Duck and Rice Capital Of The World

Guns Magazine, July, 2000 by Holt Bodinson

At least once in a lifetime, every shot-gunner should head for Stuttgart, Ark., during late November. Located at the confluence of the Arkansas, White and Mississippi rivers, this small town of 10,000 at the bottom of the Mississippi flyway has been known for decades as the "Duck and Rice Capital of the World" and indeed it is.

Possibly the best measure of the incredible amount of waterfowling that goes on in the Stuttgart area is the sale of shotgun shells. The major sporting goods store in this modest community, Mack's, sold over 2 million Winchester steel shot shells last year alone -- more than any other store in the world. In fact, the store's marquee advertises cases, not boxes, of shells. I saw a ton of Bismuth going out their door as well this fall.

What struck me while shopping in Mack's this season were the number of families shopping together for hunting gear. There were as many wives and daughters buying new boots, shotguns and calls as there were young men and their fathers. It's a good sign.

Unique to this part of the flyway, and to duck hunting in general, is the Stuttgart tradition of hunting ducks in flooded hardwoods. Standing against a hardwood trunk in a foot or more of water, you wait in the early morning hours for the ducks to float down through the treetops. It's a form of waterfowl hunting that has to be experienced.

If this sounds too easy, it's not. It's sudden and fast shooting. I was shooting 3" Bismuth #4 shells in my Browning Gold, and I had to work each morning for a limit.

During the last week in November, the whole town is turned over to the "World Championship Duck Calling Contest, which is part of the larger "Wings Over The Prairie Festival" organized by the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce. Main Street becomes the scene of a riotous Mardi Gras in celebration of the sport of hunting. Definitely put Stuttgart in your future waterfowling plans.