By the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission
JASPER — Twenty-one Arkansans will have the hunt of a lifetime this fall as they chase elk on public land in The Natural State. Their names were chosen during the Annual Buffalo River Elk Festival in Jasper Saturday.
Representatives from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission oversaw the drawings for this year’s elk hunt. Permits were drawn from a squirrel cage in front of an anxious crowd throughout the day.
Eighteen of the permits were drawn from the 4,330 applications submitted online in May. Three other permits were selected from 406 applications submitted onsite during the festival. Winners of the three onsite permits had to be present to win during the final drawing of the festival.
Hunters are allowed to choose their weapons from archery, including crossbows, muzzleloaders, modern rifles, modern shotguns and handguns.
All public land hunts occur on the Buffalo National River, Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area and Bearcat Hollow Wildlife Management Area. Hunters are assigned to specific zones within these public lands. Public land permit holders are required to attend an orientation before the hunt and will be notified of the time and location.
Arkansas 2022 elk hunt permit winners:
Oct. 3-7 Hunt
- Zone 1 Antlerless — Nathan Avey, Springdale
- Zone 2 Antlerless — Daniel Broussard, Searcy
- Zone 3 Antlerless — Jared Bonnow, Judsonia
- Zone 4 Antlerless — Phillip Castlebery, Conway
Oct. 29-Nov. 4 Youth Hunt
- Zone 3 Antlerless — Justin Sanford, Greenbrier
Oct. 31-Nov. 4 Hunt
- Zone 1 Either Sex — Robert Godfrey, Rogers
- Zone 1 Antlerless — Trisha Bryant, Pettigrew
- Zone 2 Either Sex — Townsend Phipps, Maumelle
- Zone 2 Either Sex (onsite draw) — Matthew Harrison, Jasper
- Zone 2 Antlerless — Dennis Fendley, Bismark
- Zone 2 Antlerless — Michael Alexander, Hensley
- Zone 2 Antlerless — Christopher Newsom, Ozark
- Zone 3 Either Sex — Shirley Foreman, Scotland
- Zone 3 Either Sex — Brandon Lofton, Benton
- Zone 3 Antlerless — Susan Smith, Pocahontas
- Zone 3 Antlerless (onsite draw) — Norma Henigan-Keels, Yellville
- Zone 4 Either Sex — Garen Hicks, Fort Smith
- Zone 4 Either Sex — Cody Meredith, Jonesboro
- Zone 4 Antlerless — Addison Gant, Greenbrier
- Zone 4 Antlerless — Garry Sanders, Fort Smith
- Zone 4 Antlerless (onsite draw) — Jedidiah Dun, Mountain Pine