Goose newb

[skuntor]

Just did my first hunt ever. A goose hunt in the Fraser Valley. We could see lots of geese but none were interested in our 4 crappy dekes or our weak calling.
I am making about 12 silhouettes and plan to paint them up for the weekend. Any advise on the painting? How life like does it have to look? I see some with feathers painted and some just solid colours.
Also, how important is cover? We were laying between fields in some grass but not really covered up. I'm guessing they could see us and just kept flying. Any advise appreciated.

[pnbrock]

low lustre paint any shine they flair!!

[KTownKiller]

I had to give up on my homemade decoys and bought 3 dozen shells. The honkers wouldn't come near my homemade decs after a while, because they are resident geese that remember everything. I lucked out and found these 3 dozen used shells for 75 bucks! I painted and flocked the heads last year and they hold up better than the new flocked decoys. My nephew puts out his 2 dozen sometimes also, but 3 is usually enough. Keep most of them atleast 6-8 feet apart. Set up you decoys roughly in 2 main groups with a landing area inbetween and infront of your blind. I find a good blind is just to put sticks around you and cover them with grass... Try to make it look like the natural surroundings and keep it as low as possible. Keep in mind, geese will always land into a wind.
For calling, I highly recommend getting the DVDs called Honker Talk by Shawn Stahl and Bad Grammer by Scott Threinen. I use a combined method of both of theirs. I found a lot of people on the internet that recommend these 2 vids.

Here's a pic so you can see how my blind usually looks.
http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y537/nacheson/016_zps15af9146.jpg

[edgy]

Congrats on getting out for your first hunt!! I am a newbie myself, but the one thing I can tell you is -- if they can see you it's not gonna happen. Like Ktown said, make the best blind you can, and keep your faces down! Having a lot of decoys seems to help greatly, however, we only have 9, so you can work with less, good luck! Also read every thread on goose hunting on here, there is a ton of info from guys who are experts at this :)

[BiG Boar]

Are you hunting where you have seen real geese on the ground? If they don't naturally want to land there, you'll Definitley have a tougher time.

[Foxton Gundogs]

Good advice here, Scouting is the key go where the geese ARE not where you HOPE they MAY be. Also numbers and a good setup are a deffinate advantage especially for late season geese. We are currently using a mix of 2 doz. full bodies, a doz sils, a doz shells and half a doz swans. Also poor calling is worse than no call at all practise at home not in the field.
Welcome to the maddnes enjoy and good luck

[Kudu]

Scout – Scout and Scout again, find the fields where they (geese) spend their days – the bad news is that most of those fields are going to be wide open with no cover and green. You will need a gilli blanket or some form of camo netting if you don’t have a layout blind.


As others have said - if the geese see you - you are toast - spend extra time on your hides, and don’t move until the geese are within 40 paces.

Try and hook up with someone to show you the ropes - I would take you out but I dont have a spare blind.

Here is a pic of three of the best silos around - (3 different manufactures) - take a close look at them - - (the graphics on these silos is what you are paying for) - just try and mimic the color in flat tones, any shine on your paint and the geese will just fly away.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v45/bobalong/Goose%20Hunting/IMG_2299.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v45/bobalong/Goose%20Hunting/IMG_2300.jpg

[skuntor]

Great advice, thanks fellas. We are right by the Fraser so many geese flying over. Some landing in field close but not the one we were in. Hopefully getting out with someone who knows what he's doing in Sunday and has lots of dekes. Still going to paint some up now that my router pattern is made. The cutting is the easy part!

[Kudu]

Still going to paint some up now that my router pattern is made. The cutting is the easy part!


Sounds great - try for this end result if you can - just make sure they don't shine!


http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b341/nm-bound/003-23.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b341/nm-bound/001-18.jpg


Go black and white - they work as well...


http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b341/nm-bound/004-16.jpg

money shots:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b341/nm-bound/duck%20stuff/Halfandhalfs11213.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj93/JLujack/photobucket-27767-1355601538304.jpg

Best of luck - let us know how you get along

[pnbrock]

Great job kudu I'll bet the decoys on beach can be seen from a long distance.

[BiG Boar]

If geese can fly over you at 50 yards and see you, you probably want better cover. They have been hunted before, and know what to look out for. Farmers use scarecrows for a reason.

You need better cover, think like this: If I can see me from 50 yards, a honker will probably pick me out and go away. If I can see me or my blind from 20 yards, a lesser goose will definitely leave.

To kill waterfowl consistently all the time, you need:
1. A place where they land naturally (at this specific time of year), not just where they fly over daily.
2. Something to attract them, visuals, and possibly (quality) sound (calling)
3. An area that did not get pressure the previous 2-5 days. Birds will remember, and not come back right away if they've been shot at.
4. A gun, shells, and a person shooting who can do his part.
5. A great hide. Think invisible, and not just from ground level, but from directly above. Remember, these things fly.

You can probably do it with less. A gun, and sneaking up to birds on the beach will work. Or even in a bad field, with a crappy hide, and some rubber boots for decoys. But if you want a great experience, and regular limits, all season long, you just follow the above recipe. Taught to me by some of the greats on this site. Believe me, its a world of difference.

[field marshal]

How many regular limits are you getting,BigBoar????----Cheers----Field Marshal.

[FirePower]

I like the swan decoys, we added 8 to our regular set in 2010 and noticed a differance right away. A shag-poke deed helps as well.