing? Try the county judge’s office. You’ll get the right number and maybe the information you need there.
Once you are off the main highway and in the back country, slow down and watch for potential problems. A washed away culvert could leave an unpaved road impassable.
Remember too that repairs on Arkansas’s damaged roads are on a priority system. The heaviest traveled roads get the first attention from work crews, and it may be a while before that particular back road you are traveling will have its damage taken care of.
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Season For Seeking Elk Permits Is Approaching
May 3, 2008
LITTLE ROCK – You’ve heard the old saying that if something’s too good to be true, then it probably is. That’s not the case with elk hunting in Arkansas. A free chance to hunt Arkansas’ largest game animal is very real and it’s coming up soon.
The month of May is application time for a chance to win one of the 26 permits to hunt elk in the Buffalo River country of Arkansas. The hunt dates this year are Sept. 22-26 and Dec. 8-12.
The applications are available on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s website, www.agfc.com, at license dealers, AGFC offices and other outlets across the state. Applying doesn’t cost anything, nor does winning one of the 24 available permits. Two other permits are issued through fund-raising activities of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, with 85 percent of the money received returned to Arkansas for elk habitat work.
The drawing for the public land permits will be Saturday, June 28, on the Newton County Courthouse Square in Jasper, near the Buffalo River and center of Arkansas’s elk country. Persons applying for permits don’t have to be present, but many attend each year, joining in the festivities and activities.
There is an added attraction again this year. One permit will be issued to someone who makes application at the Elk Festival in Jasper. Sign up, stick around and you may win a permit. For this one, you have to be present. And like the other public land elk permits to be drawn, you have to be an Arkansas resident.
Applications for Arkansas’ 2008 elk hunt permits can be submitted any time during the month of May. Applications will not be accepted if postmarked past June 2.
The 2008 elk hunting will be in Elk Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 along the Buffalo River in northern Arkansas. These zones are mostly public lands of the Buffalo National River and the Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area.
The dates for the Zone A private land hunt is Sept. 22-26 and Dec. 8-12 for lands in Boone, Carroll and Newton counties. The Zone B hunt will be held Dec. 8-12 only for lands in Madison and Newton counties. In these areas some landowners view elk as nuisances. These permits are issued in a separate process. They cost $35, and hunters must have signed permission from a landowner in Zone A or Zone B in order to apply. The private land hunts will end at sundown when the quotas are reached. The application period for this permit must be postmarked by July 15 and are not available for online application.
For the free public land permits, duplicate applications will be thrown out. Persons who have accumulated 12 or more violation points in the AGFC point system for hunting and fishing violations are not eligible.
Two of the permits are earmarked for youths – boys or girls under 16 years of age.
Improving elk habitat in the Buffalo River country is another benefit of the permit process. Many Arkansans who apply for the permits send along voluntary donations to the elk program, and this money is used for food plots, prescribed burning and other work in the elk area. A donation to the AGFC for the elk program is not a requirement for permit application, nor does a donation improve chances of being drawn for a permit.
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