waterfowl - Outdoor Stats

08

Mar

The Full Moon Myth: What 25,000 Hunt Days Say About Moon Phase and Duck Hunting

Hunters swear full moons kill the hunt. 22 seasons of California check-station data say otherwise. The real signal isn't the moon.

waterfowl

8 min read

08

Mar

Why Raw Hunting Averages Lie (And How We Fix It)

Before we can ask 'does rain help duck hunting?' we have to solve a harder problem: the same data that contains the answer is contaminated by a dozen things that have nothing to do with rain.

methodology

5 min read

08

Mar

Holiday Hunting: What Thanksgiving, Christmas, and 26,000 Hunt Days Reveal About Pressure

Everyone hunts the holidays. Thanksgiving Wednesday draws 37% more applicants. Christmas week is even hotter. But the real discovery: when Christmas shuts down Saturday hunting, Sunday performs like a Saturday — proving hunting pressure, not day of week, drives the Sunday slump.

waterfowl

6 min read

07

Mar

Does Weather Actually Affect Duck Hunting?

25,000 hunt-days of CDFW data show rain and wind have real but tiny effects on duck harvest. Temperature does nothing at all.

Analysis

6 min read

03

Mar

How Do I Go Duck Hunting in California?

A no-BS guide to getting started with duck hunting on California's public wildlife areas — licensing, check stations, and what to expect at 3 AM on a country road.

Guide

7 min read

03

Mar

How to Get on a California Wildlife Area

Reservations, lotteries, and the sweat line — the three systems that control access to California's best duck hunting. Here's how each one works and how to play them.

Guide

8 min read

02

Mar

Best Days to Hunt California Waterfowl Refuges

We analyzed 26,145 hunt-days across 40 CDFW public hunting areas from 2003 to 2026. Here's what the data says about the best days to hunt.

Analysis

8 min read