biggest goose you have seen...honestly

swinginberrys said:
Hoyt, you're a lucky man...I'll be hopefully sitting in a blind tomorrow.
There's definitely some jumbos in this thread but I still haven't seen anything that persuades me to believe there are Canada geese over fifteen pounds... They do seem to be the Bigfoot of the waterfowl world lots of claims but never any hard evidence. Gotta admit I don't believe for a second there's ever been a 23 pounder even if it is on the internet (the internet claims there's a hot lonely neighbor that wants to hook up but after much research I've found this to be a lie)
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Agree...23lbs doesnt seem realistic at all. And quite honestly, two weeks ago I would have agreed that something over 15lbs was impossible as well. I like the picture you posted though...I never thought to take one of the wing span. Thats something I'll need to do next time a monster drops. Although, I mostly hunt alone so that may prove to be a bit difficult.

I will say that this thread kind of reminds me of this past spring turkey season. It had been so long since I bagged a gobbler, and this year when I finally did, it seemed like the biggest bird ever harvested. I was convinced it was pushing 25lbs plus, but when I finally got it on a scale when I returned home, it was only 21lbs. Either way, I was happier then pig in sh!t....regardless of what it weighed.
 
I used to hunt geese a lot, but have not hunted them in several years now.
IIRC, the heaviest goose shot by our hunting group weighed right around 14 lb.

Even that is a fair weight to get airborne and fly hundreds/thousands of miles.

Regards, Dave.
 
1963beretta said:
Where abouts in Ontario did you see them. The two I shot had white bands near the eye and beak. The second picture I posted somewhat shows the markings. I had never seen that before myself and also thought it was an anomaly. Since both geese were shot together, i figured they may have been siblings with the same markings. I didnt know that the markings are a giant goose attribute until I saw the sub species chart. The geese were shot in Orillia.
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The family of Giant Canada's of which I speak are in North Western Ontario, Between Dryden and Kenora. I had many flocks stop for refreshments later in the fall and many were huge geese. I took a couple for the freezer, no white bands but very hefty big bodied geese. Never weighed them though, maybe next year.

I am perplexed by some of the posts here from fellas who are under the impression a goose over a certain weight would not be able to fly. I would be of the opinion that as long as the bird had the wing capacity and muscular strength for it's bodily proportions it will fly without issue. A goose was aeronautically engineered to fly by nature whether it be a Cackling goose or a Giant Canada. Man has designed and made some very big aircraft which all have flown, because they were aeronautically engineered and powered properly for there size and weight. Some of the huge military transport planes being a prime examples.
 
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how about what happened at the last election- if that wasn't a goose, I don't know what is
 
1963beretta said:
Hoyt, hows the Cynergy treating you?
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My start with the Cynergy was rocky... I missed the first three pheasant I shot at... but I realized that the comb could be lowered one more notch and that small change improved the fit for me. I shot a couple limits of greenheads and woodies... but was still struggling a smidge with comfort... the fit is quite different from my Citori's. I'm starting to get a feel for the gun now and made a few good shots on whistlers this morning.
 
I' have shot a lot of geese. Biggest I've ever weighed ( non certified scales) was 14 lbs. I don't think they get much bigger in the Central Flyway.
 
manitou210 said:
This is the largest of the subspecies. The Giant Canada was believed to be extinct but was rediscovered in the 1960's. Ganders can reach to the size of 23 pounds or more and both ###es may also have a full or partial white band above the bill and eyes. There is a small backward projecting hook on the white cheek patch.
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You are correct. 20 pounders are possible in males and the largest documented was 24 and change, Nothing I have ever shot and I have taken a ton over the years ever that big with just over 15 my largest. But these monsters do exist as you say in that subspecies in some areas
Cheers

Just to add to your post and not my words
Branta Canadensis Maxima ; aka (giant Canadian goose) This one of eleven sub-species of Canadian geese was thought to be extinct till a flock was discovered in 1962 wintering on Silver Lake in Rochester Minn. Restoration programs throughout it`s original breeding grounds, the great plains, have been hugely successful. This species is primarily non-migratory and has developed a preference for living in cities, on golf courses, in parks, and housing development green spaces. Estimates indicate that up to a million Giant Canadians exist in the upper mid-west prairie region. This bird depending on whose research you reference can range from an average of 11lb. to 14lb. with some males reaching weights exceeding 20lbs. the largest on record being an exceptionally large male weighing 25lbs. with a wing span of 88 inches. In Kansas it`s range is primarily in the eastern portion of the state along with a breeding population in the Wichita region. A few decades back a restoration program for Giant Canadians was initiated at the Marais des Cygnes wildlife area. A similar program was also started about this time by a Green Wing chapter of Ducks Unlimited at Wyandotte Co. lake in K.C.K. Both programs were highly successful to the extent that the Wyandotte Co. lake project created large management issues through the degradation and the denuding of large public use areas at the parks` entrance. Even though their existence is well documented a person may hunt for example 35yrs. without seeing one unless you happen to hunt in an area where these large birds exist. If you want to hunt Giant Canadian geese you have to go where the giant birds hang out, or fly out to. As far as the largest goose killed at the goose/shootout being below the size we are referencing it is probably attributable to being out of the distribution range of the Giant Canadian . This sub-species is only shown as being in the most southern areas of the Canadian provinces. For those of you out there that want to shoot a big goose they do exist and they are proliferating in the eastern portion of the state.
 
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hoytcanon said:
My start with the Cynergy was rocky... I missed the first three pheasant I shot at... but I realized that the comb could be lowered one more notch and that small change improved the fit for me. I shot a couple limits of greenheads and woodies... but was still struggling a smidge with comfort... the fit is quite different from my Citori's. I'm starting to get a feel for the gun now and made a few good shots on whistlers this morning.
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Sounds like the same issue I had with every Beretta that I've owned. Hopefully you now have it figured out
 
been shooting limits of geese for last 3 weeks with 5 shooters and last shoot we shot some giants with the white patch over the eye.none of them were over 14 lbs but.after the limit we did see one goose flying lower than another flock and body size he was tripple the size.man i wish we didnt limit so early as there was wave upon wave as we were pocking up the decoys. went back today and the field is burned. looks like some guys came to the adjacent field and were rattling shots at them 200 yards up.
 
Back in the very 80ies we had for about 3 years some huge Canadas coming through our area. You could easily pick them out in the air when their flights were mixed in with normal Canadas. They were usually grouped in small bunches of a dozen or fewer so at a time. The 1st 2 years when they showed up we saw more of them then the 3rd and last year they came through our area where we hunted but at no time where there ever more than a few flocks of them around. We weighted a couple of them and they were 16 to 18lbs which is huge. Now the part were you all get to call me a BSer but I swear it is true, one day I shot one and my buddy got another out of 2 separate flights that came in and they were huge. A friend of ours was a butcher for Canada Safeway so we took them over to him and had him put them on his meat scale which is Government Certified. The biggest was 26.1 lbs and the small one was 24.2. I have never before or since shot or even seen geese even close to the size of these with most that we get in the 10 to 12lb range....but I know they are out there somewhere, I swear.
Just a side note I also shot a small Cackler or Lesser Canada that day and I don't think it would have made 4lbs, it was quite the size differance and no we never even thought of taking pictures back then, but I really wish I had cause I get tired of been called a liar.

Jim
 
Halfton, my father was a taxidermist in Lethbridge back then. I remember quite a few of those big birds coming into the shop every fall. I recall 1982 being of note for lots of big birds coming into dad's shop.

There was one really big bugger brought in by a fellow from Raymond. He and his hunting partners came straight from the hunt to our house. Dad weighed it at 23+lbs, bringing it close to the largest recorded at the time. I remember that whole group of guys were ecstatic at the size of the bird. The wingspan was huge. Dad may have kept a pic of the final mount. Cool mount, full flight with wings outstretched, but to be hung from the ceiling, wings parallel to the floor rather than angled against a wall, so the size was apparent when anyone looked up. I think the guy's last name was Jensen, but that wouldn't narrow down the search for anyone in that region hoping to see it.
 
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