Semi guided hunts in Bear Zone 2
Season opens September 9. Sandy Roark, the Outlaw, runs the bait, you hunt it, and a three to five day archery hunt starts at $2,500.
What semi guided actually means
We scout and maintain the bait sites through the season and watch which ones bears are actually working. When you arrive, you get put on the one that is producing, in a ladder stand or a ground blind. From there the hunt is yours.
On a fully guided hunt somebody sits with you. On a drop camp you are on your own from the first morning. This sits between the two. If you want a guide in the stand beside you, ask on the call, because it is not how these hunts normally run.
What is in the woods
Bears here have run from 150 pounds to 600. Color phases are not uncommon, so a cinnamon or a chocolate bear is a genuine possibility. Record book bears are possible.
Hunt lengths
Archery hunts from $2,500
A three to five day archery hunt starts at $2,500, with lodging included. That is the hunt we are known for and the one most people book. Longer hunts and the other seasons are quoted on the call, along with the deposit and which weeks are still open.
Included
- Guiding, baiting and stand placement
- A pad at camp for your RV, plus a kitchenette and a hot shower
- Help getting a bear out of the woods and skinned
You bring or buy separately
- Your Arkansas hunting license and bear tag
- Your own meals
- Your RV or camper
- Your own equipment, legal for the season you book
- Butchering and taxidermy
- Travel to camp
The lodging is a pad at camp for your own rig, not a cabin. If you do not have one, ask on the call. Meals are not included. Between running bait and getting bears out of the woods, cooking is almost impossible, so come with your own food and use the kitchenette.
Worth asking on the call: the deposit and whether it is refundable, what happens if weather kills the hunt, and how many hunters are in camp that week.
2026 season, Bear Zone 2
Dates and the rules that matter
Published by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for the 2026 to 2027 season. Bear Zone 2 covers the Ouachita Mountains, including Garland and Montgomery counties around Lake Ouachita.
| Season | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Archery and crossbow | Sept. 9 to Nov. 30 | Bows need at least a 35 pound pull. Crossbows at least 125 pounds |
| Alternative firearms | Oct. 17 to 25 | Muzzleloaders and straight wall centerfire. Slugs are not legal in this season |
| Youth modern gun | Nov. 7 to 8 | Only youths 6 to 15 may harvest a bear |
| Modern gun | Nov. 14 to 30 | Peak deer season. We do not usually run bear hunts in it |
Zone 2 has no quota
This matters more than it sounds. Bear Zone 1 closes early once its harvest quota is hit, so a hunt booked there can lose its days. Zone 2 carries no quota, so the season runs its published dates.
One bear, and you check it immediately
The statewide limit is one bear, either sex, by any method. You must check your harvest before you move the animal, online, through the AGFC app, or by calling 833-289-2469, and keep the confirmation number.
Regulations change every year and this page is not the legal authority. Read the current guidebook at agfc.com and confirm your license and tag before you travel.
Ask him yourself
501-622-7410The deposit, the other seasons and how many spots are left. One call answers all of it.