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WMA · 2026-27
Hunting Sylamore WMA
Wildlife management area in Baxter County and 4 more counties, 182,618 acres on record, WMA zone 620.
Photo: Tim Palmer (USDA Forest Service) (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Getting to Sylamore WMA
Parking, trailheads and gates near Sylamore WMA
- Cripple Turkey TrailheadTrailhead · 1.8 mi from the centreDirections
- Cripple Turkey Trail HeadParking · 1.8 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 3.1 mi from the centreDirections
Parking, trailhead and gate locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors. Roads into public land can be gated or seasonal; check with the managing agency before you go.
What AGFC prints for Sylamore WMA
The rows below come from the Sylamore WMA entry in the 2026-27 Arkansas Hunting Guidebook, zone 620. Duck and goose rules for WMAs live in the Waterfowl Guidebook rather than this table. Dates run inclusive, first day to last day. The entry closes alligator on Sylamore WMA.
| What | Dates | Type | Small print |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer archery | Aug 29–31 Sep 26–Feb 28 | License | One antlered buck |
| Deer alt firearms | Oct 17–25 | License | – |
| Deer gun | Nov 14–Dec 6 Dec 26–28 | License | – |
| Deer gun youth | Nov 7–8 Jan 2–3 | License | – |
| Bear archery | Sep 9–Nov 30 | License | – |
| Bear alt firearms | Oct 17–25 | License | – |
| Bear gun | Nov 14–30 | License | – |
| Bear gun youth | Nov 7–8 | License | – |
| Turkey youth | Apr 10–11 | License | One turkey |
| Turkey | Apr 19–21 Apr 22–May 9 | Permit | (no . One legal turkey |
Sylamore WMA deer limit
| Count | Kind | With |
|---|---|---|
| two | antlered bucks | archery alternative firearms modern gun |
| two | antlerless deer | archery |
| one | antlerless deer | alternative firearms the first two days of modern gun |
- During youth hunt, youths may take two deer, one antlered buck (no antler restriction) and one antlerless deer
WMA deer count toward the statewide limit of six, with no more than two antlered bucks a season.
Sylamore WMA special rules
- Seasons close earlier when Bear Zone 1 quota is reached.
- Dogs, hunting or trapping equipment are not allowed in Blanchard Springs Recreation Area.
- The same hunting seasons, method of take, bag limits, shooting hours and permits for hunting that apply to the Sylamore WMA apply to all private lands meeting the criteria of a WMA inholding.
- Refer to Page 109 for additional US Forest Service information.
Guidebook p. 105 of the 2026-27 Arkansas Hunting Guidebook (WMA-specific regulations; Arkansas Game and Fish Commission); waterfowl: 2026-27 Waterfowl Hunting Guidebook. Checked November 9, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Sylamore WMA
Sylamore WMA sized up for 2026-27
Think of Sylamore WMA as an AGFC wildlife management area. Its size on record is 182,618 acres (2026-27 guidebook), and the ground lies in Baxter County and 4 other counties. AGFC Region 7 (Mayflower) is the district that covers it. The guidebook entry credits U.S. Forest Service as the owner or partner.
The WMA list page and the guidebook part ways on counties; guidebook: Baxter, Marion, Searcy and Stone.
Layered Ozark ridges and farm valleys seen from a bluff near Harrison in Boone CountyPhoto: Tony Webster (CC BY 2.0)
From lands.json records (Guidebook · Source 2 · Source 3 · Source 4); acres: 2026-27 AGFC Hunting Guidebook WMA entry ("182,618 acres"). Checked November 9, 2026.
Sylamore WMA permit-required dates
One of the species in these hunts.
Black bear walking past downed timber in a grassy clearingPhoto: Yellowstone National Park (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Nothing marked permit required was picked up for Sylamore WMA, but the parse is known to miss some lines. Some permit lines for Sylamore WMA did not make it into the table.
guidebook entry; draw rules. Checked November 9, 2026.
Zones around Sylamore WMA
Zone 620 is the number for Sylamore WMA; step off it and you are in Deer Zone 2.
| Zone | Modern gun | Alt firearms | Dogs | Legal buck | Bag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 2 | Nov 14–Dec 6 Dec 26–28 | Oct 17–25 Dec 12–14 | No dogs | No point rule | 4 (2 antlered) |
- Count Sylamore WMA as CWD Management Zone ground: tiered carcass rules, no antler limits (Baxter Tier 2, Marion Tier 2, Searcy Tier 1 and Stone Tier 2).
- Bear seasons here follow Bear Zone 1 and stop when the quota is met.
- Spring 2027 turkey dates come from Turkey Zone 1 (from AGFC's zone map).
- Elk here are a permit game: the core counties have public and private land elk permits.
Zones from the guidebook deer zone pages, the AGFC zone layers and the CWD zone list; turkey zones from AGFC’s zone map. Checked November 9, 2026.
Map of Sylamore WMA and its neighbours
Go east about 13 miles to reach Devil's Knob. Nearby options include 3 wildlife management areas, 2 natural area WMAs and 1 lake project.
| Public land | Kind | Acres | County | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devil's Knob | Natural area WMA | 822 | Izard | 13 miles | east |
| Loafer's Glory WMA | WMA | 2,686 | Marion | 14 miles | west |
| Hell Creek | Natural area WMA | 264 | Stone | 15 miles | southeast |
| Norfork Lake WMA | WMA | 10,000 | Baxter | 19 miles | north |
| Searcy County WMA | WMA | 170 | Searcy | 21 miles | west |
| Norfork Lake (Corps) | Corps lake | 49,575 | Baxter | 22 miles | north |
Point: AGFC WMA boundary layer (GIS/wmas_website_link) (polygon centroid of the largest part). Straight-line distances. Arkansas public land map.
What hunters checked near Sylamore WMA
Baxter County placed 33rd statewide with 2,726 checked deer in 2025-26. Read them as county-wide totals, private land included. The 2025 Turkey Program report lists Sylamore WMA at number 3 of the top public areas, 121 turkeys.
| County | This report | Prior | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter | 2,726 | 2,448 | 33 |
| Izard | 2,312 | 2,124 | 40 |
| Marion | 2,534 | 2,185 | 35 |
| Searcy | 1,931 | 1,976 | 51 |
| Stone | 2,161 | 2,116 | 46 |
| Spring | Rank | Turkeys |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 87 |
| 2024 | 3 | 74 |
| 2025 | 3 | 121 |
deer report 2025-26; turkey report 2025 (checked deer by county (AGFC deer reports, Table 6)). Checked November 9, 2026.
Overlapping and parent records of Sylamore WMA
The same ground also shows up as Ozark-St. Francis National Forests and Sylamore RD.
Nearest towns and AGFC office for Sylamore WMA
Calico Rock sits 10 miles from Sylamore WMA, the shortest hop to town. Town pages that list Sylamore WMA within ten miles: Calico Rock, Norfork, Mount Olive and Buffalo City. Nearest AGFC site: Calico Rock, 10 miles. Listings are unverified; a quick call saves a wasted trip.
| Nearest towns | County | Population | Miles | Heading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calico Rock | Izard | 2,021 | 10 miles | northeast |
| Norfork | Baxter | 480 | 11 miles | north |
| Mount Olive | Izard | – | 11 miles | east |
| Buffalo City | Baxter | – | 12 miles | northwest |
| Briarcliff | Baxter | 253 | 15 miles | north |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); AGFC buildings from the AGFC offices page and AGFC layers; businesses from services.json directory listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 9, 2026.
Closed ground near Sylamore WMA
Closed ground nearby: Ozark Folk Center, 15 miles from the Sylamore WMA point. Parks are closed by Code 05.11; Hobbs and the Buffalo National River WMA are the exceptions.
| Place | Reason | Miles | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ozark Folk Center | State park (Code 05.11) | 15 miles | Stone |
AGFC Code 05.11; closed places from lands.json (PAD-US 4.1, NPS, FWS). Straight-line miles. Checked November 9, 2026.
Sylamore WMA legal hours on opening days
Clocks around Sylamore WMA fall back on November 1, 2026 and jump ahead on March 14, 2027, which moves every time in this table by an hour across those dates.
| Date | Season point | Sunrise | Sunset | General hours | Migratory birds | Sun times from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2026 | Early buck archery | 6:38 a.m. | 7:43 p.m. | 6:08 a.m. to 8:13 p.m. | 6:08 a.m. to 7:43 p.m. | NOAA formula |
| Sep 26, 2026 | Archery deer opens | 6:59 a.m. | 7:02 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 7:32 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 7:02 p.m. | NOAA formula |
| Oct 17, 2026 | Zone 2 alt-firearms | 7:16 a.m. | 6:31 p.m. | 6:46 a.m. to 7:01 p.m. | 6:46 a.m. to 6:31 p.m. | AGFC table |
| Nov 7, 2026 | Youth gun weekend | 6:35 a.m. | 5:09 p.m. | 6:05 a.m. to 5:39 p.m. | 6:05 a.m. to 5:09 p.m. | AGFC table |
| Nov 14, 2026 | Zone 2 gun opener | 6:42 a.m. | 5:04 p.m. | 6:12 a.m. to 5:34 p.m. | 6:12 a.m. to 5:04 p.m. | AGFC table |
| Nov 21, 2026 | Duck season opens | 6:49 a.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 6:19 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | 6:19 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. | AGFC table |
| Dec 6, 2026 | Zone 2 gun closes | 7:02 a.m. | 4:57 p.m. | 6:32 a.m. to 5:27 p.m. | 6:32 a.m. to 4:57 p.m. | AGFC table |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:12 a.m. | 5:02 p.m. | 6:42 a.m. to 5:32 p.m. | 6:42 a.m. to 5:02 p.m. | AGFC table |
| Apr 19, 2027 | Turkey Zone 1 opens | 6:32 a.m. | 7:44 p.m. | 6:02 a.m. to 8:14 p.m. | 6:02 a.m. to 7:44 p.m. | AGFC table |
Hours rules from the 2026-27 Arkansas Hunting Guidebook; sunrise and sunset from the AGFC Little Rock table with AGFC’s nine-mile correction, or the NOAA solar formula on Central Time where the table has no entry; checked November 9, 2026. Legal hours across Arkansas.
Sylamore WMA: ranges within a drive
Sylamore Firing Range sits 9 miles from Sylamore WMA; check its access line first.
From the AGFC Shooting and Archery Ranges page, the AGFC range layer, club sites and directory listings, checked November 9, 2026.
Mist drifting over the White River near Buffalo City in Baxter CountyPhoto: Thomas & Dianne Jones (CC BY 2.0)
Morning light on Bull Shoals Lake seen through bare treesPhoto: Semipaw (CC BY 3.0)
Straight answers on Sylamore WMA for 2026-27
What turkey limit applies on Sylamore WMA next April?
Apr 19–21 and Apr 22–May 9 on the WMA; Turkey Zone 1 otherwise, from AGFC's zone map.
Is there a draw for Sylamore WMA?
No dated permit hunt was parsed; the printed entry is final.
How much ground does Sylamore WMA actually hold?
182,618 acres, Baxter County and 4 other counties.
Which nearby town has a page on this site for Sylamore WMA?
Calico Rock, about 10 miles in a straight line. Closest AGFC site: Calico Rock, 10 miles.
Does chartreuse count as hunter orange on Sylamore WMA?
During modern gun or alternative firearms deer, bear or elk seasons: 400 square inches of hunter orange, chartreuse or blaze camouflage above the waist plus a matching head garment. Blaze pink is not listed.
Can I take an elk on Sylamore WMA without drawing a permit?
It is in the core elk counties, where elk need a public land permit (draw May 1-June 1, 2026, residents only) or a private land permit.
How early may I shoot on Sylamore WMA during modern gun?
The general rule is half an hour either side of sunrise and sunset. For the November 14, 2026 gun opener at this spot, shooting runs from 6:12 a.m. to 5:34 p.m. by that rule.
Whose land is Sylamore WMA, and who runs the hunting?
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, out of AGFC Region 7 (Mayflower).
How current is this Sylamore WMA page?
Each section links its source; the whole page was checked on November 9, 2026.
Can I hunt Sylamore WMA with a regular license?
A regular Arkansas hunting license covers open seasons; permit hunts need a drawn permit, and non-hunters 16 and older using AGFC land buy the $10.50 WMA/Lake Conservation Permit.
Do private land zone dates apply on Sylamore WMA?
Zone 620. WMAs and refuges are their own zones; the private land around it is Deer Zone 2.
Which days are open for modern gun on Sylamore WMA?
Modern gun runs Nov 14–Dec 6 and Dec 26–28 (the guidebook entry).
Does the 2026-27 CWD Management Zone take in Sylamore WMA?
Yes, so check the tier carcass rule before hauling a deer home.
Which AGFC bear zone covers Sylamore WMA?
Bear Zone 1 is open, subject to quota.
Night-before checklist for Sylamore WMA
Report wildlife violations on Sylamore WMA to AGFC; the nearest office is listed above.
Sources: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4; seasons from the 2026-27 Arkansas Hunting Guidebook and the 2026-27 Waterfowl Hunting Guidebook. Checked November 9, 2026.
Other photos on this page: Tony Webster (CC BY 2.0); Yellowstone National Park (Public Domain Mark 1.0).