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AGFC deer, turkey and bear harvest reports
Arkansas Hunting Records and Harvest
Arkansas prints no state record book rules in its 2026-27 guidebooks, so this page sets out what AGFC does publish: checked deer by season from 1938 to 2025-26, the 2025-26 harvest by sex, month and weapon, the leading deer counties, spring turkey harvest for 2021 to 2025 with regions, counties and public areas, and the 2025 black bear harvest by zone and county.
Photo: ShenandoahNPS (Public domain)
Record books and award programs in Arkansas
Neither the hunting guidebook nor the waterfowl guidebook prints rules for a state record or big buck program. Scoring a rack for a national record book is a matter for those clubs, and a taxidermist or an AGFC office can point to an official measurer.
No state record book
The 2026-27 Arkansas Hunting Guidebook and Waterfowl Hunting Guidebook print no state record book or big buck program rules.
Triple Trophy Award Program
AGFC lists a Triple Trophy Award Program on its deer pages; its rules were not read for this site. Ask AGFC for the current entry rules.
Big buck contests
Results of the Arkansas Big Buck Classic, the Big Squirrel Challenge, field trials and coon hunts are gathered on the event results page.
Sources: Hunting Guidebook, PDF p. 7; AGFC guidebooks page. Checked: numbers confirmed in the source files on November 9, 2026.
How the Arkansas deer harvest grew
AGFC's series starts with 203 deer in 1938, first passed 100,000 in 1987-88 and 200,000 in 2012-13, and peaked at 216,835 in 2020-21. The 2025-26 season closed at 185,922.
| Season | Checked deer |
|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 202,070 |
| 2017-18 | 205,310 |
| 2018-19 | 210,065 |
| 2019-20 | 188,151 |
| 2020-21 | 216,835 |
| 2021-22 | 181,379 |
| 2022-23 | 185,579 |
| 2023-24 | 192,392 |
| 2024-25 | 200,285 |
| 2025-26 | 185,922 |
Seasons are labelled by their start year in the chart; the 1938 figure is the first in the series. Sources: AGFC 2025-26 deer report, p. 6. Checked: numbers confirmed in the source files on November 9, 2026.
2025-26 deer by sex, month and method
Modern guns took 127,992 of the 185,922 deer, straight-wall cartridges 21,205 and archery and crossbows together 26,368. November accounted for 61 percent of the season.
| Month | Deer checked |
|---|---|
| September | 4,109 |
| October | 34,143 |
| November | 112,896 |
| December | 28,706 |
| January | 4,377 |
| February | 1,691 |
| Method | Deer checked |
|---|---|
| Modern Gun | 127,992 |
| Straight Wall Cartridge | 21,205 |
| Archery | 13,902 |
| Crossbow | 12,466 |
| Muzzleloader | 10,270 |
| Big Bore Air Rifle | 59 |
| Spear | 28 |
Sources: AGFC 2025-26 deer report, p. 18. Checked: numbers confirmed in the source files on November 9, 2026.
Arkansas deer harvest by county, the top ten
Union County led the 2025-26 season with 5,486 checked deer, ahead of Clark County and Dallas County. Per square mile of land, Cleveland County comes first. Every county page carries its own five-season trend.
| County | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union County | 6,591 | 5,607 | 6,319 | 6,937 | 5,486 |
| Clark County | 5,457 | 4,858 | 5,215 | 5,965 | 5,406 |
| Dallas County | 4,268 | 3,750 | 4,100 | 4,016 | 4,260 |
| Bradley County | 4,669 | 4,455 | 4,418 | 4,784 | 4,132 |
| White County | 3,808 | 4,085 | 4,456 | 4,215 | 4,049 |
| Drew County | 3,675 | 3,742 | 3,979 | 4,496 | 4,025 |
| Washington County | 4,362 | 3,973 | 4,847 | 4,337 | 4,023 |
| Grant County | 4,014 | 3,676 | 3,840 | 3,978 | 4,007 |
| Cleveland County | 4,216 | 3,535 | 3,858 | 3,901 | 3,836 |
| Pike County | 3,781 | 3,172 | 3,509 | 3,908 | 3,833 |
Most deer per square mile, 2025-26
| County | Deer per square mile |
|---|---|
| Cleveland County | 6.4 |
| Pike County | 6.4 |
| Dallas County | 6.4 |
| Bradley County | 6.4 |
| Grant County | 6.3 |
Sources: AGFC 2021-22 deer report, p. 9; AGFC 2022-23 deer report, p. 9; AGFC 2023-24 deer report, p. 9; AGFC 2024-25 deer report, p. 10; AGFC 2025-26 deer report, p. 9. Checked: numbers confirmed in the source files on November 9, 2026.
Arkansas turkey harvest and top areas
Hunters checked 11,332 turkeys in spring 2025, up from 9,296 in 2024 and 9,194 in 2023. The Ozarks region gave 5,375 of them, and Izard County and White Rock WMA topped the county and public area lists.
| Region | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta | 755 | 955 | 1,107 | 1,255 | 1,173 |
| Gulf Coastal Plain | 2,180 | 2,487 | 2,541 | 2,616 | 2,776 |
| Ouachitas | 1,223 | 1,230 | 1,576 | 1,498 | 2,008 |
| Ozarks | 2,855 | 2,910 | 3,970 | 3,927 | 5,375 |
| Statewide | 7,013 | 7,582 | 9,194 | 9,296 | 11,332 |
Top counties, spring 2025
| County | Gobblers |
|---|---|
| Izard County | 419 |
| Newton County | 414 |
| Sharp County | 407 |
| Searcy County | 351 |
| Stone County | 349 |
| Independence County | 338 |
| Cleburne County | 334 |
| Van Buren County | 333 |
| Fulton County | 332 |
| Baxter County | 331 |
Top public areas, spring 2025
| Area | Gobblers |
|---|---|
| White Rock WMA | 169 |
| Piney Creeks WMA | 147 |
| Sylamore WMA | 121 |
| Winona WMA | 94 |
| Cherokee WMA | 60 |
| Muddy Creek WMA | 59 |
| Buffalo National River WMA | 49 |
| Fort Chaffee WMA | 47 |
| Mount Magazine WMA | 45 |
| Gene Rush WMA | 40 |
AGFC publishes full county turkey harvest only as a map, so only the counties in its top table are listed. Sources: AGFC 2025 turkey report, p. 18; AGFC 2024 turkey report, p. 18; AGFC 2023 turkey report, p. 17. Checked: numbers confirmed in the source files on November 9, 2026.
Arkansas black bears checked in 2025
AGFC counted 445 bears in 2025: 289 with archery or crossbow, 102 with modern guns and 50 with alternative firearms. 337 came from private land, and Bear Zone 1 gave the most.
| Bear zone | Total | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Zone 1 | 292 | 199 | 93 |
| Bear Zone 2 | 126 | 77 | 49 |
| Bear Zone 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bear Zone 4 | 22 | 12 | 9 |
| Bear Zone 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Bear Zone 5A | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| County | Bears |
|---|---|
| Johnson County | 36 |
| Newton County | 35 |
| Searcy County | 34 |
| Polk County | 30 |
| Madison County | 29 |
| Pope County | 28 |
Zone totals in the report text add up to 444 against the 445 statewide total; one Zone 4 bear had no recorded method or sex. Sources: AGFC 2025 bear harvest report, p. 3. Checked: numbers confirmed in the source files on November 9, 2026.
Arkansas harvest record questions
What was the biggest Arkansas deer harvest on record?
216,835 checked deer in the 2020-21 season, the highest in AGFC's series back to 1938.
Is the Triple Trophy Award Program an AGFC record book?
AGFC lists a Triple Trophy Award Program on its deer pages; its rules were not read for this site.
Which Arkansas county checks the most deer?
Union County, with 5,486 in 2025-26.
What was the Arkansas deer total for the 2025-26 season?
185,922: 93,625 antlered bucks, 10,477 button bucks and 81,820 does.
Which public area gives up the most Arkansas gobblers?
White Rock WMA, with 169 in spring 2025, followed by Piney Creeks WMA and Sylamore WMA.
How many turkeys were checked in Arkansas in 2025?
11,332 in the spring 2025 season, the highest of the three springs in AGFC's recent reports.
Does AGFC publish elk or duck harvest by county?
Not in the reports used here. Elk, alligator, small game and waterfowl harvest figures were not collected, so none are shown.
How many black bears were taken in Arkansas in 2025?
445, led by Johnson County with 36.
Does Arkansas have a state record book for deer?
The 2026-27 Arkansas Hunting Guidebook and Waterfowl Hunting Guidebook print no state record book or big buck program rules. Big Buck Classic results are on the event results page.
Read the rule text
Every fee, date and count here was read from an AGFC guidebook, date sheet or harvest report and looked over again on November 9, 2026.
Other photos on this page: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain); USFWS Mountain Prairie (Public domain); Paul VanDerWerf (CC BY 2.0); Thomas Shahan (CC BY 2.0); Juliana Chong (CC BY 2.0).