FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- Muzzleloader season begins in Arkansas Saturday (Oct. 17), 30 minutes before sunrise, and many hunters are preparing for the weekend.
“It's been busy for the last three or four days,” Jerry Knittig, owner of Tackle Box in Fort Smith, said.
Knittig said many of his customers are still getting ready for the weekend.
“A lot of them are last-minute people, waiting for the last minute to put everything together,” he said. “They're coming in here fixing their guns. They're looking for some of the stuff they thought they might have but they didn't."
Many hunters said they prefer shooting with a muzzleloader because it presents a challenge.
“You only got one shot with a muzzleloader. That’s it. If you shoot and miss -- you're done,” Howard Sperry said.
Sperry has been hunting for decades, and he's been using his muzzleloader for the past ten years.
"When you shoot it, the powder just -- it's like smoke -- and you can't see the deer where you shot for an instant, because the black powder comes up then it clears off and you got to remember where you shot,” Sperry said.
Sperry said his dad taught him how to hunt, and he has several seasons he's proud of.
But on Friday (Oct. 16), he sold his muzzleloader to Tackle Box.
Sperry said he might try to get out for modern gun season, but for now, his advice to hunters who may be shooting for their first season ever is to try to stay calm.
“That’s the main thing. Don’t get in a hurry,” he said.
The muzzleloader season ends Oct. 25.
Modern gun season starts in mid-November in Arkansas.
For more information, visit the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission website.