Carrying a Handgun While Hunting in Arkansas: What the Law Actually Says

The starting point is Ark. Code § 5-73-120, the "carrying a weapon" statute. It makes carrying a handgun a crime only when you're doing it with intent to use it unlawfully against someone:

"A person commits the offense of carrying a weapon if he or she possesses a handgun, knife, or club on or about his or her person, in a vehicle occupied by him or her, or otherwise readily available for use with a purpose to attempt to unlawfully employ the handgun, knife, or club as a weapon against a person."

That intent requirement is the whole ballgame in Arkansas. Since Act 746 of 2013 stripped the old permit mandate out of this section, and Act 777 of 2023 cleaned up the remaining ambiguity by adding language to Ark. Code § 5-73-328 confirming that no license is required to carry a concealed handgun in the state, simply having a handgun on you (hunting or otherwise) isn't a crime by itself.

Section 5-73-120 also lists specific circumstances where a person is presumed to be carrying lawfully. One of them is hunting:

"The person is hunting game with a handgun that may be hunted with a handgun under rules and regulations of the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission or is en route to or from a hunting area for the purpose of hunting game with a handgun."

Notice what that covers: using a handgun as your hunting weapon. It doesn't, on its own, settle the separate question of carrying an extra handgun strictly for defense while you hunt with a rifle, shotgun, or bow. That question falls to the AGFC, which regulates hunting activity under its own rulemaking authority. The Commission's current rule, found in its Code of Regulations as Regulation 05.19 (codified at 002.00.17 Ark. Code R. 015), reads:

"It is unlawful to possess a handgun (as defined in Ark. Code Ann. § 5-73-120) on Commission-owned or -controlled property or while hunting, fishing, or trapping on private property unless: (A) the handgun is: (1) for personal protection and is not employed for hunting; or (2) a legal killing device under Commission regulations... and (B) the handgun is otherwise lawfully possessed."

That's the real answer to "can I carry for protection while hunting." You can, as long as you don't use that gun to actually kill game unless it also happens to be a legal killing device for whatever season is open.

This wasn't always the rule. Before 2018, AGFC required hunters without a concealed handgun carry license to go without a personal-protection handgun on wildlife management areas outside of an open firearms season. The Commission gave the change its first reading on December 14, 2017, and adopted it at its January 18, 2018 meeting, removing the license requirement and extending the personal-protection carry allowance to anyone who can legally possess a handgun, on Commission property and while hunting, fishing, or trapping on private land.

A deer hunter walking into the Ouachita National Forest with a bolt-action rifle can carry a .357 revolver on his hip in case he runs into a feral hog or a copperhead on the trail. He's not hunting with the revolver, so under Regulation 05.19 that's a personal-protection carry, and he doesn't need a license to have it there.

A duck hunter wading into flooded timber near Stuttgart can keep a 9mm in a chest holster under his waders. He's using a shotgun to work the ducks; the pistol just rides along for snakes, hogs, or anything else that shows up in the water. Same analysis applies.

A bowhunter in a tree stand during archery-only season is where things get murkier. Arkansas Game and Fish rules separately bar having a firearm in your immediate possession while hunting bear, deer, or turkey with archery tackle, a prohibition that's been numbered differently across editions of the Commission's code book (06.05 in some years, 08.03 or 06.12 in others). Compiled guides covering Arkansas describe an exception to that archery firearm ban tied to whether a firearms season for the same species is concurrently open. Given that wrinkle, a bowhunter who wants a sidearm along for protection should check the current year's AGFC hunting guidebook or call the Commission directly before heading out, rather than assume the general personal-protection allowance automatically extends to archery season.

A hunter who runs out of rifle ammunition during modern gun deer season and finishes the job with the revolver he was carrying for protection has now used that handgun to take game. If that revolver meets the Commission's caliber and killing-device rules for deer, no problem. If it doesn't, he's violated Regulation 05.19 by employing a personal-protection handgun for hunting.

A violation here splits into two different systems, and it matters which one you trip.

A lot of hunters still think they need a concealed handgun carry license to bring a defensive sidearm into the woods. That hasn't been true since the Commission's January 2018 rule change; the license requirement for personal-protection carry on AGFC property and while hunting on private land is gone.

Another common mix-up: assuming that because Arkansas is a permitless carry state, the Game and Fish Commission's hunting-specific rules don't matter. They do. Regulation 05.19 is a separate layer that sits on top of the general carry statute and specifically governs how a handgun can be used (or not used) while you're in the field hunting, fishing, or trapping.

People also sometimes assume any handgun can finish off wounded game in a pinch. It can't, unless that particular handgun qualifies as a legal killing device for the species and season under Commission rules. A gun carried "just for protection" has to stay in that lane.

Finally, archery hunters shouldn't assume the general personal-protection carry rule automatically overrides the separate ban on having a firearm in your possession while hunting with archery tackle. That's the one spot in this topic where the Commission's own rule numbering and secondary summaries don't line up cleanly, and it's worth a phone call to AGFC or a look at the current guidebook before bow season rather than a guess.

• Ark. Code § 5-73-120, Carrying a Weapon (FindLaw)
• Act 746 of 2013, Arkansas General Assembly
• Arkansas Concealed Handgun Carry Licensing Law, Ark. Code §§ 5-73-301 to 329 (Arkansas Department of Public Safety)
• AGFC Code of Regulations, Regulation 05.19 (Cornell Law, Arkansas Administrative Code)
• Commission Hears First Reading of Regulation Concerning Carry of Handguns for Defense While Hunting, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission
• Commission Allows Carry of Handguns for Personal Protection on WMAs, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission
• Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission Code Book (archery/firearm provisions)

Last Reviewed: November 04, 2026