There’s no other month like December

For me, there’s not a better month than December. I look forward to it all year long.

I live for December. This, in my opinion, is the best month of them all.

You can hunt chukar, huns, pheasants, turkeys, and small game. If you haven’t filled your deer tag, there are a few areas you can try to bring home a doe. Most furs come into prime in early December, so if you like to hunt coyotes or fox, this is a good month for that, too.

And of course, waterfowl hunting is what December’s all about. November may be the month for pheasants, but from now until the end of the year, it’s duck and goose season.

Sure, you just about have to have a PhD to make sense of the migratory bird hunting regulations. They were a lot simpler when I was a kid, when there were just the two different flyways to figure out. But now with the zones within the flyways, they’re a bit convoluted. But if I could figure them out, anyone can. The season is open for both ducks and geese throughout the state now, and it’ll stay open until the day after Christmas in the Pacific Flyway or into January in the Central.

Waterfowl hunting should be good this month. There are still lots of birds coming down from places farther north. There are a lot more geese still on their way south than ducks, but that’s nothing new.

The recent cold snap may present a problem in some places, especially at the higher elevations. When the lakes and rivers freeze over, there isn’t much to hold the birds, so they may be passing over, instead of stopping. If you can find some open water, though, chances are good you’ll be able to entice a flock or two to come in for a rest stop.

All things considered, December’s a great month. The only thing that gets in the way of the hunting is that little holiday on the 25th. But if you can convince your significant other to let you get out in the field that day, you should have most of the outdoors to yourself.