Goose Hunting

[PorkChop]

Lengthy and boring read and no birds killed

Well, Vincenzia, Natalina, Reaper and I did our first goose hunt of the season.

Been watching a field for about two weeks with round bales in it. Didn’t know what the crop was until I walked out there a couple days ago. It is oats, so today was the first time we have ever hunted in an oat field.

This field is a half mile long and about a quarter mile wide. Right below here I’ll kind of give the pattern of how I saw the birds each day I looked at it:

Day one birds were on the far north edge of the field, and I guesstimated about 50 birds

Day two they were in the same spot, and I was able to count them and I counted 47

Day three the same amount of birds, but this time they were on the far south side of the field right next to a rock pile with a lot of vegetation around it. This got me pretty excited as it was a good place in the field to hunt.

Day 4 birds were in the middle of the field. Also, there was only about 22 birds out there.

Day 5 was a foggy day and that was the first day I set foot out in the field. I got there about 45 minutes earlier than I had been getting there, which was about 6:30 in the morning. Start walking across the field to look for blind material and thought I spotted something so I eased out of the field and walked back to the truck to get my binoculars. Walked slowly again into the field and sure enough they were geese. Once again in the middle of the field and once again, only about 22 birds. As I stated it was pretty foggy so there may have been more birds, but I couldn’t see them.

DAY6, which was this past Sunday morning there was only six birds in the field. We had originally planned to hunt this Monday morning, but after only seeing six birds in the field, I decided not to.

Day seven drove by the field and there was over 70 birds in it. So of course I was kicking myself for not hunting.

Yesterday there was 30 something birds, so we decided to hunt this morning.

Woke up at 0355 so Sarah and I could go do our morning workout. Got home right about five and the girls were pretty much ready to go. I had to drink some coffee first and lighten my load. I always prefer that at home instead of in the field somewhere. I’m not as manly as 5-stand! My goose trailer needs to be resealed as it’s letting a ton of dust in so we just took the truck. Didn’t really like how all the decoys and blinds were fitting in there so we never got over 50 mph. Still had plenty of time to get set up and park the truck.

The SX decoys look beautiful! That being said, I absolutely despise ring bases. I think I hate just about everything about them! Thankfully, the SX decoys come with both stakes and ring bases. I brought the ring bases just because the ground is so dry and hard. I did bring a few stakes to try out and they went in the ground pretty easily so from now on, we will keep on using the stakes.

The latest I have driven by that field each day was 8 AM. Every day there has been birds there. 8 o’clock came and went and no birds. About 830. I said we would stay till 9 o’clock. Then I fell asleep and I guess so did the girls. Woke up a little bit after nine and asked if there was any birds in the decoys and they said no. Then I told them how I’ve woken up before with birds in the decoys. I get out of my blind and start walking around and sure enough there is two geese on the north end of the field. We make a plan that Reaper and I will walk along the edge and see if I could get them to flush and maybe come their way. Sure enough did that and the birds got up and when they spotted the decoys, they went right over there . Vincenzia was a little too excited and called the shot too early (looked like they were gonna land right in.) I could tell she was pretty bummed but this hunt (and I am sure several more) was mostly about getting back in the groove and figuring out all the stuff we forget over winter and summer.

I was dragging my feet, as I wasn’t ready to go. Then we spot a single, and it flies by like we were not even there. Lands into another roost. It stays there for about 15 minutes and flies back to the north east where I spot two bigger flocks. They come, and they land in the roost that that single just went into. Then I spot a couple more flocks and then they land in a different little roost. We wait about another 20 minutes and then I send Vincenzia to get the truck. Of course just as she’s turning to get into the field. Some of those other birds get off the roost and start coming our way. I would say about 30 birds. At this point most of the decoys are in bags. I think only about three or four still on the stands. They’re coming right for us, and I am waving my hands trying to signal her to stop, but she keeps coming. She finally sees the birds and stops . Birds are coming right at us dumping down and then they flared about 35 yards. I almost called the shot, but I decided it was best to just let them go and not educate that many with a crappy shot opportunity. Our early Season Honkers are getting pretty smart. Definitely not as easy to hunt like 20 years ago.

Reaper was very excited this morning. He was going nuts once he saw us in camo. Pretty positive he woke up the rest of the family with all his barking. Now he’s passed out next to me.

Truth be told I’m pretty happy that I’m not cleaning early season lol birds right now. Some of them suckers can be about as hard as cleaning a goldeneye.

If you read all this you deserve a cookie!!!!

[SpinnerMan]

Where do I get my cookie?

I'm happy if I'm seeing birds, especially if they play.

Happier obviously if I get them.

Sounded like fun to me.

[PorkChop]

Where do I get my cookie?

I'm happy if I'm seeing birds, especially if they play.

Happier obviously if I get them.

Sounded like fun to me.

Yep it was definitely fun! I know Vincenzia was super happy because this is the first time she’s gotten to drive my truck without anybody in it. Thankfully, she didn’t mow down any decoys. When she pulled up to where the blinds were I motioned for her to pull up a little bit further. She put it in neutral instead of drive, and really made that hemi sing.

We definitely have a lot of work to do with our gear. Stuff we identified last season but was forgotten over the long winter and sad summer!

[Rick]

Everybody talks about lighting a cigarette, pouring a cup of coffee or taking a leak, but the surest way to make birds fly is to pack up.

[PorkChop]

but the surest way to make birds fly is to pack up.

I would say it has a 99.99999% accuracy rate.

[PorkChop]

Went scouting last night. About 40 birds right where we were set up. Very happy that I made the decision not to take a crappy shot at those birds. Also found a Pea field with about 70 in it. We were going to hunt one of the two this morning, but we had some thunderstorms come through and drop enough rain to make the fields muddy. It’s supposed to get into the 80s today so hopefully we can hit one of the fields tomorrow. Most likely will do the P field as it is more visible to other hunters. The other field is pretty hidden, and in the last two weeks I’ve been the only person that has driven down the road that goes by it

[Rick]

...and in the last two weeks I’ve been the only person that has driven down the road that goes by it

That ain't never did happen in our part of the world.

[PorkChop]

...and in the last two weeks I’ve been the only person that has driven down the road that goes by it

That ain't never did happen in our part of the world.

One of the many reasons why I love this part of the world. That being said, every state I have lived in, I found something that made me say I could live here forever.

[PorkChop]

Well, we broke the ice this morning! We hunted a spot that had a massive group of 29 birds using it ha ha. I told the girls and my dad that that was better than sitting on the couch so we decided to give it a whirl.

Yesterday, about 2 o’clock I walked out into the field to figure out where we could set up. There is a rock pile out there, so I wanted to figure out how we could utilize that. I plan on getting my dad in the Leo Blindspot after flying and everything I didn’t wanna just throw him in one, so I figured the rock pile would be best for his comfort level. Well the birds were still out there sitting on a little puddle. So we went out there blind this morning. Lots of cover on the rock pile however, it did not extend off the rocks, so we just snuggled up against it.

First, we had a pair come in. I called the shot.
I wasn’t loaded yet as they came right at legal shooting time. Natalina shot twice and missed. Vincenzia shot once and missed. And my dad shot once with his brand new Bonelli and knocked one down. I started calling pretty aggressively, and it took about a minute or so, but I finally convinced that other one to come back down close enough and I shot it. I hit it with the first shot but it was a delayed reaction so just as it started to dump I hit it with another one.

Next, we had a single come in. I called the shot and everybody was too slow for lightning Leo and I dropped the bird.

Lastly, another single came in and I called the shot. Vincenzia shot one time and missed and it was almost on the ground. Reaper broke so I did the deed and got my third bird of the day. That was about it. Few other birds landed to the east of us, and had a few migrators come out of Canada.


Had a fantastic time with a lot of laughs. The girls were being girls and bickering away. Despite breaking and dropping the first goose Reaper did fairly well. When he saw us in our camo this morning, he was going berserk. My gun case is on the bed and he’s been guarding it all day. It’s amazing how that instinct clicks in those chessies. He was doing the same thing with the dead birds.

Plan to go again in the morning but don’t have enough birds figured out to justify it. Also, I have to work so I’m going to work and scout in the morning and maybe Monday morning we will hit them. Supposed to go down to 44° tonight so that’s not gonna help my dove problem. definitely will send more birds down to you guys. Tomorrow is also the opener in Canada and I think a few states their teal season opens tomorrow as well. I know Definitely will send more birds down to you guys. Tomorrow is also the opener in Canada and I think a few states there till season opens tomorrow as well. I know at least Nebraska does.

Sorry if there’s a bunch of typos, but I’m too tired to go over it

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[PorkChop]

The old man, chilling against the rock pile. I dread when it’s in the mid 60s and I have to wear winter gloves like he is. But I can tell every year my tolerance for the cold goes down the toilet

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[Rick]

Nice way to kick the new season off.

[Duck Engr]

Nicely done! Great to see 3 generations hunting together.

[PorkChop]

Well my laziness the last 4 or 5 years has really taken a toll on my goose killing skills. Although I would say between my job schedule and my bad hip I have a decent excuse, it’s still pretty embarrassing!

We have been killing a couple here and there but nothing to post about.

Well, after making a couple real bad decisions on a field, we hunted the other day, a Hunt that should’ve been double digits of dead birds, I had a come to Jesus, talk with myself. I need to get back to the old killer, getting up way earlier, getting those blinds ready, getting those decoys ready, having an or two of time before legal shooting time. No more seeing how late we can sleep in till, barely being ready when the birds are flying. We had two hunts that we had birds come in this week and we were not ready. if it was just me, I probably wouldn’t care but it’s impacting the kids.

So today we did it right. Got up early, got out there, got the blinds all done. Didn’t cut any corners. Showed the girls where the blinds were lacking and made them fix them. Like I told them, I didn’t spend thousands of dollars in decoys, thousands in gas, thousands in guns and ammo to half ass this anymore. They got some good lessons today, lessons that they should’ve been getting from the beginning. And to be honest, I know I got pretty cocky over the years and it didn’t really take much for me to kill my limit when I was by myself but I’m pretty capable shooting at all different angles but when you have a group of kids you can’t get away with a lot of them shots.

Unfortunately, the birds didn’t get the memo, and they were short stopping us. Sent Vincenzia a few times to flush a couple of the flocks. Had birds landing in the decoys, didn’t have one flock flare. With the exception of the birds, not coming to where we were, Everything went as it should’ve. Well minus our shooting. Can’t wait to look at the ShotKam footage as we missed some cake shots. But I took the time to show the girls on the birds where we were hitting and how we are not leading them enough. So we will see what the future brings . We still ended up with eight birds today but if we were shooting correctly I’m guessing we would’ve been in the 20 bird range. Vincenzia has dollar signs in her eyes as I pay her to clean my birds. We have killed more birds Canadas this week than we did all of last season , which is good. Well, not good for my wallet.

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[PorkChop]

This Goose was a pretty cool one because I was tickling my dad’s ear with a long piece of grass. He thought it was a fly and I was holding my gut in my blind trying not to bust out laughing. I sat up to start doing it again and this single goose flew right over our heads, cupped wing tip to wing tip and landed. Told Vincenzia to shoot it, and she missed, then she shot again and she clipped its wing. Besides not bringing it right to her hand Reaper did an OK job getting it. He wanted to bring it to me, but she sent him. I’m not overly big on having the dog, holding the bird and healing by my side and sitting there with a bird in its mouth until I tell the dog to release it. Just too many situations here where there’s not time for that. I don’t care so much if the dog drops it at my feet. A guy I hunt with sometimes is constantly saying hold hold. Hold hold hold hold hold as his dog is bringing back a bird. Makes me go bonkers. Anyways, just a little boring video.

[Duck Engr]

Nice job by Reaper!

[Rick]

Dog work boring? Strange thought, that.

[PorkChop]

just a “yokeing” around. Never gets old for me

[5 stand]

Sounds like a good early goose season...

Shooting at a few doves help get the kinks out...

[PorkChop]

Oh how I wish the Doves would’ve stuck around! But for some reason we lost at least 80% of them.

Get out this morning. Had about a 15 minute more longer drive so the wake up time was earlier.

Got done, setting everything up with enough time for the kids to lay on their backs, and enjoy the stars.

These birds got hunted two days ago by a different group.

Decided I wanted to use more decoys as a hide was a bit more difficult. So we used the big foots instead of the SX.

First was a pair. Dumped right in. I called the shot. I dropped the first one with no problem. Vincenzia and my dad shot and missed and I got the second one. Then a single came in and my dad smoked it. We were pretty pleased with ourselves that the first three birds stayed. Then another single one dumped right in I told Vincenzia to shoot it and she whiffed again and then I missed it. My dad never pulled the trigger.

Then the bigger flocks started coming, and once again, we had birds coming in, and our shooting was not up to par. All the birds did it right and we had birds just off the ground and birds on the ground landing in. Not one flock flared.

Ended up with nine. Brought Florentina and Calvino along for this hunt. They had a great time hiding in the cattails. They saw some snakes. Gardner I suppose.

We were home by 9 o’clock. I still had to work and so did Vincenzia. Sarah had egg and bacon burritos waiting for us when we got home. Another great day with family.

Reaper did a fantastic job including finding a dead goose that dropped in a standing bean field. Typically going in standing crops around here is a huge no no, but the landowner said it was OK and so we ventured in and started seeing reapers tail, wagging like crazy, and within a minute or so he was bringing back the dead bird. Great to see that he is using his nose straight off in the beginning of the season. Previous years he has taken a little time to transition from seeing birds to smelling them.

The new GoPro is giving me a run for my money. I guess 5 stand must really truly be smarter than me from the videos, I have watched on mine my potty mouth is a bit worse than I thought. Need to clean that up. Ha ha.

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[5 stand]

"kids to lay on their backs, and enjoy the stars."

When I read this, it brought back memories of when I used to Coon hunt as a kid, it would be cold and I would wear a whole lot of clothes then we'd take off walking and I would be sweating like crazy, lay down on your back to rest in a clearing and look at the stars...

Trick, that I use with my dogs when they want to sight fetch (I call it) ? And also helps on hunt them up (dead), before you go to bed if you have the available dark property, I throw a couple dummies and they have to use their nose more in that situation...

Getting decent video on the GoPro that you are willing to share, is hard...

Sure do like that picture (made me grin)...

[5 stand]

Vinny's shooting woes...
And this could be useless, but when helping people at the gun club most of the time all they need is a plan (a way to intersect the target)...
Younger smaller frame people usually Mount their gun in a higher position, so she could be mounting the gun from the layout(in the heat of the moment) and it is above the goose when fully mounted, then she comes down to the goose and pulls the trigger... What she doesn't realize is her gun is going in one direction (down) and the goose is going in the other (up) and that's a hard way to shoot...
I have to intersect all targets from underneath(on rising birds), I would suggest to mount and pull the gun down underneath the goose and then move back up to it and shoot...

Another suggestion is it doesn't sound like you have humongous flocks of geese, open up her choke if she's still using that improved modified, give her a little more forgiveness...? (Build some confidence)

[PorkChop]

I’m not buying any more stinking chokes ha ha. She’s definitely not getting the gun mounted the right way. She’s definitely shooting low as a couple times I seen her shot hit in the ground and the bird was above the decoys. So her head is off the gun and she’s looking at the birds but the gun is pointed down. The thing is or the problem is that she sees this and she’s not making the correction while shooting. Maybe I was fortunate shooting sea ducks as a kid and you could see your shot hit in the water so you could have some kind of visual to adjust. Kind of like walking mortars in.

[5 stand]

I just assumed there were improved cylinder chokes that were provided with the gun,
My bad...
Sorry about giving shooting advice over the internet, I didn't get my point across at all, I suck at this... Hope she figures out how to make the right corrections while shooting...

I look forward to reading about y'all's next adventure...

[PorkChop]

No need for apologies!! I am thick like a brick. I don’t compute text very well. I need to see in action or do it. Maybe you could make a video???

[5 stand]

I really need to see her shoot, everything else is just throwing darts...
Put the GoPro on her head, send me a link...
This could help her watch what she is actually doing with her barrel...

[PorkChop]

I really need to see her shoot, everything else is just throwing darts...
Put the GoPro on her head, send me a link...
This could help her watch what she is actually doing with her barrel...

Funny, you say that as I told her we’re going to set the phone on the tripod next to her and film her while she’s shooting at the birds. This way here she can see what she’s doing wrong and see if she’s consistently raising the gun the same way. Definitely is different sitting on a chair in a panel blind and then going down to a layout blind. And then if you don’t get the layout blind level, if you’re at different angles, if your feet are higher or if your head is higher that changes things as well. Even though I am hitting better than they are my arm around my bicep area is showing me by the bruises that I am not shouldering my gun properly.

[5 stand]

Sounds like hard hunting to me (especially for a youngster)... Probably like shooting from a boat, not only no, but heck no...
Give me a panel blind, or them Rock piles...

[Deltaman]

Despite the minor frustrations, glad to see your numbers are growing

[5 stand]

Good luck tomorrow, if y'all try those cranes...

Get up early...

[SpinnerMan]

Probably like shooting from a boat, not only no, but heck no...

You need to go on a layout boat hunt. It makes layout blinds look easy.