I used to be a hard core duck hunter. I go one or two days a year now if I get invited to a place with good food and hot coffee.

 

How many of you all have given it up entirely ?

I quit close to 20 years ago. In my late teens and early 20s I hunted them 7 days a week, rain or shine. Got to where it wasn't worth the hassle. I hunted all public timber. The duck population started declining and the hunter population started increasing. Easy decision. I see pics online now that guys are proud of. We would've called that a slow morning 20-30 years ago. They can have it! I still have the memories/pictures of the hunts back in the good old days.

 

90%(+?) of these goons running around on public now don’t have any friggin clue of what a good hunt actually is or what they’re missing (and ruining) with all of their shenanigans.

 

I used to hunt about 50 days of the season. I haven’t been one time this year. I’m going to go at some point but I just ain’t mad at them enough to deal with all the bullcrap

 

I used to go every day I could, but I haven’t been in about 10 years now. I do miss the good timber hunts though. I might go again just to remind myself why I quit.

 

I quit when they imposed steel shot. LOL.About that time was when my dad quit going. When he quit I did. Tried to go by myself a couple of times after and ran into people hollering screaming and threatening because I wandered up on them.
Went another time with friends and they almost fought in the line to the ramp at schaffers. I hunt for fun. Altercations with idiots with guns isn't my idea of fun.

 

I quit long ago, when the ducks quit.

 

Same for me. My old dog died my last season and didn’t go back. Probably been 18 or so years now.

 

I quit 20 years or so ago. We'd hunt Black Swamp and Hurricane mostly. Youd hear some shootin' but most of the time it was so far away from you that the ducks you were working didnt pay it any attention. You could actually work ducks and kill limits fairly regularly as long as you had water and the ducks were here. Those days are pretty much long gone on most public land now and it just wasn't the same or something I wanted to deal with.

 

I had a lease a couple of years down here ( TX ) but they have been building subdivisions on all the good properties and numbers have crashed.

I have thought about public in AR after I move, but I don't like crowds. For me, the crowds ruin it completely.

Maybe I will get on a lease, if I can afford it

 

I quit about 5 years ago, but I have the opportunity to go where I am deer hunting now. Not sure if I will though. If my daughter wants to go, I will buy my stamps and give her that opportunity. Sadly, I think the days of multiple memorable awesome hunts are behind us. I can recall seeing tons of ducks every time we went back in the late 80s-90s, but when I quit, you were lucky to have 1 day all season like that.

 

quit a long time ago. Was fun, but got too expensive for my blood. And too crowded.

 

I guess, I'm not a quitter since I never started duck hunting.

 

I’m pretty much done 😔

 

born and raised in Arkansas and other than pond ducks, never "duck hunted"

never wanted to, sure don't nowdays

 

I love it, but it's nowhere nearly what it used to be, and "all my rowdy friends" have quit.

Going alone isn't as much fun as it was, so my number of days is limited. Finally spent a little money for a lease this year and haven't been yet due to work and other obligations. I want the fire to burn like it did, but it's hard to get it stoked.

 

I think I have a couple of hunts left in me but they will be dry land and on private ground

 

We had some good hunts on Kerr I have heard it’s a **** show

 

I still duck hunt a lot. I’m fortunate to have access to good private ground. My days of hunting bayou meto 30 days a year are over. Now I old man around in the sxs and talk about the good ol days. That said…. I still have my mega rig and my back up mega ready to roll on a moments notice.

 

I've quit my favorite places such as Bayou metto but now hunt under pressured spots that i won't name. I dont see greenheads as much as i used to and the walks are longer but I don't have to get up at midnight anymore and i can always find a spot even with my kids if it means the majority of birds i see are divers, then so be it but I'll keep passing the tradition on

 

What do y’all attribute the decline in Arkansas?

I quit 8 years ago because of many seasons were depressing due to an early freeze or just no rain (say it ain’t so) equals no birds, they look for open water. And like others have said, those in it nowadays don’t have a clue of what a “good season” is.
They only care about how much they can construct the seasons (cut it from 7 DAW to 3 DAW) and raise license and tags fees.

I quit 8 years ago because many seasons were depressing due to an early freeze or just no rain (say it ain’t so) equals no birds, they look for open water. And like others have said, those in it nowadays don’t have a clue of what a “good season” is.

 

The loss of nesting habitat in Canada and elsewhere is almost certainly the primary driving force of those declines. And duck hunting just isn't like it used to be.

Now in his mid 60s, Lee Kjos has been visiting Canada to hunt and photograph ducks since he was a teenager. From eastern Manitoba to Alberta and all over Saskatchewan, he says wetlands and grass have vanished, and the ducks have disappeared with it.

“We’ve lost that habitat at an alarming rate,” says Kjos, who lives in Minnesota and still travels extensively during duck season. “I used to go through areas that looked like Swiss cheese. Little potholes everywhere, and I mean hundreds of them in an area. And they’re gone.”

Where Are All the Ducks?

Duck hunters say they had a rough season last year. The USFWS says hunters harvested a ton of birds. So who's right? Here's what biologists have to say.

www.outdoorlife.com

 

Loess Bluffs NWR in NW MO had 310,000 ducks and geese last week - mostly ducks. This week, the have 172,000. Most of that loss was due to pintails and greenwing teal leaving - which should have been here three weeks ago

 

I’m not hanging it up but don’t go near as much as did 5 years ago. I’ve only hunted Arkansas for the last 15 years. Not near as long as some people here. Still, I’ve noticed the decline.
Even if it floods the areas I hunt, the amount of people is stupid. I’m not for a draw, but wish there was a way to limit the absurd amount of people. The no ooser days helped on the places I went. My dad’s a nonresident so not being able to go to a particular wma on the those days was a downside if he was in town.

 

I don’t think birds are making it to us like they once were. I feel from the loss of habitat in Canada due to warmer weather and droughts the birds are pushing further north, east and west in search of nesting grounds. Taking them longer to get here or putting them in another flyway. More food north of us means they don’t have to come as far south and the ones that do make it to Arkansas don’t need public land for food, clubs all over the state holding a few thousands birds all season. The GTR’s used to be for food but now I think birds use them in the evening after everyone has gone for a resting place.

 

I think they (the birds) are afraid of the Duck Commander clan, Duck Dynasty is a thing.

 

The only time I hunt public is when the kids are back in school and the others are back at work. The exception is if everything freezes or I’m killing time on the Arkansas River. I enjoy my fresh coffee and breakfast at our private spots.

 

Not totally thrown the towel in but getting close. Will probably hunt private a couple of times this season but will definitely stay away from the public land circus. I think the downfall of my public land hunting began with the spinning wing decoy in 1999 followed by Google Earth, OnX, Facebook, $30K duck boats, and $1K waders. AGFC has not helped things but we have definitely not helped ourselves along the way. The extreme commercialization of duck hunting coupled with everyone wanting the most "likes" on social media has turned it into something that I no longer want to be a part of.

 

This. Nail on the head.

 

Still got what most would call a very nice boat but my favorite way to go these days is by myself in my canoe.. Maybe 5 days a year.