Arkansas dove hunters will have twice as many opportunities as last year to hunt on private land through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s permit-based field program for the 2024-25 season.
The AGFC announced that six private fields will be available for permit hunts this year, up from three last season. Applications for both private field permits and the opening weekend public land permits will be accepted online from Aug. 1 to Aug. 15 at www.agfc.com/licenses or through the AGFC mobile app.
Five of the six fields are planted in sunflowers, while the sixth-located in White County-lost its sunflower crop due to rain, hail and deer, and will be top-sown in wheat, said Michelle Furr, coordinator for the AGFC’s Private Lands Habitat Division.
“We were able to increase the fields from three to six,” Furr said. “We’ve had good growing weather lately for sunflowers, and not as many fields fell through due to weather like last year.”
The fields are spread across the state, offering more accessibility to hunters in all regions. The new sites include:
A 20-acre field near Fayetteville in Northwest Arkansas, a 26-acre field in Franklin County near Ozark, a 60-acre field in Little River County near Texarkana, a 50-acre field in Fulton County near Mountain Home, a 47-acre field in Drew County, a 28-acre wheat field in White County
The permit hunts will take place on Saturdays only-Sept. 6, 13 and 20-on all sunflower fields. The White County wheat field will be open for the first two Saturdays.
Permit winners may bring one guest, and the pair must hunt together. Some fields, such as those in Fulton and Little River counties, will have designated shooting stations; others will be open to first-come, first-served setups.
In addition to private land hunts, four wildlife management areas (WMAs) will require permits for hunting on the opening weekend, Sept. 67. These include:
Camp Robinson Special Use Area in Faulkner County, Shirey Bay Rainey Brake’s Powhatan Field in Lawrence County, Black River WMA’s Brookings Field in Clay County, Frog Bayou’s Powerline Field in Crawford County.
Outside of the opening weekend, public land dove fields will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Arkansas’s dove season runs Sept. 6 Oct. 26 and Dec. 8 Jan. 15. Hunters must have a free Harvest Information Program (HIP) registration and a valid hunting license. Youth under 16 are exempt from license and HIP requirements.
For more information, visit www.agfc.com/dove.
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