Arkansas Carry

I know this is the Open Carry Discussion forum, but hang with me on this... :D :D

The squirrel season for Arkansas this year runs from 05/15/2010 to 02/28/2011. During this season, people with hunting licenses are legal to carry a firearm (read handgun) in the national forests, as long as it is a .22. It's better than nothing, and even if you aren't hunting but have a hunting license, you can have a means of self-defense when you are in the woods during this time.

The coyote season runs from 7/1/2010 to 2/28/2011 and then from 4/2/2011 to 6/13/2011. During this season, a hunter (or whatever you are doing, as long as you have a license) can carry a handgun if it is .30 caliber or less.

This requires you having a valid hunting license and the ability to tell a game warden you are hunting, whether you are really hunting or not.

Hopefully, by this time next year we will have our Second Amendment rights given back to us.

AR law used to state that one must also carry a long gun while hunting with a handgun. Strange law indeed- and for some reason I am thinking it might have changed since. But it used to be that way. It would be worth investigating.

I remember this well because I preferred to coon hunt with a .22 revolver in some locations.

Of course, if you are licensed to carry concealed, you may carry your every day carry weapon on you concealed. So the whole mess with the game and fish commission, doesn't make any sense to start with.

I don't follow you, John, by what you mean by the 'whole mess'. Can you elaborate?

I don't understand why they would even care what caliber pistol you have on you, much less if you have a pistol on you.

I guess they think squirrel hunters with a 1911 .45 caliber handgun would be cheating.

I've hunted in other states such as New Mexico and Colorado, and people regularly carry handguns while even bowhunting.

I don't see why a bowhunter in Arkansas doesn't have a right to defend himself without buying the concealed carry permit. Also, the game and fish commission has the power to ban any carry of handguns at any time, including the CHCL permit holders.