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West Central and the Osage

Four Rivers, Schell-Osage, Montrose and the upper arms of Truman. Freeze-thaw country that stays huntable later than the north and swings hard week to week.

2.8

Stable / Staging

Pre-Season, Birds Still North

High confidence +0.2 last 24hPintails 3.0

Gadwall score, conditions as of Tue, Sep 15, 12:00 PM

West Central and the Osage

2.8

Steady temps

Legal light 6:28 AMSunrise 6:58 AMSunset 7:23 PM🌒 Waxing crescent · 23%

5AM9ENE · 73°
6AM9ENE · 72°
7AM9ENE · 72°
8AM11E · 73°
9AM12E · 76°
10AM9ESE · 80°
11AM7ESE · 84°
6.6Decoy score · WorkableBluebird sky: expect wary, high birds · Midweek rest: birds have settled since the weekend crowds

Best window: Legal light (6:28 AM) to 10:00 AM

No push wind forecast; first light is the best bet

Off-season: the main migration window has not opened yet

Times shown for the region center. Season dates and limits change yearly and by zone: verify with Missouri Department of Conservation.

Moist-soil and flooded corn: OpenGreen timber and sloughs: OpenBig river and reservoirs: Open0 freezing degree-days over the last two weeks (estimated from air temps until the satellite ice feed lands)

Water on the landscape: Water on the landscape is in decent shape (0% of Missouri in drought, US Drought Monitor).

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  • Off-season: the main migration window has not opened yet

Poor

Off-season: the main migration window has not opened yet. Strongest window: Wed into Thu.

Gadwall
2.3Tue152.8Wed162.6Thu172.4Fri182.4Sat192.7Sun203.1Mon212.5Tue222.6Wed233.2Thu242.6Fri253.0Sat263.1Sun273.2Mon28

Days 8 through 14 sit beyond the reliable forecast window and lean on season history. Read them as a trend, not a promise.

The score is a weighted blend of the drivers below, each rated 0 to 10 from current conditions. No black box: this is the whole model.

Cold front / temp trend16% weight
2.0

Flat temperature trend

Wind direction + speed14% weight
2.9

NW winds to 9 mph across 1 of the next 48h

Freeze north of region16% weight
1.5

0% of upstream hours below 28°F

Snow advance upstream10% weight
1.5

Little to no snow upstream

Local open water / holding10% weight
9.0

Waters open, birds can stay and feed

Season timing14% weight
0.9

Outside the main migration window

Crop harvest / field feed8% weight
0.9

Corn ~10%, beans ~0% (typical-progress estimate)

Hunter reports12% weight
5.0

No recent hunter reports in this region

Pro

The freeze line across the stations upstream of this region, station by station, so you see shallow water locking up before the birds arrive on it.

Pro

Last night's NEXRAD read on whether birds actually moved: how much lifted off after sunset, which way it tracked, and how fast it flew under its own power once the wind at that altitude is subtracted out.

92°Fnow
SW 12 mphwind
1°next 24h, falling
DayHi / LoWindSnow
TueSep 1594° / 76°S 12 mph
WedSep 1697° / 72°E 12 mph
ThuSep 1797° / 75°SSW 8 mph
FriSep 1899° / 75°SSW 13 mph
SatSep 1999° / 76°SSW 15 mph
SunSep 2097° / 73°SW 14 mph
MonSep 2184° / 67°N 8 mph
Pro

What other hunters reported in this region over the last 72 hours: species, how hard they were feeding, and whether the birds looked like new arrivals. Filing your own report is free and counts toward this region's score either way.