GOOSE TIME, Part 2
Small Game
Contributors to this thread:
OK, time to go goose hunting again for the forth time. The temp is a little cooler this morning but no wind and with slightly overcast skies.
With the mild temps, no snow, ice free lakes, and the abundant food supply the geese are really spread out a lot and do not have to go far to feed.
20 mile south of here last Saturday, I saw 100s if not a few thousand geese in flight coming back from feeding that evening.
A red sunrise surly inspires me a lot as it does most hunter. Nature's gift for sure.
Nature's alarm clock for critters to come or to go.
A new day for sure as well as a new opportunity.
The sun was just up when this first flight showed up but heading for another feeding area.
As we say down south.....
Go get'em PAAAAWWWW......
Without much notice, these two geese hit the ground within a few yards of the blind.
A slam/dunk shot at 15 yards anchored this goose.
A little blood and gore that the general public does not see when they pick up their meat at the super market.
Blood and gore goes hand in hand with hunting and we hunters look at Natures Market Place as God-Given for sure.
Chase enjoyed a few licks of blood
but with a few tweets on the whistle, he got back to business.
A slow morning with a few uninterested flocks over head.
Paul,are those Lesser Canadians...no way our Lab can handle a big Canadian...awesome stuff
Paul,
Been enjoying your goose hunts. Thanks for sharing.
There are both in the area but most of these local "yard hoppers" seem to be big. One the other day, was 12 lbs plus. This one I shot today was the smallest one I have shot and must have been in its first year.
as were these a half hour later.
The next group buzzed the decoys but then landed on the ice covered pond.
Maybe they were starting to wise up.
Keep at em Paul, looks like fun.
For the next half hour I did some blind goose calling but no geese responded from the lake or near by yards/fields.
Around 9:30 decided to hang it up, head home for breakfast but first, the hero shot.
I decided to hid the goose at the far end of the field and give Chase a blind retrieve drill. I lined him up and off he goes.
A 100 yard later, he nailed it.
Happy dog! Happy hunter!..
Stay tuned for the next installment towards the end of the week.
My best, Paul
PS, Thanks Jerry for coming along and doing some filming.
Genesis, Stinkbait, Juliusk, Thanks for following along on these goose hunting.
I tried this morning but very very few geese were flying and did not decoy any in. Warmer temps than usual. I will give it a week as the weather this weekend is changing to some snow and colder.
Back to duck hunting on Sun-Tues then will give the local geese one more time before Chrismas. After that, I will be heading for AZ to Coues deer hunt.
My best, Paul
Lots of folks following Paul.... thanks, very much appreciated. Pretty cool hunt.
Good luck on the ducks!
Paul I LOVE the annual documentary!! Keep it coming. And that's a great looking pooch you got there!
Like this thread. Thanks for posting.
In hind sight, I should have just added part 2 to the orginal posting and not separated the two so the reader could see the total hunt in one thread.
Glad you are enjoying it.
Paul
Great thread !! You ever get any hardware off of those birds legs ??
No hardware off the 18 goose I have bow killed in Colorado. Actually I have killed over 300 ducks in Colorado and none have been banded.
When I lived in Ohio on Lake Erie, I got a few bands on ducks and geese..
Paul
Ok, back goose hunting after a successful duck hunt. Killed 6 mallards and the dog had fun as I did. Last duck hunt of the season.
Another great morning for an archery goose hunt.
and it is not that there are not any geese in the area
These geese gave the decoys a good look
but then turned tail and headed away
only to land on the other end of the property near the highway.
finely a lone goose lands 19 yards way and should be a slam dunk!
Wrong, all I got was feathers as I shot low
and to add insult to injury, this flock landed on the near by pond.
No geese today but then tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities.
My best, Paul
Great stuff Paul!
You have this down to a science!!!
Mark
I really enjoy your waterfowling adventures. You have my respect!
Great thread. As much as I am rooting for you Paul, it is comforting to see that you are human and can miss a chip shot! I thought I was the only one.
Great pictures Paul ! There is nothing that stirs the hunter in a guy like a cold morning and the sound of canadian geese. Thanks
Great hunts Paul! Hopefully you are able to secure a Christmas goose or two! Greatly enjoying following along!
I tried this morning but the gusty winds, up to 25-30mph blew over the decoys too many times so I just gave it up. If ok in the morn, will try again.
The goose wind socks did and looked great.
Paul
Thanks for taking the time to show us your hunt in pictures.
Compared to yesterday with winds gusting to 25mph. I thought this morning might be a good time to go eventhough it was cold but no wind.
So I arrive early and set up the decoys. I looked to the adjacent ice covered pond and there were 11 geese setting there.
Being cold and the grass frosted over, the geese did not start flying until 9am and few at that.
Good stuff Paul.......keep it coming
During the next two hours I had a few close enounters but no geese committed to the decoys.
As the say goes, "You can fool some of the (geese) some of the time, but not all of the geese, all of the time......................."
I believe I have educated the local yard hopping geese and it will take some extreme luck, (maybe some snow)to kill another one.
Even the geese on the pond did not fly until 10 am and then they just flew a few hundred yards and landed on the other side of the barn and near the highway. I can hunt there but too much road noise and it will not seem like a hunt being that close.
AT 11am I picked up and then decided to want until the weekend and try again. Next week will be my last chance at goose hunting with the bow and arrow as I will be getting ready to head for AZ on my Coues deer hunt on Jan 5th.
Merry Christmas to all and thanks for following along. No Christmas goose but maybe a New Year's one.
My best, Paul and Chase
Great thread and Pics...always like to see you posts.
Merry Christmas for the North, looking forward to your coues hunt thread :)
Cheers,
Mike
Thanks for the effort to bring this to us Paul.....definitely in the top of threads this year for me
Genesis X2
...and you can still throw in some Chase photos from the day, even if the geese aren't cooperating.
Merry Christmas.
Chase at his best. Merry Christmas
Thanks, Paul.
May contact you for some leads next time we're looking for a puppy...we seem to appreciate the same basic lines. :-)
I'll be checking with people from coast to coast for references on possible litters. Buying the right pup is the cheapest part. ...the right pup.
Two days after Christmas and very cold out this morning. Temperture was 1 degree so I decided to head for the gym and work out a few hours. After that I drove around near where I goose hunt to see if any geese were around.
By the time I got home, it had warmed up to 10 degrees.
Some of the local geese were hunkered down on a near by pond.
I found other geese on the ice of two other lakes and I figured they might fly later when it warmed up more and they could find some grass under the snow.
Five inches of new snow make for an interesting environment and maybe the geese would be hungry and eager to decoy so I set up around 10 am.
Around noon, this flock came off the lake
this groop started to swing
before I knew it, they were on the ground and this one was in range.
Now it was Chase's turn to go to work.
Hero shot.
This may be the last goose of the year. I will hunt tomorrow and then gather up the blind and decoys and put them away until next year. Ended up with 5 geese and only missed one. Chase was great as usual and a wonderful companion in the field.
Thanks for following along as I know when it comes to bows, geese and labs, that threesome creates special memories in many of us.
My best, Paul
Paul,
Great stuff.
What percentage of your arrows are complete pass-throughs?
Have ever tried shoveling or snow-blowing a few open spots when you have snow?
Happy New Year.
Cool tracks in the snow!
Thanks for taking us along Paul. Great stuff and a favorite thread for sure.
Good luck with the lil' deer.....
Very cool Paul, thanks for sharing
Looking forward to a semi live Coues hunt :)
Cheers
Sharpstick
Michael, the majority of the hits are pass throughs as most shot ranges are less than 25 yards. All 5 kills this year were pass throughs. This goose's wing bone was shattered and the arrow passed through the upper body and then ended up 10 feet beyond.
Exactally, I cleared an area around each of the 3 bird sets (16 decoys) to show grass underneath. Seemed to work as one needs to make it as naturally and inviting as possible. I do believe tomorrow I will take along a snow shovel and clear larger areas. Thanks for the suggestion.
It will be a miracle if I get one tomorrow as these local yard hoppers seems to have my game figured. I am unable to move from this spot so they see the decoys in the same place. Today I spread them out more in small "mating" groups and that made a difference.
My best, and yes, Happy New Year, Paul
More great pics, thanks for taking us along Paul! Question, are you going out and retrieving the arrow before releasing the dog? I guess I'd be worried that he might also get "stuck"?
Kyle
P.S. Where in AZ are you headed?
Yes Kyle, I always make sure the arrow has cleared the goose and that the dog is not in harms way before releasing.
Most times, I reposition the goose and then take pictures of the retrieve.
This goose makes number 21 in three years. Fun for sure.
AZ? Near Portal and then west to the Patagonia area.
Paul, Thanks for taking us along, great thread, good luck in Az !
Chase looks good working in that snow.
Congrats Paul on another great hunt and thanks for sharing!
Great thread Paul! Thanks for posting! Good luck in AZ!
Mark
VERY cool Paul, loved it!
Best of luck in AZ!
Paul, Hope you are well. Thanks for sharing your hunt(s) & photos. Wishing you good hunting & safe travels.
Chase is looking great Paul! You two make a good team. Thanks for taking us along with you two.