Honker questions

oopswasthatyourdog?

oopswasthatyourdog?

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
Location
Sitting on my lilypad in southern Quebec
OK, so I decided to try my hand at hunting honkers and I have some basic questions. I will be hunting farmland close to home, I figure I watch them pass over head I may as well try putting some in the freezer. The farmland is within 1km of the richelieu river and we get s&%tloads of them aroung here.

I figure I will need a call but are decoys nesessary? Do I have to fielddress them on the spot or can it wait? Do they have to hang for a while? If yes do I hang them from the neck or feet? Pluck or just brest them out?

Well as you can see I've never hunted them before and any info is welcome.
Thanks in advance:wave:
 
It's going to depend on where your birds are coming from and going in relation to your hunting spot. I'm oppertunistic and own no goose decoys (and very few duck decoys)

I prefer jump shooting and pass shooting. Less equipment oreintated and more mobile. Your best bet is to pick a spot in between feeding and resting areas and set up in between. Try to get as close as you can so the birds will be low enough for your shot. Your going to need luck to put you under them though. Sometimes if you watch an area long enough the birds will pick one path over another and I'm not sure why. One spot I hunt has the birds departing every evening from the South end of a lake. What I would give to get in there, but it's private property so it's a no go. It looks the same everywhere else but they love that end. Your other bet is to jump them. Their slow to take off so if you can stalk them in a field, charge them the last hundred yards or so and you'll get a few. Or if you know where their on the water, same deal. That's where bird hunting really becomes hunting, but it's my favorite because it's involved and fun. Good luck.
 
oopswasthatyourdog? said:
OK, so I decided to try my hand at hunting honkers and I have some basic questions. I will be hunting farmland close to home, I figure I watch them pass over head I may as well try putting some in the freezer. The farmland is within 1km of the richelieu river and we get s&%tloads of them aroung here.

I figure I will need a call but are decoys nesessary? Do I have to fielddress them on the spot or can it wait? Do they have to hang for a while? If yes do I hang them from the neck or feet? Pluck or just brest them out?

Well as you can see I've never hunted them before and any info is welcome.
Thanks in advance:wave:
Click to expand...


You'd be better off with some decoys and no call. Get a dozen and face them into the wind. What kind of ammo do you plan on shooting with? Get a burlap sack and lie in the decoys, rudimentary, but it will work. FS
 
x2 on decoys but no call- no sense in scaring them away with a party horn!!
I started with silohouettes made from old election signs and spraypaint. They looked goose-ish at best but still worked. Burlap and some stubble for a hide. The trick is to watch them (like you said) so you know where they want to be then set up there. When the come in HOLD STILL until they are close- their eyes will spot you fussing and bye bye......
Good luck!
 
Once you get one....
As per Hunting Regulations you must have at least one wing attached to the remains of any bird for transporting (basically, from what I understand) so you pretty well have to take them home.
When still in the field I pluck the feathers along the length of the breast bone exposing the skin and then take them home. I do this plucking so I don't have a pile of loose feathers all over the place at home. When home I cut along the breast bone, peel back the skin and bone out the breasts. I then carry along the sides to get the legs, which I cook in the slowcooker (yummy).
Once you do one you'll find how quick & easy it is; you'll do fine.
 
Last edited:
I agree get decoys, calls work great for bringing them in but you should practice lots first.

I find that just a few decoys and a call works well, they circle 2 or 3 times, see the decoys then come in for a landing.

As for plucking, I just skin em!

And for ammo, Federal Premium Black Cloud BB. GREAT SHOT!
 
I personally wouldnt go near black cloud,my buddy is a gunsmith and has saw a few guns that have shot that stuff and it left deep scratches and grooves in the barrel because of the mushroom shape of the shot.
 
For field hunting I have some super mags (they are frigging huge) and they work wonders. We call too. But one thing that I learned from field hunting is that if you stay by the tree line they never come close. I started using a coffin blind and it is so much better. Basically we put the blinds right in the middle of the decoys and my buddy uses the flag to get them started.
 
Go where the geese already want to be and it will be easier to shoot them. If you see them in the same spot for a few days setup there before they get there and wait. Decoys are good, calling is ok. I personally only call to get them to come in my direction, once they do that, I stop calling.

Good luck.
 
Well, I went a bought a call tonight. To my untrained ear I actually sound like a goose! :rockOn:
Funny thing, I was never into waterfowl but as I am starting to prepare my gear and buy a few nesessities I'm getting excited.....kinda like when preparing for moose or deer. I will look funny with the only shotgun I own, an 870 rem mag with syn stock and a pistol grip but if my excitement catches on I will have a valid reason to buy another more suited to my needs :dancingbanana:
 
I myself get far more excited to go out and shoot Upland or Waterfowl than any other game and I have a riot even if I do not shoot anything.

Geese will decoy to duck spreads too as long as there are a few confidence geese in the mix. Like 4.
 
great fun, went down to the marsh tonight to :canadaFlag:have some fun and shot a couple just before legal time ended. boy, after that, they started pouring in from every direction and all I could do was watch and enjoy it and pattern them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom