Waterfowl & migratory birds

Waterfowl & migratory bird hunting in Missouri

Missouri sits right in the middle of the Mississippi Flyway — a flyway is the wide highway in the sky that migrating birds follow north and south with the seasons. Because of that, duck and goose hunting here is a big deal, and people travel from all over to do it.

Hunting ducks and geese comes with more paperwork than most other birds. You need a state permit, a federal duck stamp, and you must shoot steel (or other nontoxic) shot instead of lead. On top of that, the state splits into three duck zones — North, Middle, and South — and each zone has its own season dates, so the first thing to figure out is which zone you're hunting.

Is my county different?

Duck zones

Missouri splits duck season into three zones with different dates: North, Middle, and South. Find your zone on the MDC map.

North Zone
Middle Zone
South Zone

Check the current MDC source →

Seasons

Waterfowl & migratory birds dates — 2026 / 2026–27

Season	Dates
Teal (early)	Sept. 12–20, 2026
Early Canada goose & brant	Oct. 3–10, 2026
Ducks — North Zone	Oct. 31 – Dec. 29, 2026
Ducks — Middle Zone	Nov. 7 – Dec. 13, 2026 and Dec. 19, 2026 – Jan. 10, 2027
Ducks — South Zone	Nov. 26–29, 2026 and Dec. 7, 2026 – Jan. 31, 2027
Geese (Canada, brant, white-fronted, snow, Ross's)	Nov. 11, 2026 – Feb. 6, 2027
Light Goose Conservation Order	Feb. 7 – April 30, 2027
Doves	Sept. 1 – Nov. 29, 2026
Sora & Virginia rail	Sept. 1 – Nov. 9, 2026
Wilson's snipe	Sept. 1 – Dec. 16, 2026
Woodcock	Oct. 18 – Dec. 1, 2026

Dates change every year — confirm on MDC Seasons.

Limits

Migratory bird limits

Species	Daily	Possession	Note
Doves	15	45	—
Woodcock	3	9	—
Ducks	6	18	Species sub-limits apply (mallard, pintail, scaup, etc.) — see the Migratory Bird & Waterfowl Digest.
Geese	Varies by species	Varies by species	Light geese 20/day; white-fronted 2/day; Canada & brant 3/day (confirm the current digest).

Paperwork

What you need to hunt ducks, geese, or coots

To hunt ducks, geese, or coots you'll stack up a few permits and stamps. Here's what each one costs:

Permits

Waterfowl permits & stamps

Permit	Resident	Nonresident	Nonres. landowner	Youth
Small Game Hunting Covers squirrel, rabbit, quail, pheasant, crow, frogs, and hunting furbearers.	$11.50	$108.50	—	—
Missouri Migratory Bird Hunting Needed for ducks, geese, doves, snipe, woodcock, and rails.	$8	—	—	—
Non-Resident Migratory Bird Permit (NEW) New for 2026 (effective Jan. 1, 2026): all nonresidents hunting migratory birds need this.	—	$60	—	—
Federal Duck Stamp Waterfowl hunters 16+. The e-stamp is valid all season and usable right away; the paper stamp must be signed in ink across the face.	$25 paper / $32 e-stamp	$25 paper / $32 e-stamp	—	—
Light Goose Conservation Order	$5.50	$54	—	—

Resident landowners get no-cost deer and turkey permits on their own land. Full list: MDC Hunting Permits.

Hunting doves, snipe, woodcock, or rails instead? Those birds are simpler. You only need the Small Game permit plus the Missouri Migratory Bird permit — no federal duck stamp required.

The big rules

Big rules for waterfowl

Nontoxic shot only: you must use steel or other nontoxic shot. Lead shot is banned for hunting ducks, geese, and coots.
Shotgun size and plug: use a shotgun 10-gauge or smaller, plugged so it can hold no more than three shells total.
No electronic calls: electronic calls are illegal (the one exception is during the Light Goose Conservation Order).
No shooting from a moving boat: you may not hunt from a motorboat while its motor is running.

A special late season

The Light Goose Conservation Order

"Light geese" are snow geese and Ross's geese, and there are so many of them that they damage their own nesting grounds. The Light Goose Conservation Order is a special late season made just to thin them out. During it, several normal rules loosen: there's no daily bag limit, electronic calls are allowed, and you can leave the plug out of your shotgun. You do need a Conservation Order Permit — its price is in the table above.

For young hunters: Missouri also holds special youth waterfowl days for hunters age 15 and under.

Before you hunt

Missouri Porch explains; the MDC decides.

Data current for the 2026 / 2026–27 season. Last checked against MDC: 2026-06-18. Dates, prices, quotas, and county rules change every year. Confirm with MDC before you hunt.

This is a plain-English summary, not the law. Always check the current MDC regulations before you hunt. As MDC puts it, the booklet is NOT a legal document and regulations are subject to revision during the year.

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