Who goose hunts?
- Thread starter Axis II
- Start date
I've never intentionally hunted them. Taken a few that came close enough when duck hunting.
Maybe. Of course if you're aim is on target a tight pattern isn't a handicap. But I've never been a great wingshot. I prefer to use a more open choke and give myself a better chance. If the shots were relatively close a more open choke would mean a bigger pattern and just might increase your odds.
A better shot than I would use a tighter choke and make some long shots I'd never try. I just pass on the long shots, use a more open choke and improve my odds on the shots I do take.
Maybe. Of course if you're aim is on target a tight pattern isn't a handicap. But I've never been a great wingshot. I prefer to use a more open choke and give myself a better chance. If the shots were relatively close a more open choke would mean a bigger pattern and just might increase your odds.
A better shot than I would use a tighter choke and make some long shots I'd never try. I just pass on the long shots, use a more open choke and improve my odds on the shots I do take.
troy fairweather
Member
I'd love to try it, don't know anyone close that hunts them but looks fun. I've killed geese but never hunted them.
Whats not worth the expense?
Absolute blast man! So we had been watching where they went for about a week and setup across the road. The first few flocks went across the road and my buddy tried calling the smaller 3-4 birds in but was able to get a decent flock to commit. Having birds right in your face is pretty cool. I think i like that more than deer hunting
Patocazador
Member
I only went once, over 55 years ago. It was a federal wildfowl refuge and we drew some tags. Only allowed to have 12 shells, limit = one goose. No one scored in our group. The birds all stayed very high until they got over the river and then dropped down. Only 2 geese were killed on the refuge that day.
Anchorite
Member
Only shots of opportunity when they are low enough when duck hunting.
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I have a hard time shooting as well from the lay out position as I do when I can stand on my own feet. I imagine it gets better with practice. I like #2 or BB for geese. I assume a 12 gauge?
Yes, 12ga 3” shells
Chuck R.
Member
I used to goose hunt regularly (snows and Canadas), and am now getting back into it. My goose hunting partner PCSd and it takes a special kind of idiot to like getting up at 0300, put out a boat load of dekes, then watch them bounce off your spread and land in the next field over. 
I've still got about 4dz shells, 2 dz floaters and 9dz silhouettes (old Outlaws) and a complete snow; spread, rags, silhouettes, and kites.
I hunt primarily from layout blinds. The shooting from layout blinds get easier, but left to right crossing shots are sill a PITA.
When decoying (and they are decoying) I use mod and #2s for 1st shot, then BBs 2nd and 3rd. When they're not decoying, PatternMaster and BBs.
Used to use a Browning BPS 10GA, and switched to a Benelli SBE 12 3.5". The BPS was just too hard to maneuver in a layout boat or layout blind.
Friend of mine is coming up from OK on the 13th and we'll do a backyard goose hunt that evening off my pond. I can only get away with it a couple times a year before they wise up. Around here they really kick in towards the end of DEC to early FEB when the conservation order kicks in (snows, no limits, no plugs and E-Callers).
Best method, scout for fields they're using, get permission, watch them the night before, then hunt the next morning.
When it works (decoying) it's a thing of beauty, There's nothing like having a flock cupped, opening up the doors on the layout, and watching the expression as they realize they've been had and climb for altitude. I swear you can feel the bodies thud when they hit the ground.
From last year:
I've still got about 4dz shells, 2 dz floaters and 9dz silhouettes (old Outlaws) and a complete snow; spread, rags, silhouettes, and kites.
I hunt primarily from layout blinds. The shooting from layout blinds get easier, but left to right crossing shots are sill a PITA.
When decoying (and they are decoying) I use mod and #2s for 1st shot, then BBs 2nd and 3rd. When they're not decoying, PatternMaster and BBs.
Used to use a Browning BPS 10GA, and switched to a Benelli SBE 12 3.5". The BPS was just too hard to maneuver in a layout boat or layout blind.
Friend of mine is coming up from OK on the 13th and we'll do a backyard goose hunt that evening off my pond. I can only get away with it a couple times a year before they wise up. Around here they really kick in towards the end of DEC to early FEB when the conservation order kicks in (snows, no limits, no plugs and E-Callers).
Best method, scout for fields they're using, get permission, watch them the night before, then hunt the next morning.
When it works (decoying) it's a thing of beauty, There's nothing like having a flock cupped, opening up the doors on the layout, and watching the expression as they realize they've been had and climb for altitude. I swear you can feel the bodies thud when they hit the ground.
From last year:
Armored farmer
Member
Shoot em in the head.
Savage30L
Member
I don't have anywhere to hunt them here in KY, but when I lived Maryland, I killed a pile of them. We killed more geese than ducks, they were everywhere. I shot most of them with 2 3/4" loads of 3, 4, 5, or 6 shot (Hevi-shot or Kent Impact Tungsten Matrix). You don't need a magnum and BB shot to kill a goose; #6 Hevi-shot wallops them.
I used improved cylinder choke for everything in the air (geese, ducks, doves, snipe, you name it). A lot of people over-choke their guns. Full choke, as far as I'm concerned, is properly limited to deer (buckshot), turkeys, and trap-shooting. And heck, come to think of it, most of the deer I shot with buckshot, were with a modified choke.
Frulk
Member
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Lived on a farmstead in North Dakota through the 80’s. Mostly corn and sunflower country. Thousands of snow geese would come in 100 yards from house in the harvested fields . Would have to go out at night and shine the field to get them to move so we could get some sleep.
Hunted geese with a 1st year REM 11/87 Waterfowl magnum with screw in chokes. We would stalk hunt them from the Red River Valley almost to Devils Lake both on the north and south side of Highway 2. Was always a mixed bag hunt. Pick up the odd fox, pheasant, coyote etc while going for geese.
After 2-3 years I found I didn’t like cleaning them and preferred chicken so I stopped targeting them.
I will say say when that REM 11/87 barked, geese rained from the sky. Went to pick one up that I dropped from up high and it still had its oxygen mask on. ANOTHER gun that I shouldn’t have sold because of the memories it carried in every scratch and ding.
Hunted geese with a 1st year REM 11/87 Waterfowl magnum with screw in chokes. We would stalk hunt them from the Red River Valley almost to Devils Lake both on the north and south side of Highway 2. Was always a mixed bag hunt. Pick up the odd fox, pheasant, coyote etc while going for geese.
After 2-3 years I found I didn’t like cleaning them and preferred chicken so I stopped targeting them.
I will say say when that REM 11/87 barked, geese rained from the sky. Went to pick one up that I dropped from up high and it still had its oxygen mask on. ANOTHER gun that I shouldn’t have sold because of the memories it carried in every scratch and ding.
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.308 Norma
Member
Maybe, I don't know. I used to hunt geese many years ago. Back then, the average "goose gun" was a 12 gauge (or even the occasional 10 gauge) with a long barrel and full choke firing #2 shot. I myself used a Remington 1100, 12 gauge with a 28", full choke barrel and 2 & 3/4" #2 shot shells, and I never found it lacking.
The thing was though - back in those days, lead shot for migratory waterfowl was still legal. I suspect my old Remington 1100 "goose gun" wouldn't be worth a crap for hunting geese nowadays.
At any rate, I didn't quit hunting geese because they banned lead shot for hunting them. I quit hunting geese simply because we moved a lot further away from my favorite goose hunting area. It would be a 90-mile drive each way for me if I was to hunt geese in that area nowadays. Besides, the only way we like goose (OR duck) is to fillet the meat off the breasts, roll the fillets in flour and seasonings, and chicken fry them.
Used to hammer em during the early nuisance season.
1100 Magnum 12 ga, 30" full choke and Bismuth #2 in 3 inch.
Drop em like a wet washrag at 50 yards.
Way better than BBB steel in 3.5" (plus that gun was a Mossberg 835, which i don't care for).
Steel brought most down, but usually not out, and at shorter yardage.
17.99 for 10 rounds of Bismuth in the early 90's.
Id proly have a heart attack if I checked what the stuff goes for now.
As in dove hunting, I do love shooting triples. Not 3 in a row, but 3 in a pass, all targeted.
1100 Magnum 12 ga, 30" full choke and Bismuth #2 in 3 inch.
Drop em like a wet washrag at 50 yards.
Way better than BBB steel in 3.5" (plus that gun was a Mossberg 835, which i don't care for).
Steel brought most down, but usually not out, and at shorter yardage.
17.99 for 10 rounds of Bismuth in the early 90's.
Id proly have a heart attack if I checked what the stuff goes for now.
As in dove hunting, I do love shooting triples. Not 3 in a row, but 3 in a pass, all targeted.
brewer12345
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- Nov 29, 2015
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I will sometimes throw out a few decoys, but mostly I am a public land pass shooter for geese. I typically hit the major river after all the small water has frozen because the birds concentrate in the river. These are combo hunts, so I will also be looking for beaver, ducks when in season, doves/pigeons, small game, etc. Some days its a washout as the birds stay too high. The best days are the nastiest weather.
I had been using steel BBs, but after some very frustrating days followed by killing several with steel 2s that I had loaded for ducks, I am paying more attention to pellet count and pattern density. I don't take real long shots, so the smaller pellets seem to kill just fine and give much better patterns. This season I will be experimenting with 3.5 inch steel shells that have a mix of 1s and 2s in them. For the late season we tend to switch to bismuth 2s or 1s because there are more greaters around (up to a 20 pound goose), they are wary, and the feathers are real thick.
I had been using steel BBs, but after some very frustrating days followed by killing several with steel 2s that I had loaded for ducks, I am paying more attention to pellet count and pattern density. I don't take real long shots, so the smaller pellets seem to kill just fine and give much better patterns. This season I will be experimenting with 3.5 inch steel shells that have a mix of 1s and 2s in them. For the late season we tend to switch to bismuth 2s or 1s because there are more greaters around (up to a 20 pound goose), they are wary, and the feathers are real thick.
Savage30L
Member
If you've never tried Hevi-shot, or Kent Impact Tungsten Matrix, you should. Once I tried those, I never used iron shot again.
brewer12345
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All of this stuff is so expensive I have a really hard time justifying the cost. If and when money is no object, sure. Til then, well, mostly I don't bother with long shots anyway so within 30 or 35 yards steel is "adequate."
archeryrob
Member
I agree, I focus on the check patch and lead and fire. I generally use 3" Kent Faststeel in #1 for all waterfowl. Full choke for geese and modified for ducks. I'll use BB sometimes if I don't expect ducks or they are out of season.
You probably missed because you are shooting without leading and the shot arrives where they were and not where they are. That is very typical for new goose hunters.
get some big boxes and pattern your gun. I used Hevi-steel B's years back and missed ducks a lot. When patterning my gun I noticed I could shoot right round a duck. Expensive ammo is no good in your gun if it doesn't pattern it good. I use a biakal MP-153 with factory chokes and have fast shells that pattern well in my gun. I bought a fancy chock for the mossberg I used to shoot and it did not pattern any better than my factory chokes did.
archeryrob
Member
Here is a 30" circle, Hevi steel B and 40 pellets in the circle, one luck pellet hits the head and no other lethal pellets. This is a failure when patterning your gun and wrong shell, choke or both. Try something else.
WisBorn
Contributing Member
It is really easy to under estimate how far away they are.
Look for the white patch behind the eye. If it is easy to identify they are probably close enough to bring down.
Look for the white patch behind the eye. If it is easy to identify they are probably close enough to bring down.
brewer12345
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Or if you can see their feet.
.308 Norma
Member
That's for sure! Especially when you're used to shooting pheasants and ducks. When a Canadian Honker about the size of a B-52 comes in, you can easily think it's closer than it really is.
That's what I was taught.
I'd never heard that before, but it sounds like a real good idea too.
Many years ago laying in cold muddy rice fields waiting for them to come in to the spread. Wading through icy irrigation canals on a sneak at a flock. I gave that nonsense up long ago. The only thing good to me about goose meat is a a good gumbo. I do remember one time we had a few in the back of the Blazer and stopped in town to get some beer. The back window was down and one came alive and flew out the window. Had to chase the damn thing down the street through town...
