Goose hunting mentor

[Justinchallman]

I'm trying to pick up goose hunting this year and am having little luck. I have unlimited access to a corn field in Barrhead this year and have been out twice. I purchased a half dozen decoys, a layout blind, a few calls and a couple flag decoys. My calling seems to be surprisingly good as I can get the geese to come to my decoys, however, they fly around a few times then take off. I've tried putting my blind in the standing corn, camouflaging it to the laying corn, to no avail. The only bird I've got this year so far was on the edge of the field when I camo'd up in the grass. I plan on heading back out on the 21st and would love an experienced goose hunter to come with me and show me the ropes, and take down some of the hundreds of birds in this field. If not, maybe a few pointers for what you think I may be doing wrong would be greatly appreciated.

[223MB]

How well are you concealing your blind? I make sure my blind is so heavily covered in straw you can't see an inch of camo fabric. I hunt that area for geese exclusively and have been close to 4man limits each time. I hunt over wheat/barley up there though. I also use more decoys, minimum two dozen.

[Justinchallman]

I try and conceal it as best as I can. I weaved downed corn stalks through it as best as I could, however, they combined the field already so I feel like I might have stuck out like a sore thumb. Unfortunately I can't afford to but more than a half dozen on my student budget, but maybe more decoys is the solution. Thanks for the input though, maybe I'll try a different grain field.

[223MB]

Scouting is just as important too. I usually drive my fields and won't hunt a field unless if i see signs of birds the evening prior.

[bessiedog]

Ok.... 1/2 a dozen decoys is really not going to do it. Most newbies put a dozen Willy nilly around their blind Ana they are smack dab right in the middle... where the geese are looking.

I've hunted with 12 back in the day... but even then.. you better be hunting a field that sees ALOT of geese feeding regularly.
Even then, your odds are slim.

My minimum is 18 ... you can make a very small V or a J shape.

The most important things to ensure for a goose hunt are:

- find a regularly visited field... as in twice a day (or once on cold days).
- set up in the EXACT SPOT where the geese landed and fed. That's what goose hunter call the 'X'. Setting up in another spot wierds them out a bit, they like comfy familiar habits.
- don't cast shadows... don't cast shine.. cover your face!
- set up so they can land against the wind.

Set your decoys up so the birds will fill a 'gap' in the group AND they will concentrate their eyes on that spot.... and not be checking out your blind.
Set your blind up out of the way... to the side even possibly.


Those tips... if followed... will result in geese more than likely landing. Without calling.

[elkhunter11]

I am no expert at waterfowl hunting, but I do know that scouting is a very important factor. Find where the geese are feeding , and set up there, not where you want them to feed. It is a lot easier to get them to go where they already want to be.

[223MB]

When you do get a goose or few on the ground make sure to hide the dead geese or to prop them up as a sleeper. In my 20 years of goose hunting I have NEVER had a flock land when there were dead geese visible. I prefer to hide them under shell decoys or in my layout blind.

[32-40win]

If you don't see them feeding in the corn field, don't waste your time there, look for where they are feeding, and get permission there. I could likely count on one hand, the number of times I have seen them on corn up here. Even if you don't have time to hunt them, try to get out and observe the birds on the field. A few more dekes would help a lot for you. I have had great shoots with as little as 22 dekes, which were floaters, and as little as a dozen old Carrylite 1 pc shells. You can make silos, repaint sillosock snows. You can use floaters, cut the keels off them if you like, they just don't come with feeder heads. You can make motion sticks for them, plenty of way to make dekes on a budget. Look for used decoys, repaint to suit, Canadas, Specks or Snows, flock them, whatever you need can be done with a minimal expense.