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Post by catlinkid on Feb 16, 2012 20:18:23 GMT -5
Hey all , I was just wondering about getting into goose hunting next year ,,what would be some of the equipment that i would need too get started (Calls,Decoys,ect...), I saw quite a few this year while trapping so next year I thought I would give it a try . I will be hunting chopped corn fields,with small ponds nearby. Thanks Nate
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2012 20:38:27 GMT -5
I am going to do the same thing, I have been wanting to do it for a few years now but never had the time.
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Post by ztbowtech on Feb 16, 2012 21:24:45 GMT -5
i would invest in a nice layout blind. we have killed 70 something this year so far. late season opens the 25 and we are going to be out every morning. We use Avery finisher blinds, green head gear decoys, zink calls, Winchester drylock steel BB, Beretta/Browning semiautomatics with 28 inch barrels and full chokes
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Post by ztbowtech on Feb 16, 2012 21:26:12 GMT -5
2nd saturday of early season
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2012 21:28:26 GMT -5
Did you guys eat all those?
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Post by ztbowtech on Feb 16, 2012 21:35:42 GMT -5
some were. majority are breast shot so they go into the bait pile. when you shoot 100 a year the taste gets old.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2012 21:37:05 GMT -5
how do you cook them?
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Post by ztbowtech on Feb 16, 2012 21:41:56 GMT -5
just like steak on the grill
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Post by catlinkid on Feb 16, 2012 21:42:31 GMT -5
Which of the zink calls do you use ? and how many decoys did you lay out ..I have the Zink money maker Ivory acrilic and a quack head G3 given too me by a family friend.... and for ammo I bought a case of winchester Xperts...congats on last season zane thanks
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Post by ztbowtech on Feb 16, 2012 21:44:16 GMT -5
we use expert as well. we all use different calls. i cant recall what mine is due to all the lettering wore off. all i know is it is orange and works. there will be birds falling from the sky in 9 days
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Post by catlinkid on Feb 16, 2012 21:46:09 GMT -5
mmmm....whens the first day of hunting as I dont see anything in the DEC hunting book
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Post by ztbowtech on Feb 16, 2012 21:49:39 GMT -5
it is on the web site. you need a hip number to hunt waterfowl and migratory birds. hear it is september 1st-25th, Oct. 22-Dec. 10, Dec. 26-Jan. 9, Feb. 25-Mar. 10
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Post by davie6 on Feb 16, 2012 22:11:31 GMT -5
I prefer making jerky with the geese I shoot. Also, pulled goose bbq is a crowd favorite and a way to use lots of breasts up at once.
You don't need the most expensive decoys, blinds, guns, or shells out there. The most money that I put into goose hunting goes in the gas tank to drive around and find fields. The key to good hunting is finding fields the geese are using. You can hunt without decoys and kill geese if they have been hitting that field pretty hard to feed. But for times when you can't get on the "X" good decoys help in drawing birds to where you are set up. I also like Avery decoys. But I usually hunt over a mix of Avery, Hardcore, and Bigfoot decoys. Full body decoys are the way to go if you can afford them. 18 decoys is plenty for most hunts. A mix of feeder poses and upright/actives. A flag can help draw in birds from a distance also.
Layout blinds are also a very wise investment. Sure guys shoot geese from hiding in hedgerows between fields but being able to set up in the middle of a field can make the geese less wary to the decoy spread. I have a Greenhead Gear Groundforce and an Avery Power Hunter and each has it's positives and negatives. One is tall and roomy which is good when hunting tall corn stubble and the other is super low profile for green fields geese seem to love in September.
For ammunition, steel shot that is big. I use more #2s than anything but that's because its enough to knock geese down while not tearing up ducks. But if I was strictly goose hunting, I'd use BB or BBB. Steel shot is harder than lead so you need to use a choke that is 1 more open than you would use for lead (modified for steel=full for lead). There is a unspoken rule it seems that semi-autos are waterfowl guns but any gun that shoots 3" or 3.5" shells works. I like my Mossberg 88 because its a cheap gun so I don't feel as bad knocking it around in my blind and giving it "character marks."
All you need for a call is something that you can cluck and honk on. Most people start on flute calls and switch to short reeds later. You can buy a cheap call that comes with an instructional CD. They really help.
These are just some basic ideas. Just like trapping, the more you do it, the more complex things can get (and the more money you invest in it).
If anyone has more questions, you can PM me.
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Post by catlinkid on Feb 17, 2012 13:48:04 GMT -5
Thanks Davie that really helped I will look around for one with a dvd ,Thanks Nate
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Post by ztbowtech on Feb 17, 2012 15:37:42 GMT -5
wrong a mod steel choke is a improved lead choke. we use 3 dozen decoys most days but lat season we sometime use up to 8 dozen. just depends on how the react to decoys and hunting pressure.
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Post by catlinkid on Feb 17, 2012 20:40:50 GMT -5
8 dozen is alot of cash too throw down for decoys, i think i will stick too like just a dozen for now to test the water
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Post by ztbowtech on Feb 17, 2012 20:54:49 GMT -5
yes it is but when you hunt almost every day of the season it helps when they get used to your spread
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Post by Itrapny on Feb 17, 2012 21:28:18 GMT -5
It also helps when you eat what you shoot instead of just shooting them for bait Not really the image I like to see on this Forum
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2012 22:27:05 GMT -5
Wayne, I totally agree with you!! Good point!!
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Post by davie6 on Feb 18, 2012 7:56:27 GMT -5
Make jerky if you breast shoot them, you can make the strips thin and find all the pellets. Or you can go all out and buy a grinder and make sausage and pepperoni. Besides, there is far better bait our there than goose breast. Goose dries out too fast because it lacks fat and oils. Use the meat from all those beavers you catch. Also, lead them a little more when flying or aim for their heads and not their breasts when they are decoying right in front of you and you won't breast shoot so many. Think of them as small turkeys, they can take shot to the breast and live with it. Studies have found something like 60% of geese that make it to the south to winter have steel pellets in their breast. Of the 40 pictured, I think maybe 4 or 5 were breast shot bad.
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