Elk bugling, turkey gobbling and geese honking as they are cupped up landing in the decoys. Keeps me smiling. 
Whacking and stacking
- Thread starter Slugz
- Start date
Winchester
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mallardsx2
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- Jul 8, 2015
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Still tweaking a few things as we are continually learning. Flagging correctly and or different ways, calling to calm them down, proper pit camouflage and decoy set ups to have them consistently. The dang lessors are just so scatterbrained. Can't wait for the big boys other than locals.
Good stuff here! Congratulations on the smash and keep at it, the frustrating days make the good ones all that much sweeter.
mallardsx2
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Its been my experience hunting Canada's over the years that three things are major.
Concealment- Most important
Natural Movement-Second Most important
Clean Decoys- Third most important
Dont overthink the calling. Listen to geese that are feeding and tell me how much noise they really make...
I have probably killed more geese over sleeper shells using layout blinds with snow covers with my calls in my bag by not calling than I have any other way. Its very effective. Or at least it used to be for me.
Concealment- Most important
Natural Movement-Second Most important
Clean Decoys- Third most important
Dont overthink the calling. Listen to geese that are feeding and tell me how much noise they really make...
I have probably killed more geese over sleeper shells using layout blinds with snow covers with my calls in my bag by not calling than I have any other way. Its very effective. Or at least it used to be for me.
The geese I was in while feeding was just this calming like cluck and murmurs/moans of content is how I would call it.
Just seems like the lessers are just so more difficult due to their lack of decision making and sheer numbers in the flight. Now once we get a handful to land a few want to land so that makes it easier. I'm trying to balance not shooting into big groups so we get more consistent daily feeding in the field and use of it. Once the greaters get in the area it seems like the setups and hunting is alot more consistent and birds predictable due to the lower number in each flight. Just my 2 sense but I have alot to learn still.
Just seems like the lessers are just so more difficult due to their lack of decision making and sheer numbers in the flight. Now once we get a handful to land a few want to land so that makes it easier. I'm trying to balance not shooting into big groups so we get more consistent daily feeding in the field and use of it. Once the greaters get in the area it seems like the setups and hunting is alot more consistent and birds predictable due to the lower number in each flight. Just my 2 sense but I have alot to learn still.
mallardsx2
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- Jul 8, 2015
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I have never hunted those large numbers of lessers. Thats a lot of eyes to look at you.
I gurgle into the call and growl ONLY at them when Canada are committing. The last 75 yards I have my hands on my gun and I'm waiting for the perfect time to call the shot. I only give them the volume when I am trying to get their attention or get the flock to turn.
Lots of competition callers out there that love to blow their calls. It doesn't work for pressured birds in the real world 95% of the time.
Most of the time when I hunted Canadas it was groups of 25 or less birds committing.
Let them land and line up heads....I'll get burned at the stake for mentioning that...lol
I always had one general golden rule....let land what will land.... what wont land let them circle and when they try to land on the second pass kill them.
*If the bird (1 or 10) birds that have landed try to get up, kill them with extreme prejudice and try to line up your shots at multiple birds to do the most damage possible to the flock...*
There is an extreme order on how and when to call the shots when goose hunting. It took me a long time to read the birds.
Calling the shot at the correct time is just as important as the camouflage in my opinion and should be added into 1B in my list above lol.
Great to see you guys whacking them! Clearly you are doing something right!
I gurgle into the call and growl ONLY at them when Canada are committing. The last 75 yards I have my hands on my gun and I'm waiting for the perfect time to call the shot. I only give them the volume when I am trying to get their attention or get the flock to turn.
Lots of competition callers out there that love to blow their calls. It doesn't work for pressured birds in the real world 95% of the time.
Most of the time when I hunted Canadas it was groups of 25 or less birds committing.
Let them land and line up heads....I'll get burned at the stake for mentioning that...lol
I always had one general golden rule....let land what will land.... what wont land let them circle and when they try to land on the second pass kill them.
*If the bird (1 or 10) birds that have landed try to get up, kill them with extreme prejudice and try to line up your shots at multiple birds to do the most damage possible to the flock...*
There is an extreme order on how and when to call the shots when goose hunting. It took me a long time to read the birds.
Calling the shot at the correct time is just as important as the camouflage in my opinion and should be added into 1B in my list above lol.
Great to see you guys whacking them! Clearly you are doing something right!
Couldn't agree more! There are times though when you've got to get their attention, especially if you're not on the X and trying to pull them to you. Otherwise, less is definitely more.
This was from last year. Hunted the early goose season solo one morning and shot 12 of my 15 birds. Had mallards Lansing in the decoys that I sat and watched then the geese started pouring out of the slough at 830 and I was done by 9. Early goose is always a 50/50 shot on how the birds will work. Then you tack on the heat and skeeters and a fast morning is sometimes better