A Guide to American Woodcock Hunting

It comes as no surprise that the popularity of American woodcock hunting has risen with the decline of other upland game species in its flyway. In many areas, the bobwhite quail has become a distant whistle and the ruffed grouse merely a ghost. Woodcock are a migratory bird with flyways that stretch from Canada to Louisiana, east Texas, and even Florida. As a result of their geographic diversity, they have earned a variety of nicknames and cultural nods such as “mud bat” and woodcock gumbo. The entire eastern half of the United States hosts woodcock seasons which are regulated by federal migratory game laws. With a crash course in habitat knowledge, the leap to becoming a woodcock hunter is often easier than with other upland game species. Before you know it, that distinct whistle of rising wings will be a calling card for one of your favorite game species.