Delta Waterfowl’s Hunt Annual Issue Highlights New Gear, Why We Hunt, Emerging Hunter Trends

If you’re a member of The Duck Hunters Organization, then your favorite magazine of the year—the Delta Waterfowl “Hunt Annual”—arrives soon!

What’s your favorite sign that duck season is right around the cornåer? The subtle shortening of days, or that first cool breeze on your neck? Maybe it’sthe first flights of blue-winged teal winging overhead. Or, just maybe, it’s the arrival of Delta Waterfowl’s popular Hunt Annual Issue!

Delta Waterfowl magazine’s largest issue of the year, the 2024 Hunt Annual’s 148 pages celebrate opening day with exhilarating tales of waterfowling adventures across North America, plus expert strategies and gear recommendations to put more ducks over your decoys.

Is it time to treat yourself to some new waterfowl hunting equipment or clothing? The Delta Gear Guide is your premier source for the hottest new products, from decoys, calls, shotguns, and ammo, to waders, boats, and retriever accessories. Best of all, when you purchase any of the products profiled, you’re supporting important Delta advertisers and sponsors—companies that help us make more ducks for you.

 Next up is an investigative report, “There’s Hope for Hunting’s Future,” in which Paul Wait—a multi-time award-winning journalist and Delta’s senior manager of communications—reveals the trends and demographics of new waterfowlers joining our ranks. The piece additionally explores what’s drawing newcomers to waterfowling and how this may help inform best R3 practices.

Those themes are also a component of the feature, “UHP and You,” in which editor Kyle Wintersteen explores how supporting Delta’s University Hunting Program protects your access to quality duck hunting.

Further hunt-related analysis is offered by “State of the Spinners,” in which field editor Brian Lovett offers insights into the evolving opinions on the use and effectiveness of spinning-wing decoys.

And as always, the Hunt Annual is packed with thrilling tales to fight off these final weeks of longing for the duck blind. We’ll take you to Arkansas, where hand-carved decoys cause mallards to pour into flooded timber during the 2023 Delta Decoy Hunt; you’ll revel in the world-class photography in “Addiction to Divers,” a photo feature by Gary Kramer; you’ll chuckle and relate to a hunter’s bumbling misfortunes in “Sittin’ Geese;” and your waterfowling passion will be stoked by staff writer Christy Sweigart’s action-packed chronicle of duck and goose hunting in Nebraska’s famed North Platte River valley.

How about a strong finale? The issue’s back page “Last Pass” column, titled, “The Zen of Wingshooting,” is a refreshing take on why we hunt—namely that we all savor life in the moment when ducks are over decoys.

The Hunt Annual also includes informative and entertaining columns such as Duck Dogs, Shotgunning, Strategies, and Waterfowl Chef to help you get the most from your waterfowl season.

Of course, the only way to receive Delta Waterfowl magazine including the Hunt Annual is to join The Duck Hunters Organization. If you are a member, thank you for your support. The Hunt Annual will arrive soon!

To join Delta Waterfowl, call (888) 987-3695 or visit deltawaterfowl.org/memberships.