A look at a waterfowler’s gear wish list heading into the 2026 season

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My house was quiet. The kind of quiet that screams something is terribly wrong.

I walked into my rental at high noon ready to eat lunch and instead got a belly full of high crimes and canine misdemeanors. In fact, my black Lab, Buddy, a cocksure youngster at the time, had committed an act so heinous, so treasonous, that even Gandhi might have opted for Old Testament justice rather than high-minded forgiveness.

I stood at the foot of the door, spying the repulsive pea-green colored carpet with gold accents. My dog was MIA, but the crime scene was in full view. The primary piece of evidence lay terminally wounded on the carpet. Teeth marks pocked its acrylic barrel and insert, one end of which was permanently disfigured, like it had been attacked by a serrated-edged bread knife.

Before I left for work, the new single-reed duck call in question – a call its marketing mavens promised was on the cutting-edge of innovation and as easy to blow as a paint-by-numbers portrait – was dangling from a lanyard, which hung from the knob of my bedroom door. On most days after work, I’d take Buddy to the park for “obedience” training, blowing the call occasionally as we worked to perfect the basics: sit, stay, come, and heal. A bit of calling to socialize Buddy to my sweet duck music, I always told myself.

I walked into the entryway. Still quiet.

Where’s Buddy? I thought, my mind churning worriedly now. He usually meets me at the door, that sleep gumbo still lodged in his eyes, his tail a-wag like a cut power line as he circles the room (and me) as if in dance. Not today.

I went into the living room – still nothing – and then to the laundry room, where Buddy finds refuge in his portable kennel, his home away from home. His sanctum sanctorum.

“Buddy!”

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I could hear him squirming and whimpering inside. Then his tail began to rattle against the box – thud-d-d-d – but he insisted on staying buried in the bowels of his live-in motel.

“Buddy, come!”

Finally, slowly, ashamedly, he exited his plastic shanty. His ears were pasted to his head, his tail literally between his legs, his cocksureness gone. He wouldn’t even look me in the eyes.

Shame doesn’t become you, Buddy, I said.

Instead of my dog eating my homework, Buddy played chew toy with my new $100 duck call – a call, on the eve of the duck season, I couldn’t possibly afford to replace and which promised to seduce birds into shotgun range, regardless of a hunter’s experience.

Indeed, my new duck call was as dead as Elvis. Not even the late, great Buck Gardner could have coaxed a meaningful high ball or feed chuckle out of it.

In the end, though, I went Gandhi on Buddy. I pardoned him for his treasonous act. He got a life of community service in the duck blind, a sentence he carried out better than I would have ever imagined.

The world of waterfowl hunting is replete with gear, gadgets, clothing, and other fun accessories designed to better the hunt. Each year the waterfowling industry adds to the list – and some even change the game. Some are practical and relatively cheap items, while others can give you sticker shock.

How you spend your money, and on what, is up to you. But never forget: As one wise wag once said, the best gear is experience. Indeed, get in the field and hunt. Find a mentor, if need be. But learn the game – and keep your puppies away from your duck calls.

Here are a few items to consider for your hunting pleasure this coming year.

Ammo

These are strange times for waterfowlers looking to stock up on nontoxic shot for waterfowl hunting. While effective, bismuth has gotten harder and harder to source. And tungsten – it too is effective – has gotten cost-prohibitive for many waterfowlers. As a result, good old-fashioned steel shot is back in vogue.

And some loads come with a twist.

Take Winchester’s Final Pass. The ammo combines two sizes of premium steel in one load, said Jimmy Wilson, a product manager with Winchester Ammunition.

“It makes it highly lethal as a waterfowl load,” he said.

The 3-inch 12-gauge loads blend No. 2½ and No. 4 shot, or 2½ and BB shot. The 3-inch 20-gauge comes with No. 2½ and No. 4 shot.

Waders

Wearing waders in a duck blind has never been synonymous with comfort or a good time. Wearing skin-tight neoprene waders, in particular, might be a necessity when wading in frigid late-season waters, but it’s also a form of drudgery.

Simply put, they’re just extremely uncomfortable to wear. The good news is that some companies are designing waders that are actually a joy to put on and wear.

“Duck hunters have suffered wearing uncomfortable waders forever and a day,” said John Devney of Delta Waterfowl in Bismarck, N.D. “Now they’ve gotten lighter and more comfortable and still keep you warm and dry.”

Devney purchased a pair of Sitka waders a few years ago and paid a premium for them.

“I got sick of spending $400 every two years for another pair, so I decided I was going to make an investment. And I’m glad I did.”

Sitka’s top models have multiply Gore-Tex and are 100% waterproof, including the front zipper, a nice feature that allows for easy on and off. They’re also, Devney said, breathable – a word rarely associated with waders. Be prepared to spend around $1,000. Gulp.

Hunting apps

My friends – most of them hardcore waterfowlers – swear by them and highly recommend the investment. The onX Hunt app, for example, is basically a GPS mapping tool that features color-coded public and private land boundaries, landowner names, and offline map downloads.

Scouting is a huge part of successful waterfowl hunting, but that means putting on countless miles finding the best place to hunt. Not only do hunting apps help with finding landowners, some have mapping tools that help you simplify and shorten your windshield time for scouting.

“I save enough money on a couple of scouting runs to pay for it for the entire year,” a friend said.

OnX Hunt can be purchased with plans by state, multiple states, or nationwide.

“I use it every, single day,” the same friend said. “I wouldn’t be caught dead without it.”

Another popular brand – one that has received wide accolades – is HuntStand.

Shooting gloves

Sometimes it’s the small things that matter most. A good pair of shooting gloves is a case in point.

For years, I struggled finding a pair that worked. Most were either too cumbersome or too slippery when holding my shotgun. As a result, I rarely wore them, my fingers occasionally losing feeling in coldweather hunts. Today’s offerings have improved greatly.

Take Hunt Monkey hunting gloves, which fit skin-tight. The company’s top version, Stealth Hunt, is waterproof, insulated with Thinsulate, and has palm material made of synthetic leather that grips well. They come sizes ranging from medium to XXL.

Decoys

I love decoys as much as any waterfowl hunter.

I’ve spent a small fortune on them over the decades. Some are floaters. Some are made for field hunting. Still others spin or pulsate – creating motion that, at certain times of year, helps finish ducks into the blocks.

Just recently, a friend told me about a new decoy system that’s sort of a jerk-string system on steroids. It’s called the Waterfowl Wheel, a creation of Obion Outdoors.

The Waterfowl Wheel “creates realistic, natural movement across multiple decoys lines, helping our setup stand out when motion matters most.” The wheel moves up to 60 decoys with one machine.

Check out the video here.

Cost: $1,129

Dog beds

As dog owners, we’re obligated to keep our hunting dogs as comfortable as possible. My late retriever – a black Lab – made scores of retrievals over 11 years, and his body paid the price. I always made sure he had a comfortable bed to rest and sleep on, either mine at home or his in his portable kennel on the road.

If you’re in the market, Yeti’s “go-anywhere” Boomer Dog Bed is first class; my nephew has one and it’s really nice. The durable cover and waterproof base mean your dog can curl up anywhere. The supportive foam is thick and comfy. You can machine-wash the cover and hose down the base.

It comes in two sizes: small and large.

Duck call

Mike Anderson of Mankato, Minn., knows his way around a duck call.

He is an expert crooner in the field and on the calling stage. A lifelong waterfowler who has won more than 15 state and regional contests – as well as the prestigious World Championship Duck Calling Contest in Stuttgart, Ark., in 2009 – Anderson has finally developed his own line of calls. Anderson Championship Calls are, as he says, the byproduct of his decades of field experience for “developing an ear for authentic duck sounds.”

The calls – the Money Cut and The Wingman – are made for “hunters new to waterfowling” and “experienced waterfowlers” alike.

“A duck call is much like a woodwind instrument – you have to practice a lot to get good at it,” said Anderson, who routinely does how-to calling segments on his social media platforms.

For more information, visit andersoncalls.com.