Elk hunters score in new private land territory

COMPTON – Plowing new ground often brings exciting results, and Arkansas’ December elk hunters followed form.

Zone B was the new ground, an area opened to hunting for the first time and lying just west of Boxley Valley, elk-thick but off limits to hunting. This is the “tourist elk” area along Arkansas Highways 43 and 21 in western Newton County near Ponca.

With increasing numbers of elk moving out of the valley on to private land, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission set a three-day permit hunt in areas where landowners wanted some hunting of elk.

The first day of the December elk hunt, six large bull elk were taken by hunters. And each of the hunters had a story to tell. That’s a byproduct of this Arkansas elk hunting that is now in its 10^th year – the unique stories that emerge.

Brothers Kevin Clark of Rogers and Shawn Clark of Rogers had the two largest bulls from Zone B and they came off their own land. Shawn Clark said with a smile, “This land has been in our family for six generations, and now we are able to hunt elk on it. We’ve been growing steers (cattle) on it.”

Both brothers killed 6X6 bulls, meaning six points on each side of its antlers. Kevin took his with a 7mm HST rifle at about 75 yards. Shawn killed his elk at the same time and used a 7mm Magnum rifle.

Nathan Ogden had a most unique approach to his bull elk, which was a 6X6. Nathan and brother Levon found 13 bull elk close to a box-type deer stand they had erected. They worried about spooking the elk coming down from the stand after their scouting trip then returning to the stand the next morning to hunt. So they spent the night, a cold night in the stand. Temperatures dropped to 24.

About 4 a.m. the dozing Ogdens were startling by the stand shaking and a banging noise below. A bull elk was testing its antlers on a metal leg of the stand. Finally daylight arrived, and Nathan shot his bull with a .270 rifle at 80 yards range.

Scotty Trammell of Everton and John Fowler of Ponca hunted in the Cave Mountain area, and Trammell killed an 8X7 bull with a .250 rifle. Fowler took a 6X6 bull with a .25-06 rifle.

Stacey Clark of Jasper brought down a 6X6 bull with his .358-caliber rifle in Zone B.

Another good bull elk was taken on Zone A, also private land, by Ronnie Ramsey of Harrison. It was an 8X6, and Ramsey dropped it with one shot from his .270 rifle.

On the public land portion of the December elk hunt, Kylan Larsen of Bentonville had one of two youth permits, allowing the holder to take either a male or female elk. Larsen, who is 15, downed a 6X6 bull close to the Buffalo River with a .30-06 rifle, a vintage Springfield 1903 model of his grandfather’s. He used cartridges he hand-loaded. The bull ran across the river before falling, and Larsen and his dad were able to get it back with a winch and by floating the carcass across the river.

Cow elk taken on public land included ones by:

Sandy West of Mayflower.
Scottie Rush of Cave City.
John Hintson of Pleasant Grove.
Johnnie Tash of Jessieville.
Gregory Smith of Sherwood.
Joshua Burns of Bella Vista.
Brian Weaver of Jessieville
Amanda Lewis of Cabot.