Hunting Feral Hogs?... Anything Goes

You've got to love the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. When they set their minds on seeking assistance from the states hunters to help reduce our states exploding feral hog problem they went all out!

On private land, is there any other state in this great country of ours that lets you hunt hogs with any weapon.... big rifle, little rifle, bow, muzzle-loader  24 hours a day?  Yes that includes the middle of the night  with q-beams and  headlights.

And you need absolutely no hunting license to top it off!  

Lets Go Huntin!

See Ar Game and Fish Regulations Regarding Feral Hog Hunting Here

Article by Jim Taylor

Checking Deer with AGFC Iphone app.

Technology Makes Life Easy..Doesn't it?

During this years Muzzleloader season in South Arkansas I attempted to
check  my first deer using the Arkansas Game and Fish I-phone app, on a  young opening day doe.   The process went smooth and easy until I reached the last page.   I know it doesn't take much sometimes, but that's where this ol Arkansas boy became a little confused.  The I-phone application was supposed to provide me my so-called "check number" that I was required to write on my deer tag.  After arriving at the final screen shown below I asked aloud and with a puzzled look:   "Where is my check number?",   Could 1334 be my check number?",   "It does not say "check number."   I'm thinking I've really got this all screwed up.

There was no button to go forward from that point even though the screen tells me to review my information before submitting.  Like most remote areas of Arkansas, cell phone service kinda sucks where we hunt so  I  suspected that I was having cell service problems and would try again later. After  going through the process again  I had  now unintentionally  tagged this little doe TWICE!  And let me tell you if deer were tagged according to size this little gal would have barely been worth a quarter of a tag, certainly not two tags! 

The following Monday I made a call to the Game and Fish office in Little Rock and explained the situation.    I did feel a little better when they informed me that I was not the first.  They quickly removed one of the inadvertent check numbers  while I was on the phone and I breathed  a sigh of relief that I had not used up two of my precious deer tags on a dinky doe.

Tips for Arkansas deer hunters using the Ark GFC I-phone app to tag deer.

The screen shot shown to the left is  what I saw AFTER I hit my final submit button. 

1. The "before submitting" statement lead me to think I still had additional action to take.  Ignore this.. you are done.

2. "Submitted"  ??  This is the culprit that causes the confusion. It should be replaced with "Check Number":

3. This is the "check number" that you will write on your deer tag. 

The whole fiasco would have been avoided if I had gotten to the last page and saw a line that simply said:  CHECK NUMBER: 1334   You have to keep things simple for this ol Arkansas boy.

For additional information visit the AGFC site on how to check deer here.

New Arkansas Game and Fish Iphone App.

Arkansas Game and Fish I-Phone App

The Arkansas Game and Fish has shown it is on the cutting edge of technology with its release of  a new I-phone app makes it easy to get the AGFC news,  season dates, bag limits, WMA locations and check your game with your I-phone.   The app was free and easy to install. 

 
One of the neatest things about the app is the "Near Me" tool that will provide you a list of nearby public hunting areas from your current location.  This is a handy tool when visiting in-laws on the other side of the state where you may be less familiar with the local hunting opportunities.  You can request a list of public hunting areas  within 10, 20, or 50 miles of your current location.
 
In my particular part of the state,  Fort Smith,  the program displayed 5 public hunting areas's within 20 miles.  That is a lot of hunting opportunities. Once you select the area  you would like to go visit the program provide you  the website, phone number, and will map the driving directions  for you from your location.  I did notice that though the list included our National Forests the glaring absence of  our  local National Wildlife Refuges from among the list was puzzling.

The program is new and the links often simply point the the AGFC web site (season & dates)  I'm hoping that it will expand its mobile formatting in the future.  But so far it's a great start that put our agency ahead of other state agencies and I'm proud to have it.

For Additional Information Visit this Link - AGFC I-Phone APP

by Jim Taylor


 

New Respect for Game and Fish Enforcement Officers

by Jim Taylor

AGFC Officer Michael Neal's Truck took over 15 rounds
from the killers guns.

A traffic stop by two West Memphis, Ar police officers would unleash a story of horrific proportions and unbelievable bravery involving state and local law enforcement officers over the course of the next two hours.

Thursday May 20, 2010, two West Memphis Police Officers, Brandon Paudert and Bill Evans lives ended brutally after being shot during an interstate traffic stop on I-40. Both officers were highly trained drug interdiction specialist who fell victim to a cowardly ambush from a passenger shooting an AK-47. The two heavily armed fanatics fled the bloody scene in a white van, the passenger still firing at the officers lifeless bodies as they drove away. The brutal nature of the killings had brought all branches of law enforcement out if full force. Within 90 mins the villains were spotted and intercepted in a Walmart parking lot in West Memphis by two lightly armed officers of the Crittenden County Sheriffs department, Sheriff Dick Busby and his deputy. As they pulled in front of the van to  force a stop,  they too found themselves quickly overwhelmed in a blazing gun battle by the same automatic weapons that had taken the lives of the two officers 90 mins earlier. The toll now is two dead police officers, a wounded sheriff and critically wounded deputy. Sheriff Busby and his deputy now suffering multiple gun shot wounds are helplessly pinned down behind their patrol car. Their options were limited and time was running out. With the two officers wounded and bleeding badly the outcome looked grim.

Michael Neal, a state Game and Fish officer,  had been following the details on his radio and was already in route to the Wal-Mart parking lot.  As he pulls in he see's what appeared a dire situation. The suspect had just shot two more officer and were about to leave the parking lot. What officer Neal does next is nothing less than incredible. Officer Neal's immediate reaction is to contain the threat and he is determined that there  is no way he is going to let these killers leave that parking lot.  Neal aims his Game and Fish issued pick-up at the killers van and puts the pedal to the metal! Like a Kamakazi fighter taking automatic fire all the way to his target, officer Neal slams his Arkansas Game and Fish Commission issued truck into the driver side of the bad guys van.   It was reported that the impact may have killed one shooter, the elder Kane. It obviously disrupted the shooters and disabled their van and prohibited them from fleeing again. Officer Neal took 15 rounds into his windshield hood and truck. Other police officers arriving at the scene quickly converged on the now crumpled van and dispatched the remaining bad guy with a few precise round.

AGFC Officer Micheal Neal

Michael Neal's incredibly brave action effectively ended the gun battle and probably saved the sheriff and his deputy that day. Officer Neal's weapon of choice, a 2500HD series CHEVY!

New Found Respect.. the next time a game and fish officer asks to see your hunting or fishing license you better say YES SIR and wholeheartedly comply.

Michael Kent Neal is a 2001 graduate of Northwest Mississippi Community College. In February, 2008 he became a Wildlife Officer for the Arkansas Game and Fish. Michael is married to Donna Pressler and they are the proud parents of three girls, Kentlee, Kali & Kooper.

Game and Fish Comission 2010-2011 Regulation Input Meeting.

by Jim Taylor

The River Valley Nature Center in Fort Chaffee drew a full room of avid hunters as part of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's effort to involve the public in the hunting regulation decision process.  Wildlife Assistant Supervisor Kevin Lynch quickly  reviewed the twenty five "topics of discussion"  and then opened the floor for questions and comments.

Unlike previous Game and Fish public meetings from years past this year had no real controversial  proposals being put forth.  Most were minor in nature or expanded hunting opportunities and found little opposition,  with the exception of the proposal to limit year round feeding.  Several attendees expressed that they wanted to continue their year round  mineral and feeding supplementation for deer.

Shorten The Archery Season?
It was NOT one of the  topics put forth by the Arkansas  Game and Fish Commission but a single attendee did address the meeting with his idea to close archery season after  December 31.  His misguided concern was that bowhunters were taking does that were pregnant in January and February.  I gathered that he thought  bowhunters were hurting next years fawn numbers by unwittingly shooting impregnated does.  First off I suspect most does that were pregnant in January  were probably just "a little bit pregnant" after the mid November rut.  Just my guess.  Secondly I took a quick look at deer harvest method reports over the last few years.  The number of deer that bowhunters  harvest during the entire length of our generous Arkansas bow season  did not equal what gun hunters take  on opening day of modern gun each November.  If I  narrow it down to what archers take in January and February the quantity  we are left with  appears  to be little more than a rounding error when compared to modern gun.  So if this gentleman really wants to increase  fawn numbers in any significant measure he is wasting his time  trying to achieve it through a shortened archery season.   

Two ideas I did like.

1. Expanded squirrel season.  Think "Kids".   Season would start with our current spring squirrel season in May and continue through February.   Granted, at 48 years of age, the July humidity and my repeated education about chiggers and ticks first made me wonder why anyone would want to be out there.  But hey,  there was a time.  I would like to think there are school age hunters, not unlike myself 35 years ago,  who would appreciate any additional opportunities to tote their 22 rimfire to the woods during summer school break.  We kids are just more hardy I guess.

2. Allowing deer hunters with the basic $10.50  license to take their deer with bow or  muzzle loader as well as with modern firearms.   Think "Spouses".  Currently you can only use the single deer tag that comes with the license for modern gun. This proposed rule change would  make it more affordable for those thinking about taking up archery or muzzleloader hunting.  It also would  make it more affordable to take our spouses to deer woods with a bow.

Missed the meeting?  No problem,  until January 30th, 2010  you can still voice your opinion with a quick and easy on line survey from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.  For Online Survey Click Here or for PDF Survey/Comment Form Click Here.

Arkansas Game & Fish Deer Seminar

by Jim Taylor

Deer Program Coordinator, Brad Miller talks with hunters about seasonal foods for Whitetails. Miller and other Game and Fish deer biologist, enforcement officers, and wildlife managers were at the River Valley Nature Center in Fort Smith Tuesday Sept 1 to brief hunters on the condition of the states deer habitat, herd health, harvest numbers and regulation changes.

Regarding regulation changes, the coolest change is that deer check stations have been eliminated! To tag a deer this fall you simply make a phone call. (online checking is still available) As in the past you are still required to immediately fill out your tag, note the zone it was killed in but instead of hauling your deer around in search of an open check station, you simply pull out your cell phone and call 1-877-507-4263. You are required to call within 24 hours of harvest. At some point during the call you will be given a confirmation number. The confirmation number is your proof of checking, write it down. Many states surrounding Arkansas are on a similar automated program. "Call in checking" will offer convenience for us hunters while at the same time provide real time harvest data to the Game and Fish Commission.

Dick Baxter, assistant deer program coordinator reported that the 2008 harvest increased again to 184,991 deer of which 7.1% or 13,134 were taken by bow. Click here for 2007-08 Deer Harvest Data

Vigilant hunters carefully noted the varying conception dates or "rut" throughout the state as they were reported by Baxter. Generally starting earlier in the north west part of the state and later as you move to the South East Delta region. (Mississippi alluvial plains rut was Nov 23-Dec 2). I know where I will be Thanksgiving week.