Arkansas Duck Hunting Blog

At Cupped Wings Guide Service, a trusted name among Arkansas duck guides, the Beretta A400 shotgun has become more than just a piece of equipment, it’s their ultimate waterfowl hunting companion. Renowned for its reliability, innovative features, and superior performance, the Beretta A400 stands out as the shotgun of choice for navigating the challenging conditions of Arkansas wetlands and timber.

Arkansas has long been a premier destination for duck hunting enthusiasts, boasting rich wetlands and abundant waterfowl populations. As we step into the 2024-2025 Arkansas Waterfowl Season, the landscape of duck hunting in the state is evolving, influenced by shifting regulations, environmental changes, and emerging trends in hunting gear and techniques.

The number of ducks in the fall flight in any given year relies primarily on the conditions and occurrences the birds encounter on the breeding grounds. The science clearly shows that nest success, hen summer survival, duckling survival and other events of the three-month breeding season are 10 times more important to duck population growth or decline as anything that happens during the other nine months of the year — including hunting season.

Captured near Delta Beach, Manitoba, in August 2023, a hen mallard has wowed researchers with one of the most extensive migrations ever recorded for the species using a geolocator. Recovered in Arkansas in January 2025, the duck traversed thousands of miles.

The Mississippi River Basin Initiative is one project that is making a huge difference. It is focused on enhancing surface water irrigation and minimizing soil and nutrient runoff by building fields with berms around them, drained by pipes with flashboard risers to hold water for ducks.

Widespread rains during May—a critical month for duck production—brought welcome relief to much of the prairie pothole region, particularly in parts of North Dakota and south-central and northern South Dakota. This went far in helping offset the poor conditions for breeding ducks reported in our April map, as it recharged seasonal wetlands and boosted the prospects for nesting and renesting efforts.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission at today’s meeting approved two changes to Arkansas’s 2025-26 waterfowl season to shorten the number of days in the annual special early teal season and to increase the daily allowed bag limit on northern pintails from one to three. The changes are the result of regulations frameworks released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with the Mississippi Flyway Council.

One of the easiest parts of the hunt to control is the one that often gets screwed up the most. You probably don’t really suck at calling, but you do want to know how you can do it much better and more effectively.

There were mixed waterfowl habitat conditions across the United States and Canada this fall. Overall conditions on key migration and wintering areas should prove positive this winter for duck and goose hunting across most of the United States.

Despite the technological advancements in duck-hunting apparel, it’s important to note that no camouflage pattern on the market can conceal a hunter who is openly staring at ducks or fidgeting to get the first shot on a group descending upon the decoys. Everyone who has ever duck hunted has made that eager beaver move out of excitement — many more than once.