shooting geese on the ground

[paternoster2012]

Im new to hunting and have never been any kind of hunting except squirrel hunting once when i was 15.

I was gonna get my small game license and derr license last year and try my luck but a broken hand prrevented me

anyway I think Id like to go goose hunting because there are so many of them around here and they seem like they would be a good meal.

how do you shoot these things? I know it is unsportsmanlike and probably illegal to shoot ducks off the water. But geese land in fields to feed and stuff so would you shoot them then or only when they are flying?

Im just asking because Iv never hunted and dont know anyone who does.

Please set me on the right path

 

[trapperjohn]

generally geese are shot with a shotgun while they are flying. you probably can't get within shotgun range while they are on the ground. most people set up a blind and shoot the geese as they come in to feed.

 

[Master Blaster]

you probably can't get within shotgun range while they are on the ground. most people set up a blind and shoot the geese as they come in to feed.

The Canada geese around here you can get within club range like 2 or three feet while they are on the ground. Heck durring mating season, they sometime try to chase and bite people. I dont think its legal but you could pop them with a .22lr from 6 or seven feet away. They may be issuing pest control licenses in some states for them.

 

[shermacman]

Come on up to Massachusetts, Canada geese are everywhere. Just walk up to them, ignore them when they start to hiss, grab them by the throat, snap their neck, clean 'em and eat 'em.

All illegal of course, but you don't need a firearm. Quiet, no mess, just watch your boots when you get back home, goose poop is A) everywhere B) stinks.

 

[Art Eatman]

Yeah, some places, geese are more pest than game bird. Back to actual hunting:

The usual routine is to create some sort of "hidey hole" blind in a flyway arear. Then, put out decoys. Many guys just use paper, cut and folded to vaguely resemble a goose with outspread wings and appearing to be feeding. They see some geese and begin to using a goose call.

If the geese get into range, bang away. Generally, 12-gauge with full-choke barrel, and I guess #2 shot. (I'm not a goose hunter.)

On TV, the outdoor channels often show goose and duck hunting. The various magazines like "Field&Stream", "Outdoor Life", and "Sports Afield" commonly have articles on goose hunting, particularly in the late summer or early fall issues.

As far as shooting ducks or geese when they're on the water or on the ground, that's more of a sportsmanship issue rather than a legal issue. I guess it depends on how hungry or how frustrated you are.

Art

 

[patent]

I've shot several wounded ducks and geese while on the water or the ground. Never shot one there otherwise, but to be honest I've never had a shot at one while it was on the ground or on the water. They've always flushed before I had a clear shot. Had I had an opportunity, I still don't know if I would have taken a shot while a goose was still on the water.

As others have discussed, usually you just try to find their flight pattern, put some decoys down, and try to convince them to fly into the decoys such that you are able to get a shot at them as they come in.

patent

 

[firesafety3]

There are states that allow you to "crawl" geese. Get as close as you can before shooting. States that do allow that, like Louisiana, do so only after the standard goose season which includes taking snows, blues, Ross, and specklebelly (white fronted).

After the regular season, hunters can crawl them, use electronic calls and, if I recall correctly, remove the plugs from the shotgun.

This is more of a damage control issue with the snow/blue geese. I crawled them when I was younger. Don't get too greedy, three guys shooting at 2000 geese on the ground and you soon realize that you'd better not shoot more than once or twice. Lugging those snows back can be tiresome. But we never wasted one.

 

[Greybeard]

Yep, methinks it's a federal law that the only legal method of taking migratory birds is with a shotgun. And, in addition to your normal hunting license, you'll need to look into getting a federal stamp.

As said above, even after the regular season ends, in recent years there has been a special season (for about this time of year) when a lot of the normal regs. can go legally go out the window - unplugged shotguns, electronic calls and such. At least in Tejas, for snow geese. Ya will need to study up on local rules and regs., maybe even take a "mandatory" hunter ed. course.

Good luck hunting.

 

[paternoster2012]

I took the hunter safety course back when I was 14 or 15

I checked all over in the regs but couldnt find anything about shooting geese that were in a field

So the general concencous is to hide and call them in then shoot them out of the air when within range?

These things up here are so dumb and complacent you could knife them to death

 

[DigMe]

Taking geese on the ground? We call that a "skillet shot" 'round these parts.

brad cook

 

[Preacherman]

Hmmm... a new use for a Claymore mine!

 

[c_yeager]

Geese are known to chase small children around in our local parks. I think i could effectively hunt one with a sock full of nickles.

I take it that it is innapropriate to hunt these with a rifle when they are on the ground spreading their foul smelling pellets all over the place?

 

[paternoster2012]

I was thinking more along the lines of using my dads turkey gun