Turkey and waterfowl in Missouri: seasons, shotguns and shot

Missouri sits astride the Mississippi Flyway with a turkey population that recovered from near nothing, so a shotgun gets more use here than anywhere else in the gun cabinet. Spring gobblers, September teal, November greenheads and February snow geese all come off the same rack, but the loads and the chokes are not interchangeable. Here are the 2026-27 seasons and what to shoot them with.

Spring turkey

The spring youth portion runs April 11-12, 2027, and the regular spring season runs April 20 through May 10, 2027. Hunting hours in spring are one half hour before sunrise until 1 p.m. through the first part of the season, with all-day hunting later; check the current regulations, since that schedule is revisited each year. The limit is two bearded birds for residents, only one of which may be taken in the first week. Nonresident spring hunters were cut to one bearded bird by the Conservation Commission for 2027.

Fall turkey hunting is smaller but real: the fall firearms season runs October 1-31 in open counties, and fall archery runs with the deer archery dates, September 15 to November 13 and November 25 to January 15, 2027.

Turkey guns and loads

A Missouri gobbler is usually killed inside 35 yards, over a decoy on a field edge or in open oak timber. A 12-gauge pump or semi-auto with a 21 to 26 inch barrel and a dedicated turkey choke is the standard rig, and a 20-gauge does everything a 12 does when it is loaded with modern tungsten shot. The 3-inch shell is plenty; the 3.5-inch magnum mostly buys recoil.

Lead is legal for turkeys on most ground, and a 2-ounce load of 5s from a full or extra-full turkey choke is the traditional answer. Tungsten super shot has changed the math for anyone willing to pay for it, because a 1.5-ounce load of TSS 9s carries more pellet energy at 40 yards than lead 5s do at 25. Whatever you load, pattern it at the distance you expect to shoot. A patterning board at a conservation area range will tell you more in twenty minutes than a year of forum reading. Many conservation areas require non-toxic shot for all hunting regardless of species, so read the area regulations for the specific place you plan to hunt.

A red dot on a turkey gun is worth more than most hunters expect. Gobbler shots are aimed shots at a head and neck, not swung shots, and a dot removes the head-position error that makes people miss high.

Duck and goose seasons

Missouri splits into three duck zones. For 2026-27 the North Zone runs October 31 through December 29. The Middle Zone, which takes in St. Louis, St. Charles and most of the central part of the state, runs November 7 through December 13 and again December 19 through January 10, 2027. The South Zone, which covers Cape Girardeau, the Bootheel and the southern Ozarks, runs November 26-29 and December 7 through January 31, 2027. The early teal season ran September 12-20 with a six-bird daily limit. Canada goose runs October 3-10 and November 11 through February 6, 2027, and snow goose runs November 11 through February 6, 2027, with the light goose conservation order following in late winter. Zone boundaries follow highways, not county lines, so check the Department of Conservation zone map if you hunt near a boundary.

Waterfowl guns and loads

Non-toxic shot is required by federal law for all waterfowl hunting, and a plugged magazine holding no more than three shells total is required as well. Steel remains the value choice and kills ducks decently inside 35 yards if you go up two shot sizes from lead: 2s or 3s for mallards over decoys, BB or BBB for geese. Bismuth and tungsten blends cost more and pattern denser, which matters on late-season birds hanging at 45 yards over open water on the Mississippi.

A 12-gauge semi-auto with a 28-inch barrel, an improved-cylinder or modified choke and a synthetic stock is the working duck gun in this state. Inertia and gas guns both run in cold weather if they are clean. A 3-inch chamber is enough for almost everything; 3.5-inch is a goose-pit preference more than a necessity. Pump guns from Mossberg and Remington still fill more blinds in Missouri than anything else, and they do not care about mud.

Where the birds are

The Mississippi bottoms from Ted Shanks in Pike County down past Ste. Genevieve, the Missouri River bottoms at Eagle Bluffs below Columbia, the flooded rice and corn of the Bootheel around Sikeston and East Prairie, and the Mingo and Duck Creek complex northeast of Poplar Bluff carry most of the state's public waterfowl hunting. Managed wetland areas use a draw system on many days, so read the area rules before you drive. Our city index notes the nearest public ground for each town we cover.

Permits and paperwork

For turkeys you need a spring or fall turkey permit and hunter education certification if you were born on or after January 1, 1967. For ducks and geese you need a small game hunting permit, the Missouri migratory bird hunting permit, and a federal migratory bird hunting and conservation stamp, the duck stamp, signed across the face. Buy permits through the Department of Conservation and keep them on your phone or in your pocket.

Buying the gun

Shotguns ship to a licensed dealer in Missouri the same way rifles and handguns do, with no permit and no waiting period, as explained in our Missouri gun laws guide. Chokes, decoys, calls, blind bags and shells ship to your door. If you are outfitting for both seasons, a 12-gauge semi-auto with an extra turkey choke and a red dot covers April and November both. Browse the racks in the catalog, and if you also hunt deer, the deer season guide covers the November portion.

General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.