Jealous MN Waterfowl Hunter!

[Trigger50]

I'm very jealous of the western States where waterfowl can be hunted well into December! The MN season ends last week of Nov. We would have some amazing mallard hunting in Dec in MN if the season wasnt closed. Can someone educate me why the waterfowl season is so much longer in the western states? Thanks

 

[Pelican]

As waterfowl are migratory, the USFWS sets the number of days for waterfowl seasons. The number of days varies by flyway. I’m in the Pacific flyway here in western Colorado and we have had 107 days of waterfowl season this year. The state game dept. decides when the 107 days of season start and end. My guess as to why our seasons are longer is that we probably have more birds per hunter compared to the Midwest. Less people and less waterfowl hunters out here.

 

[icebreaker12]

Pelican pretty much nailed it. It has to do with waterfowl populations and hunter density. Generally, as you move west seasons become more liberal. This is usually a Flyway wide regulation. However, there can be differences within the Flyway (High Plains mallards in the Central Flyway).

The argument heard about seeing more mallards after the season is generally because those birds understand they are no longer being hunted. It’s not because there are new birds arriving. If you looking at hunter participation particularly in Northern states, hunter participation drops as the season goes on. So taking days from the early season to move later takes away hunter opportunity.

 

[Trigger50]

Thanks. I'd much rather hunt mallards in Dec verses October!