Arkansas Duck Season

The second segment of Arkansas’s regular duck season kicked off again this weekend. Duck season started again yesterday, Sunday Dec. 26 and will continue across the state through Jan. 31. But that doesn’t mean all of the shooting stops on Jan. 31.

Thanks to special rules enacted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, duck hunters 15 and younger, as well as active-duty military personnel and veterans, may hunt waterfowl during Arkansas’s third annual Special Youth and Active Duty Military and Veteran Waterfowl Hunt Feb. 5.

The hunt, which has been in place for youths for 20 years, was modified during the 2019-20 waterfowl hunting season to include veterans and active-duty military as a show of gratitude for their service to the citizens of the United States.

Youths and veterans may have additional people with them during their hunt as a mentor or observer. Those people may call, video the hunt, or work a dog to retrieve ducks, but they may not carry a firearm or assist with shooting. Shooting hours and bag limits are the same as regular duck and goose seasons. Veteran hunters, as well as youth hunters may hunt on wildlife management areas from 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset these two days and any shell restrictions on WMAs are lifted during these hunts.

This will be the second youth and veteran waterfowl hunt of the 2021-22 waterfowl season, the first being held earlier this month. The hunt is split into two days at different times of year to increase the chances of it coinciding with good weather conditions and duck abundance. In some years, early water and cold weather combine to create good duck hunting in December.