02-21-2008, 08:10 PM
LITTLE ROCK - The 2007-2008 Arkansas deer seasons close next week when archery/crossbow season closes Feb. 29, and some die-hard hunters are still out there trying to fill their remaining tags.
A few of those die-hards are still trying for the final segment of their Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Triple Trophy Award requirement by taking a deer with stick-and-string. Hunters who qualify for the Triple Trophy Award must, within a single annual deer season framework, take at least one deer by each of the three legal hunting methods - modern firearms, muzzle-loading rifle or pistol, and archery/crossbow tackle. Certificates suitable for framing are given to qualifying hunters.
"We started the Triple Trophy Award Program in the mid-1980s to encourage primitive weapons hunting," said Cory Gray, Deer Program Coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. "By this we hoped to accomplish two things - to increase the harvest of antlerless deer, and to spread out hunting pressure and reduce crowding, to improve the quality of the hunting experience for everybody."
Gray explained that primitive weapons hunting increases antlerless harvest partly because antlerless regulations are generally less restrictive for primitive weapons seasons and partly because hunters seem more willing to take antlerless deer with primitive weapons than with modern forearms. Harvest of antlerless deer is essential for maintaining the health of a high-density deer herd, as is present in most of Arkansas.
The Triple Trophy Award program has proved popular with Arkansas hunters from its inception and the number of qualifiers has slowly but steadily each year.
Triple Trophy Award applications can be downloaded on the agency's website at: http://www.agfc.com/!userfiles/pdfs/tripletrophy.pdf. Applications are also available from the AGFC's Communications office at (501) 223-6331. The application deadline is April 10.
A few of those die-hards are still trying for the final segment of their Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Triple Trophy Award requirement by taking a deer with stick-and-string. Hunters who qualify for the Triple Trophy Award must, within a single annual deer season framework, take at least one deer by each of the three legal hunting methods - modern firearms, muzzle-loading rifle or pistol, and archery/crossbow tackle. Certificates suitable for framing are given to qualifying hunters.
"We started the Triple Trophy Award Program in the mid-1980s to encourage primitive weapons hunting," said Cory Gray, Deer Program Coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. "By this we hoped to accomplish two things - to increase the harvest of antlerless deer, and to spread out hunting pressure and reduce crowding, to improve the quality of the hunting experience for everybody."
Gray explained that primitive weapons hunting increases antlerless harvest partly because antlerless regulations are generally less restrictive for primitive weapons seasons and partly because hunters seem more willing to take antlerless deer with primitive weapons than with modern forearms. Harvest of antlerless deer is essential for maintaining the health of a high-density deer herd, as is present in most of Arkansas.
The Triple Trophy Award program has proved popular with Arkansas hunters from its inception and the number of qualifiers has slowly but steadily each year.
Triple Trophy Award applications can be downloaded on the agency's website at: http://www.agfc.com/!userfiles/pdfs/tripletrophy.pdf. Applications are also available from the AGFC's Communications office at (501) 223-6331. The application deadline is April 10.