Next weekend, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s statewide squirrel-hunting celebration returns for the third year. The Big Squirrel Challenge is a statewide event with 12 locations for hunters to weigh in their squirrels and win a prize.
Teams hunt from noon on Friday through noon on Saturday during legal shooting hours to harvest the three largest squirrels they can find. Hunters are welcome to squirrel dogs. Official rules are available at agfc.com/education/2024-big-squirrel-challenge.
Interim Chief of Education Eric Maynard states hunters are welcome to go ahead and harvest their legal limit of 12 per person, but they will only weigh the top three at the end of the event, and each squirrel can only be weighed once. After the weigh-in, all squirrels will be returned to the hunters.
Squirrels are weighed with skin on and field-dressed. Winning teams will be announced Saturday afternoon at 1:30 for each region. Each regional first- and second-place team will receive medals and bragging rights for their effort. The top teams in the state will be announced in a press release Jan. 15 and will receive additional prizes, including an Umarex air rifle.
Maynard states they have different categories for youth teams and adults. A youth team can consist of two youths or one youth and an adult mentor. They also have a category for fox squirrels, which typically weigh a little more and a category for mixed bag and/or gray squirrels.
Everyone is encouraged to hunt with a partner, but single-person teams are accepted.
No registration or entry fees are required to participate in the contest. Participants just need to show up at one of the weigh-in locations between Noon and 1 on Jan. 13 to compete.
Springdale
Ozark Highlands Nature Center
3400 N 40th St, Springdale, AR 72762
Pine Bluff
Delta Rivers Nature Center
1400 Black Dog Dr, Pine Bluff, AR 71601
Mayflower
Camp Robinson Shooting range
574 Clinton Rd, Conway, AR 72032
Jonesboro
Crowleys ridge nature Center
600 E Lawson Rd, Jonesboro, AR 72404
Ft. Smith
Arkansas River Valley Nature Center
8300 Wells Lake Rd, Fort Smith, AR 72916
Yellville
Crooked Creek Nature Center
851 Conservation Ln, Yellville, AR 72687
Columbus
Grandview Prairie Nature Center 1685 Hempstead 35 Rd N, Columbus, AR
Hazen
Wattensaw WMA Shop 1693 Hwy 11 North, Hazen AR 72064
Batesville
Paul H Willmuth Shooting Sports Complex
3600 N St Louis, Batesville, AR 72501
Magnolia
SAU Laney Farm
833 Old McNeil Rd Magnolia, AR 71753
Russellville
AGFC West Central Regional Office
1266 Lock and Dam Road, Russellville, AR 72802
Monticello
AGFC Southeast Regional Office
771 Jordan Dr, Monticello, AR 71655
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