NR Minnesota Waterfowl

[WestKyHunt]

My buddy and I are rolling around the idea of traveling out of state to hunt waterfowl this year as Kentucky has gone down the crapper (wasn't a far fall, but a fall nonetheless).

Where do I start when looking for places to hunt?
With something like 1500 choices how should I start to narrow it down? Here there are ~5 areas worth going.
I know local knowledge goes a long way and am looking for any info at all at this point!
Even something as small as a certain end of the state.

Feel free to PM me as well! I know most guys don't want their spots posted on the interwebs

 

[NoWiser]

I wouldn’t come to MN. Keep driving to ND. Seriously. It’s not worth your time to stop here unless you want to combine it with some fishing or grouse hunting.

 

[WestKyHunt]

I wouldn’t come to MN. Keep driving to ND. Seriously. It’s not worth your time to stop here unless you want to combine it with some fishing or grouse hunting.

SD is our 2nd choice. But I know it is a draw for NR.

I like the thought of ND though

 

[cwitherow]

Resident MN, newbie to waterfowl...keep driving. If you’re coming all this way, it would be worth the extra few hours to get into some good bird numbers. If you do end up in SW MN, let me know.

 

[Nick87]

What time of fall works best for you guys?

 

[Deleted member 38069]

I would be glad to help! Like others have said, MN is not your best way to invest your time. I hunt public spots pretty hard. I’d say 20% of the hunts have decent bird numbers. Then factor in other hunters and that dwindles down quite a bit. But if you’re feeling lucky and plunge, PM me.

 

[WestKyHunt]

What time of fall works best for you guys?

We haven't narrowed the time frame down since we know in those long northern states, seasons start and end in zones.

 

[WestKyHunt]

I would be glad to help! Like others have said, MN is not your best way to invest your time. I hunt public spots pretty hard. I’d say 20% of the hunts have decent bird numbers. Then factor in other hunters and that dwindles down quite a bit. But if you’re feeling lucky and plunge, PM me.

I'm starting to see a common theme haha

 

[thusby]

There is plenty of good duck hunting in Minnesota. Timing them is the problem. They blow in on a north wind, congregate in flocks of a 1000 for 3 days, and then a blizzard blows them out.
I hunt probably 3-4 weekends in Minnesota and its usually boom or bust. If you have 7-8 days, I would say go for it. I can shoot you some general "best" times and a few areas to scout in a PM.

 

[WestKyHunt]

@thusby @BoomerUSAF @cwitherow @NoWiser

Thanks for the info guys!

I believe that I am going to convince my friend into going somewhere else.
Last year we had a guided hunt in Arkansas that ended up being a bust, so we are definitely trying to put the odds in our favor if we travel this year.
(No fault of the guide. He's a great guy and we've become friends)

 

[Doublecluck]

I wouldn’t drive to Minnesota to hunt waterfowl if I lived there. You got Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, all closer though admittedly more popular and crowded. You could get up in to SD but really if you were willing to go that far or to Minnesota for that matter ND is paradise caompared to all of them.

 

[thusby]

Kansas is a short ride from where you are at and they murder the birds there.

 

[WestKyHunt]

I wouldn’t drive to Minnesota to hunt waterfowl if I lived there. You got Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, all closer though admittedly more popular and crowded. You could get up in to SD but really if you were willing to go that far or to Minnesota for that matter ND is paradise caompared to all of them.

Arkansas is not the waterfowl mecca it once was. Really the south east in general has tanked.
Personally I believe the Mississippi flyway has and is shifting westward.

ND sounds good, but I was thinking maybe SD would be a little less crowded with the lottery on NR licenses

 

[NoWiser]

I wouldn’t drive to Minnesota to hunt waterfowl if I lived there. You got Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, all closer though admittedly more popular and crowded. You could get up in to SD but really if you were willing to go that far or to Minnesota for that matter ND is paradise caompared to all of them.

Funny and true. I live in MN and don't bother anymore. My buddies I grew up duck hunting with go to ND.

 

[Doublecluck]

Arkansas is not the waterfowl mecca it once was. Really the south east in general has tanked.
Personally I believe the Mississippi flyway has and is shifting westward.

ND sounds good, but I was thinking maybe SD would be a little less crowded with the lottery on NR licenses

I’ve always thought the miss flyway was overrated to begin with. I mean everyone has to shoot greenheads in flooded timber at least once in their life but anyone who’s hunted Washington,Oregon or even the Sac valley knows the pacific flyway has the edge.

SD has a lottery cause lots of people go there, from what I’ve experienced ND could have every R and NR go out on the same day and there would still be a hundred potholes and empty corn fields between them. And although legislation keeps coming up trying to change it last I checked (was there 3 weeks ago for snows) you can still hunt anything not posted.

 

[JShane]

Arkansas is not the waterfowl mecca it once was. Really the south east in general has tanked.
Personally I believe the Mississippi flyway has and is shifting westward.

ND sounds good, but I was thinking maybe SD would be a little less crowded with the lottery on NR licenses

respectfully disagree regarding the south east having tanked considering Florida is part of that region. But i'm probably gonna get slapped by a few locals for posting this.

 

[WestKyHunt]

respectfully disagree regarding the south east having tanked considering Florida is part of that region. But i'm probably gonna get slapped by a few locals for posting this.

Most guys from Florida must be hiding what yall really have then

 

[Nick87]

Kansas is a short ride from where you are at and they murder the birds there.

That's what came to mind off the bat for me also

 

[OntarioHunter]

Keep driving into Canada and you will see waterfowl hunting like you could only imagine. Licenses are cheap and people are accommodating. I usually have about a month of fantastic goose hunting if everything cooperates (especially getting the crops off the fields - often the weather screws that up). This is a small area and getting competitive since moose hunting has been exploited to death. Bush hunters are shifting their game. Last year goose hunting sucked. They just didn't come and no one knows why. The flyway is definitely shifting around. This year I may shift further north of here or west to Manitoba. The country north of Winnipeg is fantastic. Great bear hunting, trout and walleye, and deer and elk. Lakes large and small everywhere. Fields are rolling hills broken by potholes and timber pockets. Prettiest place on earth I think. I suspect travel restrictions will be lifted by October. Getting your guns across is no problem if you're going hunting. Declare them and fill out a temporary possession license. Get a US ATF Form 6 done ahead of time to bring them back to US. I don't think you'll need it but good to have if some US border person gets full of himself. I understand they can be done on line and three day turnaround. US will only allow you to depart the country with 5,000 rounds of ammo. That should be enough unless you are a skybuster. Anyone who comes up here and does that should be in a rubber room. It's just not necessary. You can (and almost certainly will) shoot upwards of forty ducks and geese a day and take back as many white geese as you can shove in a reefer semi. Here the possession limit on black geese is also unlimited (daily limit is five and doubles the first ten days of season).

The only thing that could put a wrinkle in Canada hunting is a criminal record and even that can usually be overcome if one jumps through the bureaucratic hoops early enough (and offense is not serial murder). Any record for possession of grass would undoubtedly get rubber stamped okay quickly because it's legal up here now.

Also, if you're pricing it out, keep in mind the exchange rate on Canadian dollars is very favourable for you ... and getting more so every day since our latest federal budget was tabled this week.

I only know of two outfitters for waterfowl. One in Manitoba and one in Saskatchewan. I would not reccomend the SK guy (though hunting was good) but the Manitoba fella is great. Only fished with him as a friend but saw how his operation was run and of course fell in love with the country there. It is unbelievable. Best kept secret in North America. He had just finished up spring bear season. 27 clients left with 27 bears. Always said I would relocate there when I retired but my wife and son are buried here and my grandson, who is spitting image of his uncle, has a very special bond with Papa. Like his late uncle, he's autistic. I'm needed here.This is late great Pearl on her last day waterfowl hunting five years ago. That's two limits of honkers and a lone snow ... taken from one flock. Note the patches of missing hair from IVs on both front legs. She was battling autoimmune disease. She beat it (and glioma brain cancer the previous year) but kidney disease took her following March. Tough dog! She retrieved all but one of the eleven geese from a weed choked slough. Opal retrieved one before Pearl told her off.

 

[JShane]

Keep driving into Canada and you will see waterfowl hunting like you could only imagine. Licenses are cheap and people are accommodating. I usually have about a month of fantastic goose hunting if everything cooperates (especially getting the crops off the fields - often the weather screws that up). This is a small area and getting competitive since moose hunting has been exploited to death. Bush hunters are shifting their game. Last year goose hunting sucked. They just didn't come and no one knows why. The flyway is definitely shifting around. This year I may shift further north of here or west to Manitoba. The country north of Winnipeg is fantastic. Great bear hunting, trout and walleye, and deer and elk. Lakes large and small everywhere. Fields are rolling hills broken by potholes and timber pockets. Prettiest place on earth I think. I suspect travel restrictions will be lifted by October. Getting your guns across is no problem if you're going hunting. Declare them and fill out a temporary possession license. Get a US ATF Form 6 done ahead of time to bring them back to US. I don't think you'll need it but good to have if some US border person gets full of himself. I understand they can be done on line and three day turnaround. US will only allow you to depart the country with 5,000 rounds of ammo. That should be enough unless you are a skybuster. Anyone who comes up here and does that should be in a rubber room. It's just not necessary. You can (and almost certainly will) shoot upwards of forty ducks and geese a day and take back as many white geese as you can shove in a reefer semi. Here the possession limit on black geese is also unlimited (daily limit is five and doubles the first ten days of season).

The only thing that could put a wrinkle in Canada hunting is a criminal record and even that can usually be overcome if one jumps through the bureaucratic hoops early enough (and offense is not serial murder). Any record for possession of grass would undoubtedly get rubber stamped okay quickly because it's legal up here now.

Also, if you're pricing it out, keep in mind the exchange rate on Canadian dollars is very favourable for you ... and getting more so every day since our latest federal budget was tabled this week.

I only know of two outfitters for waterfowl. One in Manitoba and one in Saskatchewan. I would not reccomend the SK guy (though hunting was good) but the Manitoba fella is great. Only fished with him as a friend but saw how his operation was run and of course fell in love with the country there. It is unbelievable. Best kept secret in North America. He had just finished up spring bear season. 27 clients left with 27 bears. Always said I would relocate there when I retired but my wife and son are buried here and my grandson, who is spitting image of his uncle, has a very special bond with Papa. Like his late uncle, he's autistic. I'm needed here.View attachment 181102This is late great Pearl on her last day waterfowl hunting five years ago. That's two limits of honkers and a lone snow ... taken from one flock. Note the patches of missing hair from IVs on both front legs. She was battling autoimmune disease. She beat it (and glioma brain cancer the previous year) but kidney disease took her following March. Tough dog! She retrieved all but one of the eleven geese from a weed choked slough. Opal retrieved one before Pearl told her off.

you keep posting stuff like this you're gonna find me in your back pocket one day.