Missouri and Arkansas offer some of the best public-land bird-hunting with dogs in the U.S., thanks to a mix of diverse habitat, ample public access, and well-managed wildlife areas. In Missouri, areas like Mingo National Wildlife Refuge near Puxico provide bottomland hardwoods and flooded habitat that attract migrating waterfowl, making it a solid destination for duck and goose hunts. On the upland side, places such as Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area near Maryville support ring-necked pheasant and quail hunts.

Meanwhile, Arkansas is a dream destination for waterfowl hunters. The vast wetlands and rice-field regions around cities like Stuttgart give hunters access to flooded timber, marshes and bottomland hardwood forests that draw thousands of migrating ducks each winter, a reason Stuttgart bills itself “Duck Capital of the World.” Major public-land hubs such as Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area and Cache River National Wildlife Refuge provide prime waterfowl habitat and permit migratory-bird hunts on public ground.