Waterfowl and upland shotguns for the Sacramento Valley

The Sacramento Valley is one of the great waterfowl places in North America. Rice ground, flooded bypasses and a string of national wildlife refuges from Willows to the Delta hold a large share of the Pacific Flyway every winter, and the upland seasons that run alongside them give a shotgun plenty to do from September into January. This guide covers the 2026-27 seasons, the ammunition rules and the shotguns that suit the ground.

The Balance of State duck season

The Sacramento Valley falls in the Balance of State waterfowl zone. For 2026-27 the duck season runs October 24 to January 31. The daily bag is seven, which may include seven mallards with no more than two hens, three pintail, two canvasback, two redheads and two scaup, and the possession limit is triple the daily bag. Veteran and active military days for the Balance of State fall on February 6 and 7, 2027.

Geese run on three separate windows in the same zone: an early season for large Canada geese on October 3 to 5, the regular season alongside the ducks from October 24 to January 31, and a late season on February 20 and 21 for Canada geese and February 20 to 24 for white-fronted and white geese. The daily goose bag is 30, of which up to 20 may be white geese and up to 10 dark geese with no more than six white-fronted; inside the Sacramento Valley Special Management Area only three may be white-fronted. Those rules are set annually inside federal frameworks, so read the current regulations before opening day.

Where people hunt

The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex, with the Sacramento, Delevan, Colusa and Sutter units, is the backbone of public hunting between Willows and Yuba City. The Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area south of Woodland floods every winter and is close enough to Sacramento for an evening hunt. Grizzly Island in the Suisun Marsh, the Upper Butte Basin units near Chico and the Delta areas around White Slough fill in the rest. Most of this ground runs on reservations and draws, with a state area permit required, so apply rather than turning up.

Shot and licences

Nontoxic shot is required for waterfowl, and California's own nonlead rule means you cannot use lead on any game bird anywhere in the state. Steel is the standard answer and works well inside 40 yards with the right loads; bismuth and tungsten blends cost more but carry further and are gentler on older barrels. You need a hunting licence, the California duck validation, HIP certification and a federal migratory bird stamp, plus the area permit where one applies.

Duck and goose guns

A 12-gauge, plugged to three shells, is the default. A 3-inch chamber covers nearly all valley shooting; 3.5-inch guns are worth it mainly for high geese over decoys, and many valley hunters never load one. A gas-operated semi-automatic is easy on the shoulder over a long morning of goose shooting, and an inertia gun runs cleaner in mud and cold. A pump will outlive both of them and costs less.

Choke matters more than gauge. For ducks over decoys in a rice field, improved cylinder or modified with a 3-inch steel 2 or 3 load is plenty. For pass shooting or geese, go to modified or improved modified with steel BB or BBB, or a dense tungsten load in a smaller pellet. A 20-gauge with modern nontoxic loads is a genuine duck gun now and a pleasure to carry through flooded corn.

Upland seasons

Quail is the main upland bird here. For 2026-27, Zone Q1 opened September 12 for mountain quail only and ran to October 16, then all quail from October 17 to January 31. Zone Q2 runs September 26 to January 31 and Zone Q3 October 17 to January 31, all with a daily bag of ten. Chukar runs October 17 to January 31 with a bag of six, mostly on the dry east side. Pheasant is a short statewide season, November 14 to December 27, with two cock birds a day for the first two days and three after that. Dove runs September 1 to 15 and again November 14 to December 28, with fifteen a day of which up to ten may be white-winged; Eurasian collared-dove is open all year.

Upland guns

Foothill quail in the oak and chaparral around Placerville, Grass Valley and the Mother Lode towns hold tight and then go all at once, usually downhill. A light 20-gauge with improved cylinder and modified, or a 28-gauge if you shoot one well, is more fun than a heavy 12. For pheasant on public ground where birds run and flush long, a 12-gauge with modified choke and a heavier load earns its weight. Chukar on the east-side rimrock is a hiking sport first and a shooting sport second, so carry the lightest gun you shoot well.

Dove in September is the season that starts everything. A field gun in 12 or 20 with an improved cylinder choke, a box of shells more than you think you need, and shade. Remember that lead is out on all of it in California, so buy steel or bismuth dove loads rather than pulling last year's box off the shelf.

See our deer and wild pig guide for the big-game side, the California gun laws guide for the purchase and ammunition rules, or open the catalog.

General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.