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What You Should Know about Archery Deer Season

Archery hunting deer season opened Saturday in Arkansas and there are guidelines hunters should follow to have a successful catch. Brett Thomas, a bow technicia...

Archery hunting deer season opened Saturday in Arkansas and there are guidelines hunters should follow to have a successful catch.

Brett Thomas, a bow technician at Cabela's in Rogers, said that to hunt alone, bow hunters need to be at least 16 years old and have a hunter's education card. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission offers free classes to obtain these cards.

"It's an eight-hour class that teaches you everything you need to know," Thomas said.

"You take a test at the end. If you pass, they mail you a card and you are ready to hunt," he said.

The Hobbs State Park Visitor's Center provides hunters a map to learn where hunting is allowed, as well as a free hunting guidebook.

"It tells you exactly what's expected, where you are within the state, and how many deer are harvestable within the state," said Mark Clippinger, Hobbs State Park supervisor.

Clippinger said it's important to manage the deer population that's just recently bounced back, specifically the buck population.

"Hobbs State Park is 23 percent of state's park land holdings. So there's a little over 12,000 acres here, most of it is available for hunting," Clippinger said.

For those who hunt buck, they must meet certain requirements about the antlers, which show the deer's age.

"That means you have to have three points or more on one side of a rack. Obviously, that point has to be at least one inch long, everything on this particular antler would qualify for that," Clippinger said.

Thomas said that understanding all the rules is important to a successful hunt.

"Just so that everybody does the same thing and everybody is safe and we can come back and keep enjoying the sport," Thomas said.

Bow season continues through the next few months coming to a close on February 2013.

According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the archery hunting limit is four deer and no more than two legal bucks.

Muzzle loading deer season starts on Oct. 20, and gun season begins on Nov. 10.

Click here for more information on season dates.

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