Missouri Duck hunt

[Duckhunter]

Hi,

How does the hunting in Missouri work is it like Canada and North Dakota, or do you need a guide for hunting on private land?

Thank you.

 

[Duckhunter]

Ok I found some stuff doing some googling regarding Regulations
http://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/waterfowl/regulations

And I outfitter or guide is a must
https://www.duc.kr/blog/how-to-choose-an-outfitter-for-your-next-goose-or-duck-hunt

Any locals have any recommendations or tips?

 

[Dos Perros]

I can't possibly imagine that you are required by law to have a guide to hunt ducks as a non-resident on private land in the state of Missouri.

 

[Matthoek21]

Yea no way. You should be able to hunt all you want as long as it's season. No guide needed as far as I've ever known.

 

[Team Kabob]

Some top hunts are public land. But you better get there early and draw the winning straw!



TK

 

[Matthoek21]

Some top hunts are public land. But you better get there early and draw the winning straw!



TK

Yes sir! Been there done that.

 

[sneakypete]

Matt, never knew you're are waterfowl hunter! On my bucket list is a flooded timber hunt!

 

[Matthoek21]

Not really a duck hunter but I used to do a little bit. Best hunt I ever had was in the timber in Greenwood, MS. with a buddy. It was quite the experience. We had ducks landing in the decoys while we were setting up. It was the only open water around. There had been a major cold spell come through and everything was frozen except this one hole we were in. We were done within literally probably 15-20 minutes. It was pretty cool.

 

[Duckhunter]

Thanks guys. We will try to hunt public land.

Matt, I actually hunt in MS normally but will be taking this trip for the first time this year.

 

[Matthoek21]

Good luck. Let us know how y'all do.

 

[Fink]

The best duck hunting/habitat will be on private land, but there is an absolute ton of public opportunity to chase ducks in Missouri. A majority of the public, dedicated to waterfowl marshes are by draw only, which is a giant hassle, by the time the draw is over, its daylight, and your next back up spot might be an hour away. But, those marshes will hold a large percentage of the waterfowl in the state, and the bird per man averages are excellent.
There are many other smaller public marshes that do not hold draws, and they can be good as well. If you have a boat, the rivers and lakes can be outstanding, especially when we get a little rain, and our lakes get 3-4 feet above normal pool.
You can usually knock doors, and get permission to shoot geese in private fields, but you're going to have zero success accessing private marshes, for free. Duck clubs are big business in Missouri, with bad leases usually starting at over $1,000 per gun, and good leases well above that.
Best of luck, Missouri has tons of waterfowl opportunity, in just about any way you want to, or can hunt them.

 

[mallardsx2]

Hunt the Rivers and lakes when stuff starts to freeze. The public marsh draws are a joke/hassle for the obvious reasons stated above.

 

[247Buckfever]

Hi...I'm a Missourian

Definitely do not need a guide to hunt any where in the state...resident or non-resident. Private land you obviously need the land owners permission to hunt, but that is it. Get on the MDC website.

Some of the best places in the state are public, you just have to draw. I'm a bowhunter at heart but friends drag me to the duck blind and I've hit my limit in public land plenty of times. Most CAs do a drawing every morning, the lower the number your group draws the more/better blind/pool choices you have. Some of the top areas you apply for this summer like Bob Brown or Grand Pass (Actually Grand Pass may be a week before draw). They keep daily records so you can see how each blind performed each day of season until the day you hunt. We actually put money into our areas unlike Illinois so we have sucked over a lot of their migration.

For the most part the Areas north of I-70 and around Columbia are good. If you have a boat, run the Mississippi or Missouri river looking for birds. If going that route I would focus on the Missouri around Columbia or Booneville. The further west from there you go the less competition.

Good luck, JH

 

[Fink]

Seriously, don't mess with the draw marshes. Some, like Grand Pass mentioned above, have Missouri River Breaks Sheep tag odds of drawing a blind or pool for a hunt... If you're coming down to hunt, don't bank on the public draw marshes, hunt one of the big lakes or the rivers, they're a very under utilized resource.
Like Mallards says, come down late, and hunt the rivers and lakes when stuff starts locking up. Usually the mallards are really getting here in full force about the time our seasons start shutting down. Conditions can get rough, but there's not many guys that will brave the element for 4 greenheads.

Is it duck season yet?

 

[247Buckfever]

I can't argue with Fink's assessment, whenever I go to the draw hunts is because one of my duck hunting buddies has a reservation so I have a skewed view. I 100% agree on hunting late, I hunt a small river in St. Louis and once the ponds up then thats when to go...typically the last week of season is best for me. cheers