Duck hunting is an obsession for Arkansas town

Stuttgart, about 55 miles east of Little Rock, is known as the duck capital of the world. For the next two months, thousands of hunters will descend on eastern Arkansas and drop millions into the state's economy. The Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce estimates that duck hunting contributes more than $1 million a day to

the town's economy. This year's season opened on Saturday.
Stuttgart thrives on its duck hunting heritage. Businesses erect banners welcoming hunters. The Best Western is named the Duck Inn and has the Duck Blind Lounge. The Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie hosts a "Waterfowl Wing," a permanent exhibit that replicates a duck hunt along with a collection of decoys and guns. Posh duck lodges, sitting on hundreds of acres of prime hunting land, pepper the outskirts of Stuttgart.
The Queen Mallard and Junior Queen Mallard pageants kicked off the weeklong Wings Over the Prairie Festival on Saturday. The week closes with a street festival and the world championship duck calling contests, which began in 1936, and a duck gumbo cook-off.
Former Arkansas Governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee calls Arkansas the "holy grail of duck hunting."

"A crisp clear morning on the Arkansas prairie, standing next to a tree in flooded hardwood timber waiting in the stillness before sunrise, is as close to heaven as one can get without dying," Huckabee told Reuters.
Stuttgart, population 9,745, sits in the Mississippi Flyway near the Arkansas and White Rivers. Several bayous and lakes also surround the area. Those draw waterfowl, as do the area's flooded rice fields. Stuttgart is home to Riceland Foods, the world's largest miller and marketer of rice.
The combination creates a hunting oasis.

In the 2010-11 season, more than 1.4 million ducks were harvested; 700,000 were mallards.
While the state faced severe drought conditions this year, state Game and Fish officials point to artificially-flooded areas and those with permanent water as good hunting spots this year.

Nearly 80,000 of the state waterfowl stamps required for hunters were sold in the 2010-2011 season, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Of those, 48,000 were sold to Arkansas residents.
Even non-hunters visit Stuttgart for the hoopla around hunting.
Mack's Prairie Wings, a waterfowl outfitter mega-store, lures hunters and tourists from around the world.
A mammoth mallard duck statue greets visitors outside the store. Inside, hunters can buy an array of goods from essentials like ammunition, decoys, guns and camouflage clothing to expensive lodge furnishings, women's leather boots and even Christmas decorations.
Chuck Lock, Mack's executive vice president, said that business explodes from early November, when hunters prep for the season, until late January, when hunting ends.
"We call it 90 days of hell," Lock said, half-joking.
He said that duck hunters are anticipating a good season and his business is reflecting that.
On Saturday, aisles were packed with hunters and their families. Hunters stocked up on boxes of ammunition. Women bought Mack's souvenir t-shirts in bulk for Christmas gifts. Children wanted stuffed

mallard duck toys. Some hunters sat in rocking chairs on the store's porch and traded stories.
Jordan Johnson, 33, started hunting at age 14. He remembers when Mack's was smaller and located in downtown Stuttgart instead of in its current location on the town's edge.
He said that duck hunting is an experience accessible to anyone in Arkansas.
"Duck hunting in Arkansas is more about sharing the outdoor experience with friends, family and business associates than hunting ducks," Johnson said. "There are just as many business and family decisions made in a duck blind as there are at any boardroom or golf course."

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By Suzi Parker