First Arkansas Velvet Buck Hunt is Big Success for Bowhunters
The inaugural velvet buck hunt for bowhunters in Arkansas proved to be a big success for hunters across the state. The hunt took place September, 7-8, giving bowhunters a chance to hunt whitetail bucks that are still in velvet; a bucket list trophy for most any deer hunter.
With harvest numbers finally tallied, the Arkansas Game & Fish reported there were 1,231 deer taken during the statewide hunt.
Ralph Meeker, deer program coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said the hunt’s harvest was within the range expected by biologists when the hunt was announced.
“When we look at historical harvest for the first three days of archery season, hunters typically check between 2,000 and 4,000 deer, depending on the weather,” Meeker said. “But a lot of those deer are does, so when you look at only the buck component of that harvest, it’s around 800 to 1,500 antlered deer.”
Meeker says the results of Arkansas’ first statewide early deer hunt also fall fairly close to those found in Tennessee and Mississippi, two neighboring states with similar hunts.
“We had great weather during the hunt, and a lot of hunters were able to enjoy a cooler morning in the stand than anticipated,” Meeker said.
There were plenty of hunters that found bucks still in velvet, however, the timing of this year’s hunt was a little late when it comes to the best opportunity to catch a buck still in velvet.
“After talking to meat processors and hunters I know, I’d estimate that only about 10 to 15 percent of the bucks were still in velvet and I’d lean closer to that 10 percent side,” Meeker said. “The hunt is set for the first full weekend in September, and this year it happened to land on the latest possible calendar date for that criteria. As the calendar rotates, we’ll begin to see earlier hunts in future years. We see several bucks in velvet harvested in the first few days of the urban hunts, which typically open Sept. 1.”
Regular archery season in Arkansas is Sept. 28-Feb. 28. Visit www.agfc.com/deer for more information.
