I plan to visit some family around Fort Smith, Arkansas later this month, or first week in May, and plan to do some turkey hunting with a 3 day nonres license. Have been looking at the Ozark NF as a place to put boots on the ground.
Last year was my first turkey hunting season and I did OK hunting merriams run and gun style in Washington state. Any tips on how the terrain and tactics may vary? Traveling pretty light. I hear the numbers for turkey in this area are low, so any other guidance would be helpful. Thank!
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Boots on the ground, look at places where habitat is diverse and places it is easy to see sign!
Creeks, old roads etc are east places to find tracks.
Arkansas is notorious for low bird numbers!
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My advice is don't even bother ????. Low bird numbers and high pressure. It's tough hunting for sure. I wouldn't waste my money on a non resident tag on this place and I live here. Honestly, just hunt it like you would any other mountain range. Find creeks and secondary ridge points and go listen. I manage to get lucky every year and you can too. I feel like if you can kill a bird here, then you can kill one a lot of other places.
It's not easy. You will never know unless you try. I live about 90 miles north and a little west.
Chadron
Arkansas is tough- you are successful there you can be successful anywhere in the country I believe- high pressure - low bird numbers make tough conditions
This data comes from a few years ago, but is likely still fairly accurate.
Our top public hunting area was the Ozark National Forest Wildlife Management Area, a huge area where hunters checked 155 gobblers. Next was Sylamore WMA, another subdivision of the Ozark National Forest, which contributed 104 birds to the tally.
None of these places are overrun with turkeys, but a good hunter who works at it ought to be able to find a bird to play with in any of these areas. In general, the whole state has a depressed turkey population.
You should have it to yourself . All the arkie hunters are in Mississippi!
Honestly, Arkansas is a beautiful place to hunt . It's tuff , but with effort , you can find one to hunt .
Good luck .
Cool, looks like it could be challenging. Not gonna ruin me if I dont kill a turkey. Cool way to commune w nature in a new area I've never been to.
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I would use this hunt as a predecessor to a future hunt earlier in the season. Been hunting the Ozarks nearly my entire life until 2 years ago. The turkey number have dropped tremendously. The last year I hunted there, I heard a total of one turkey gobble 3 times...while on a 6 day hunt. Of course, a lot can happen in 2 years, but not enough for me to try it out again anytime soon.
That said, I used to have tons of luck later in the season up there. If you find one, you will very likely be by yourself in May and he will be very responsive. Also, mid afternoons are great up there. Like most places, people just don't hunt afternoons...but especially in the Ozarks.
Quote from: Spurs on April 05, 2022, 06:01:13 PM
I would use this hunt as a predecessor to a future hunt earlier in the season. Been hunting the Ozarks nearly my entire life until 2 years ago. The turkey number have dropped tremendously. The last year I hunted there, I heard a total of one turkey gobble 3 times...while on a 6 day hunt. Of course, a lot can happen in 2 years, but not enough for me to try it out again anytime soon.
That said, I used to have tons of luck later in the season up there. If you find one, you will very likely be by yourself in May and he will be very responsive. Also, mid afternoons are great up there. Like most places, people just don't hunt afternoons...but especially in the Ozarks.
Thanks for the insight, getting stoked for some new experience.
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