Waterfowl and Upland Game Bird Frequently Asked Questions

Waterfowl and Upland Game Bird Hunting Questions and Answers

Q.  What kind of license do I need to hunt waterfowl?
A.  You need a valid California Hunting License.  You'll also need both the California Duck Stamp and the Federal Duck Stamp if you are hunting waterfowl anywhere in the State.  Waterfowl means ducks, geese, coots, moorhen, and brandt. 

Junior hunters (anyone with a valid Junior Hunting License) do not have to have a State Duck Stamp.  However, once a junior hunter reaches 16 years of age, he/she will need a Federal Duck Stamp to hunt waterfowl.

Nonresident hunters can buy an Annual Nonresident Hunting License or a Two-day Nonresident Hunting License.  Both are available from Department of Fish and Game offices and license agents. 

Q.  Where can I buy a California Hunting License, California Duck Stamp and Federal Duck Stamp?
A.  California Hunting Licenses and Duck Stamps are available from most license agents and Department of Fish and Game offices.  Federal Duck Stamps are available at U.S. Post Offices and some license agents.

Q.  What are the fees for duck stamps?
A.  State Duck Stamps cost $13.90. Federal Duck Stamps cost $15.

Q. Do you need a Duck Stamp when hunting pheasants on a State-controlled area?
A.  No.  However, in addition to your valid California Hunting License, you will need an Upland Game Bird Stamp (except junior hunters, who don't need an Upland Game Bird Stamp). 

Q.  When do I need an upland Game Bird Stamp?
A.  Any person (except junior hunters) must have an Upland Game Bird Stamp when hunting pheasant, dove, turkey, quail, grouse, ptarmigan, snipe, band-tail pigeon, or chukar.  The stamp costs $6.85 and is available at Department offices and most hunting license agents.

Q.  Does a junior hunter need a Duck Stamp or Upland Game Bird Stamp?
A.  Any person hunting under the authority of a Junior Hunting License does not have to purchase a State Duck stamp or an Upland Game Bird Stamp.  However, once that hunter turns 16 years of age, a Federal duck stamp is required to hunt waterfowl.

Q.  Do I need steel shot to hunt waterfowl?  What about pheasants?
A.  Steel shot is required to hunt waterfowl anywhere in California.  On most national wildlife refuges and some state wildlife areas, steel shot is also required to hunt pheasant.  However, since requirements vary, check the "Hunting on State and Federal Areas" regulation booklet for the area(s) you want to hunt.  Remember, you cannot possess lead shot while hunting waterfowl, even during pheasant season.

Q.  How do I find out how the hunting has been on various refuges?
A.  Go to the shoot results site at www.dfg.ca.gov/shoot/shoot.html.

Q.  On some areas, the regulations provide for pheasant hunting on the first nine days of the pheasant season.  How do I apply for these dates?
A.  For Wednesday, Saturday, or Sunday shoot dates, or for hunting pheasants at Wister or San Jacinto on Mondays, you need to apply through the normal reservation application process.  Otherwise, when hunting is allowed on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday, it is on a first-come, first-served basis at each area.  For details, contact the area you wish to hunt.

Waterfowl Drawing System Questions and Answers

The Department of Fish and Game awards reservations to hunt waterfowl and pheasants at State-operated Wildlife Areas.  The following list of frequently-asked questions and answers should assist hunters with questions about the Department's waterfowl drawing system.

Q.  When is the deadline to apply for a waterfowl reservation?
A.  The deadline to apply for waterfowl reservations is 17 days before the selected shoot date.  Remember, just count backward by seventeen days from the day you want to hunt.  That is the deadline for your application to be received at the Department's License and Revenue Branch in Sacramento.  Last season more than 15,000 applications from the more than 630,000 received were disqualified.  More than 80% of these were because the application was received after the application deadline and were too late to be included in the drawings.

Q.  How do I apply for a reservation to hunt waterfowl at a State-operated wildlife area?
A.  The Department uses an automated drawing system to award reservations for hunting on State-operated wildlife areas.  Hunters can choose from three types of applications:

The one-choice application ($1.30) can be used to apply for any one area and shoot date throughout the entire waterfowl season.  Hunters will need to fill out their name, address, hunting license number, and driver's license number, then choose the area and date that they want to apply for.

The five-choice application ($6.55) requires hunters to fill out their name and other personal information only once, but they can make five choices on the card, as follows:  (1) choose the same area on five different shoot dates; (2) choose five different areas for one shoot date; or (3) choose a combination of different areas and shoot dates.  This form substantially reduces the amount of time hunters spend filling out waterfowl applications.

The "season-long application" requires hunters to fill out their personal information just once.  Hunters can then apply for every available Saturday, Sunday, and/or Wednesday shoot date for the entire waterfowl season at one of more hunt areas.  This application is very convenient and easy to use, as hunters can complete their entire season's worth of applications in just a few minutes instead of hours!

Q.  Where can I get the applications?
A.  The one-choice and five-choice applications are available from license agents and Department offices.  To find a License Agent go to http://www.dfg.ca.gov/lrbweb/jsp. Hunters who applied for reservations during the previous waterfowl season will receive a season-long application form in the mail in mid-September.

Q.  Am I limited to applying for only one area on the season-long application?
A.  No.  You can apply for any area and any day on that form.  For example, you could apply for every Saturday at Delevan, every Sunday at Sacramento, and every Saturday and Wednesday at Little Dry Creek.

Q.  If I turn in the season-long form for certain days, can I use the One-choice or Five-choice application to choose other days?
A.  Yes.  You can use any combination of applications as long as you do not submit two applications for the same area and shoot date.

Q.  What determines my chance of being drawn?
A.  Your chance of being drawn depends on the number of reservations available and the number of people in each drawing competing for those reservations.  If you apply for a popular area such as Delevan, Sacramento, or Kern, it will be tough to draw a reservation.  But if you put in for Grizzly Island, Mendota, or Gray Lodge, it will be easier to get one.

Q.  I don't hunt during the first half of waterfowl season.  Can I use the season-long application to apply for the last five or six Saturdays of the season?
A.  No.  You must apply for all Saturdays, Sundays, and/or Wednesdays if you use the season-long form.  If you just want to hunt certain days, like the last half of the season, you'll save money if you buy the five-choice application and use it to submit your hunt choices, instead of using the season-long application.

Q.  Why aren't any of the northeastern zone areas on the season-ling application, like Ash Creek or Honey Lake?
A.  We only draw reservations for these areas on a limited basis usually, just for opening weekend of duck season.  Persons wanting to apply for these areas can do so using the One-choice or Five-choice Applications, which are available from Department offices or license agents.

Q.  How does the drawing work?
A.  All information from the applications is entered into the computer database on a daily basis.  When it is time to perform the drawings, each choice in that drawing is assigned a unique random number.  The choice with the lowest random number will get the first reservation.  The choice with the next random number will get the next reservation, and so on, until the drawing is filled.

Example:  Joe Hunter and Jane Hunter each submit an application to hunt at Colusa on October 11.  Both Joe's and Jane's hunt choice (October 11 at Colusa) are entered into the computer database.  When the time comes to do the drawing, the computer will assign a unique random number to Joe's choice, another one to Jane's choice, and another one to every other choice of October 11 at Colusa.  When all of the "October 11 at Colusa" choices have a random number assigned to them, the choice with the lowest random number receives the reservation number one.  The choice with the next random number receives reservation number two, and so on, until the total number of available reservations are awarded.  Even if Joe's and Jane's choices are entered right after each other, they will receive totally different random numbers.  And no random number is ever used a second time during the season once it is used, it will not be used for the rest of this year.  Thus, every single choice will get an entirely different random number.

Q.  If I'm drawn for two areas on the same day, will I get both reservations?  Or will the computer kick me out after I draw the first reservation?
A.  If your applications are drawn at two or more areas on the same day, you will receive  a reservation to hunt at each area.  That means that you make the choice of deciding where you want to hunt that day, instead of the Department determining your choice.  For example, if you were drawn on the same day for reservation number one at Howard Slough, and reservation number three at Little Dry Creek, you probably would not want us to throw out your Little Dry Creek reservation because your Howard Slough reservation number was the higher number.  You can choose which area you want to hunt (probably Little Dry Creek) and someone in the sweat line at the other area (Howard Slough) will be happy that you didn't show up that day.

Q. How will I be notified if am drawn for a reservation?
A.  You will receive a computer generated postcard from the Department with general information about the hunt areas.  The other side will have the hunter's name, hunting license number, hunt area, and reservation number.   Hunters receiving the reservation will need to turn in the reservation at the check station for admission to the hunt area.

Q.  Are the waterfowl drawing results available on the internet?
A.  Yes.  The drawing results are available on the Departments website at www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/waterfowl/waterfowldrawresults.html.

Q.  Can I still hunt at a waterfowl area if I am not drawn for a reservation?
A.  Hunters who do not receive reservations can still hunt on a first-come, first-served basis at most State-operated areas.  However, the Type B areas Ash Creek, Butte Valley, Honey Lake, Willow Creek, and Shasta Valley are open only to reservation holders on opening weekend of waterfowl season, and the Honey Lake units are also open only to reservation holders on opening weekend of pheasant season.

Q. What is the advantage of filling out one application for 5 refuges with different dates as opposed to 5 separate applications?  It seems like with the 5 separate ones, you would have 5 chances to be drawn as opposed to one application and one chance to be drawn.
A.  The advantage to using one five-choice application, instead of five one-choice applications, is simple: you only have to fill out one card instead of five cards. That means you only have to write your name, address, hunting license number, and driver's license number once. Every application, whether it's a one-choice, five-choice, or season-long application, has an equal chance of being drawn.

All of the information (the choices you made) on the application is entered into a database.  When it's time to do a drawing, the computer looks at all of the choices that were entered into the computer for the specific shoot date and area.  It assigns a random number to each choice, arranges the random numbers from low to high, and awards reservations beginning with the lowest random number.  It doesn't matter whether the choice came from a season-long, five-choice, or 1-choice card; the computer only knows that a choice for that shoot date and area was submitted and the computer handles it from there.

For example, if you submitted a five-choice application and you selected Delevan, Colusa, and Sutter for October 10, and Delevan and Colusa for October 11.  All of your choices were keyed into the computer system and are just waiting for the drawing.  When it's time to run the drawing for October 10, the computer grabs all the choices for October 10 including your choices for Delevan, Colusa, and Sutter and gives them all a different random number.  It then orders all the random numbers for Delevan from low to high number, and the lowest number gets reservation number one.  The next random number gets reservation number two, and so on, until all the Delevan reservations are awarded.  Then, it does the same thing for Colusa, Sutter, and every other hunt area for that hunt date.  If your random number was low enough, you would get a reservation.  When it's time to do the drawing for October 11, then the computer will follow the same procedures to award reservations for that date.

Email questions to the License and Revenue Branch