Hunters who didn’t draw a wildlife management area turkey hunt permit during the regular drawing can still get a spot to hunt some of Arkansas’s most popular WMAs.
All leftover permits became available as of Feb. 28 on a first-come, first-served online sale online.
The only WMA turkey hunting permits left for sale are for hunts where more permits were available than the number of people applying, but that doesn’t mean the areas are not good hunting locations. Some wildlife management areas with excellent success rates often fly under the radar if attention is placed on one or two standouts. In some cases, very good WMAs are left as a fallback option, in case hunters don’t draw the more popular hunts.
Additionally, many of the WMAs that annually have the highest turkey harvest numbers do not require drawn permits because they are large enough to accommodate many hunters at a time. The Ozark National Forest WMA, Mount Magazine WMA and Winona WMA typically rank in the top 5 WMAs for harvest, and all are open to hunting without a specially drawn permit.
Each leftover permit will require a $5 processing fee. Each hunter may purchase one permit for each of the remaining WMA permit hunts. There is no limit to the amount of permits a person may buy, but many of the hunts are on the same days, so hunters should pay attention to the hunt dates as well as the location before purchasing.