# To kill a Canada Goose



## Oblivion5888 (Sep 12, 2011)

Hey guys, one of of my goals for this waterfowl season is to kill a Canada Goose... So far i have been unsuccessful. Not only have i not killed one, but i have rarely seen any! I think i've shot at one flock of like 4. I did have a good chance at some out to Howard Slough, but we wont talk about that little fiasco  . I was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers on killing these wily birds. I'm not asking for anyone's honey hole (Or am i?), just some tips on how to increase my odds at killing a Goose. What kind of habitat do they prefer? I've noticed that i don't see many out in the marsh, but i've heard that mountain river hunting does well. What kind of habitat should i hunt short of trying to get permission to hunt some guy's private field ( I don't know anyone) ? Is a call, or decoys necessary to kill geese? Or can i just pass / jump shoot them? Will 1 1/4 oz, 3 in, #2 shot do the job? 

You get the gist, I'm basically just looking for any information which could aid me in getting into some Canada's. Thanks in advance!


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## BlackCloud (Oct 12, 2012)

It's no secret to get into geese you need access to private land


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## dark_cloud (Oct 18, 2010)

Sometimes you can follow them from the private areas to public land. If you do that for a few days in a row get some decoys set up in the place that they are going before everybody else and you stand a good chance


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

I kill geese in Canada or on the ice locally. Mostly in Canada, though. Access to private land is easy up there and birds are abundant. Private land access is something I've never enjoyed here. I've been going up to Canada since 2002, and average at least one trip/year. Our trip this year, all included, was less than $900 each. That included gas, motel, license, food, everything. On a fun/hour/dollar rating system, it's hard to beat. We killed 48 geese and quite a few ducks

You'll need decoys, of course. I now use mostly silhouettes, because they're compact, inexpensive and work fine. But, my first trips up were with shells, which almost nobody uses any more. If it were me, starting from scratch, I'd probably buy 4 dozen shells. I know it sounds crazy, but they'll work in Canada and on the ice, too. This photo was taken a few years ago, using a mixture of shells and silos. I had shot a limit of birds, my truck was in the spread, and my dog was running around. Note the two birds landing:










Note the pile of birds, the dog looking at the two newcomers. I was standing beside my truck with the door open taking this picture:










This kind of spread works fine. You don't need $600/dozen full body decoys, an enclosed trailer, etc. You don't even need a blind, we laid on pads this year. Best of all, speaking from experience, you don't even have to call well:










Bottom line, if you want to hunt geese, go north. That's probably why they're called Canada geese. The scenery is frosting on the cake:


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

Buy a set of golf clubs, learn how to hit the ball low and hard, go golfing...


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

yes you'll need decoys, If you can find property and get permission thats great but not likely, most of the fields you'll see birds in will either be close to roads or houses or will be private/hunting clubs....Best bet is to glass public areas and set up for them. Some units usually have geese milling over them at certain times and you can throw out a mix of duck and goose decoys. You have to be willing to invest in dekes, learn to call and layout blind depending on where ya choose to hunt, a crappy looking hide will be a waste of time. You also have to be ok with never firing a shot, it'll probably happen more times than not if you set up purely for geese.


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

I always think of geese as the big game of waterfowl because it takes almost the same techniques to be successful on geese as it does on deer and elk. Scout, scout, and scout some more. Find the animals, glass, pattern them, pattern them again, glass some more, figure out an ambush spot. Try not to get frustrated when the flock/herd you've watched for 3 days suddenly changes its habits when you are set up for them in the "right" place. Watch them some more and figure out another ambush, and do it all again. All this when competing with the 10 other guys who are watching "your" animals, idiots shooting way out of range, and guys who never learn to shut up on a call. Again it's pretty much like hunting big game. 

As far as jumpshooting goes, good luck. I've managed to sucessfully sneak up on loner geese from time to time but you better have some serious ninja skills if you want to put the sneak on more than one goose. Don't forget that they have at least 5 power vision compared to ours and can hear as well as a deer or elk. 

I'm not trying to be discouraging, it's a hard road hunting geese in Utah on public land, but it makes it all that much sweeter when you succeed. Be persistent and it will come together eventually.


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## stablebuck (Nov 22, 2007)

if you wanna kill Canadas in Utah then you need to familiarize yourself with Myton, UT. Anywhere else and you're gonna be chasing the wind.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

You can get lucky once in a while setting up in a random location. You can get lucky once in a while and have geese fly over you, or into your spread on a WMA. However, the guys that consistently shoot geese are the guys that scout, know where the geese are and where the geese want to be. The bottom line is you have to find the "X" and set up there at the right time to better your odds. This works the same for public or private ground. 
Tools That Help................
Layout Blinds
Dog Blinds
Goose Decoys
Goose Calls/ Guys that know how to use them
Goose Flags
Yes, 3" #2's will smash geese
Camo your blinds to match the surrounding area, use the same vegetation you set up in.
Here's a photo where we ripped white sheets and tied them to our layout blinds, and it worked good for us. 








Here's how we cover the layout blinds when it's dry and no snow......








Here's how we set up on water at the WMA's


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

Yep, find out where the geese want to be, then get there first....


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## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

Fowlmouth said:


> You can get lucky once in a while setting up in a random location. You can get lucky once in a while and have geese fly over you, or into your spread on a WMA. However, the guys that consistently shoot geese are the guys that scout, know where the geese are and where the geese want to be. The bottom line is you have to find the "X" and set up there at the right time to better your odds. This works the same for public or private ground.
> Tools That Help................
> Layout Blinds
> Dog Blinds
> ...


Dude stop posting those pics from others states man. We all know there are no geese in utah.

Live from somewhere beneath the desert and brought to you via Tapatalk


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

HEY!, No one told me it was photo contest week!  [attachment=0:370rsjdy]z1z.jpg[/attachment:370rsjdy]


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