Obviously this isn’t a Public vs Private issue, but sounds like the big duck factories in Missouri etc are holding more of the birds. My place in VanZandt just 5 years ago would hold Ducks from December to end of season. Now, we shoot them the last 2-3 weeks of the season. Lots of work for 3-4 hunts per year. Thankfully when it’s good there, it’s as good as anywhere I have hunted.

We had more dove this year than ever before, and the fishing is great. I guess sometimes you take what you can get.

So, from what I’ve read, you guys are suggesting that the ducks numbers are not necessarily down significantly, but holding in other parts of the US …….makes sense to me.

We used to hunt a soil conservation lake in Howe TX that was loaded w mallards and all puddle ducks from 2008-2014-

The current owner harvested 4 ducks all year. That may be the area has too much activity w Appartments, developments, disturbing them. Sure that plays a big role as well.

Duck hunted for years on sulpher river. Easy limits and the 2nd split with flooded bottoms mallards were plentiful. We never shot a wood duck early but waited till later in the morning. Google maps and gps made finding sloughs easy instead of walking and finding places. I kept getting pushed further upriver from the crowds and finally gave it up. Our small group only hunted weekends and occasionally durning the week as we had to work. Didn't have to sky blast the birds were landing in the dekes. Pellet holes in feet,bill broke wings etc. In lead shot days we mosty shot 7 1/2 trap loads out of our over and under shot guns. There is not a slough or spot around the house now that does not get hunted at some point. Ducks don't get a rest anymore. Hunted 2 times this season in a 3 day period. The few mallards we saw didn't make a sound while flying . No chattering nothing. This same place i have seen 200 ducks on it and the mallards were dead quiet. Wood ducks were normal. The late 80's,90's and early 2000's were good. I do miss it but happy now to pass shoot a few woodies and occasionally a few mallards. Aint mad at em no more. Now just chase deer and pigs with a handgun. Not gonna lie i would love to stand on that pipeline with my ole buddy one more time and work them ole greasy mallards over. RIP JP hope your shooting some upstairs.

My number is probably a little low. I saw it somewhere a few years ago. I couldn’t find it in a quick search.

Here is a very outdated publication from the USFWS about the economic impact pf waterfowl hunting: https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-04/1153.pdf.

It is hard to pull out waterfowl hunting specific numbers from retailers (camo is camo) and track expenditures like gas, snacks, etc.

Arkansas estimates that waterfowl hunting contributes $1.1 billion to their economy every year.

Overall hunting and shooting is a major economic driver in the American economy.


Big Hutch

There s too much that they can’t track or have any idea of without having hunters fill out some sort of spending report. Has is the first example. Does the govt care about $10billion that much?...probably not. But I bet companies like Sitka, boss, mojo large equity interest clubs, regular clubs, land brokers, land owners, farmers, real estate agents, and the sort care about waterfowl hunters. I’ve had this discussion about deer hunting before, but it applies to waterfowl as well. What effect does waterfowl hunting have on otherwise essentially useless land? Run the numbers on however many acres being worth next to nothing compared to 5-15k per acre. It effects more than you think.

Bird just never pushed down. Some people had birds and they were gone quick. This was my worst season in 12 years.

Worst season in 34 years in North Texas
7 Hunts 38 Ducks

Didn't waste time on them birds this past year, we usually hunt 25-30 hunts a season. Spent more time in the tree stands and tripods deer hunting my farm in Missouri. Doubled on bucks and some does in the freezer. Next year will be better leaving Texas after 42 years headed North to new territory and better waterfowl hunting. No more dealing with wanta be duck hunters on WMA's too.

Numbers wise I had a good one. Lots of 2 am wake ups tho. Usually I find a couple spots closer that I can hunt during the week and still scratch out a single limit. There were a couple stretches this season where I could either target a few big ducks or get on the teal. GWT saved me this year. I haven't shot this many in at least a decade, and hearing what a lot of folks are saying... I'm not complaining.

The big addition for this year was a winch. Having it on the boat did add a lot of confidence, maybe too much LOL. I had to use it twice. Both times were from getting carried away hiding the boat, more momentum than I thought, and beaching it. Oops.

My goal next season is to take a couple trips further away. Save up some vacation and wait for an Arctic front to hit. Head to the freeze line and stay a few days.

What part of the state you hunt Larry? I hardly saw any GWT in NTX this year.

So where does our distinguished 2 major parties ( DU/Delta) stand on the current situations? I haven't been a member of DU sense they fired Don Thomas. To me its a an either or....

1- duck numbers are fine but they stay north now or...
2- duck numbers are lower than they say, warmer trends are keeping them from migrating as much as they use to and...farming for ducks up north keeps them up north

I think its #2 and that really looks bleak but....with hard work we still had some good hunts this year.

Also its a fact that less duck stamps are sold today than those glory years I hear about (ive been serious for 10 years now) so why so much pressure today?

Hard to say, you can make good argument for both. I just have a hard time believing that numbers are much different than they normally are in dry wet cycle- I still believe on individual basis, we can still dictate our success by managing private land to maximize results, or scouting the right flyways / habitat on public. The latter I would imagine is getting much more difficult with habitat, loss and more hunting pressure