USA: Early Season Fall Goose Hunt in NY

[BeeMaa]

FYI - I know I sound like a rep for Federal TSS and I admit to being on the bandwagon, but there are limitations. Specifically that TSS will not make up for poor shooting. All the birds we have taken on this hunt have been head shot with no meat damage. The only exception is one that was injured by another hunter in the breast but IGS was able to head shoot it as it ran down the bank. This is not a mistake. Both IGS and myself are serious about staying sharp when it comes to shooting skills. Being well practiced is as much a factor as using good ammo. Taking a lesson or two from a professional shotgun instructor can go a long way to hunting success.

 

[BeeMaa]

7 Sep - Conditions have changed.

The morning breaks to more light rain, but hot coffee is brewing to get the day started right. Plan is to float the river in a pontoon boat, but first it needs to get doctored up. IGS pulls out pop-up fold out blinds, loose fabric blind material and he even cut some fresh reeds and bamboo to camo up the pontoon boat. We mock it up at the house with how we think it will work and head for the river.

Here are a few pictures of the mock up and materials we gathered...

 

[BeeMaa]

Water levels are up, waaaay up. More than 2 feet higher than a few days ago, but the rain has tapering off allowing us to not be impaired by rain jackets. We assemble the blind on top of the pontoon boat and launch. Hopefully this will allow us to put the sneak on some of these geese that are flying off at the mere sight of us from 200 yards.

We start the float and it's obvious almost immediately that the geese are not here, at least not in any significant numbers. We get busted a few time by geese we didn't see in time on the shore line and up little streams that flow into the river. So what's the problem? Water. Not having enough water made it tough on us to do a float, but it gave the geese few options when it came time to drink. Now we have more than enough water to float and the geese have options...lots of them.

One thing I can say is that the pontoon boat is much more stable than the 2-person kayak we were in yesterday. We float through the rapids easily today thanks to the rowing skills of IGS. The same rapids that had us walking yesterday for fear of being tipped over in the kayak. The rapids behind us, we know the take out point is about a mile down river. We hug the left side of the river, IGS yells "THERE HE IS!!!" as goose flushes (much like a pheasant would) from the weeds of the bank. Both of us were caught unaware and it's flying straight away from us. I click off the safety as the SBE3 comes up and I take the shot at 50 yards flying. The goose falls stone dead to the water.

I will admit that I had a 3.5" Hevi-Shot Magnum Blend Turkey 4-5-6 shot in anticipation of my first shot having to be a long one. With the bird down and the boat beached, it time for pictures...

 

[BeeMaa]

It's now 2 pm and it's time to refuel our hungry bellies. The pontoon boat is locked up at the ramp while we drive to lunch. Wait...what the hell...what the hell is that!?!? Hundreds of birds in a cut corn field between the road and the river...in a section that we have not floated. Lunch discussion is centered around what we can do about this situation and shuttling vehicles.

We are back at the pontoon boat and meet up with a few locals who give us intel on the cut corn field geese. They say that the goose sit on that field until almost the end of legal shooting light and fly up the river. Sometimes they fly at 100 feet, other times it's only 10 feet off the water and they blast them from the bank. We exchange phone numbers and make a plan to intercept the geese closer to the corn, and hopefully not blow out our new friends hunt. They completely understand, we wish each other luck and start our second float of the day.

We locate the field from the river and find some debris to anchor to in the middle. Lines of fire are laid out as we wait and discuss. The geese honk and honk just before they fly up, like an alarm to all the hunters in the area saying "here we come". Eyes glued to the sky we watch...and watch them fly north away from us. More honking...more flying away from us...over land not the river. The few that did fly over the river (and over us) were high...really high. We take a few shots, but none of them even react to the sound of the guns. Clean miss and we cast off the boat to head for the take out ramp...in the dark.

It's been a long day and the long hours of hunting is taking a toll. We are both tired as we arrive home for a quick bite before heading to bed. It feels like tomorrow might be a zero day or maybe only do some easier hunting. I'm going to reset the gear and the boat while IGS takes his wife to the airport in the morning. When he gets back, we will scout and decide on a plan.

 

[BeeMaa]

A big thanks to my friend IGS...

None of this would be possible without him and the "guide level" of equipment he has accumulated over the years. Pontoon boat, inflatable kayaks, Hobie kayaks, 2-person kayak...and don't forget the pop up blinds, blind material, coats, jackets, camo material...it's a never ending supply of hunting equipment that he is willing to share. Like a Cabela's (pre-Bass Pro) exploded with all the goodies, in organized bins located in his hunting shed. Imagine being 4 years old and waking up on Christmas day to your most coveted present under the tree. It's like that...except it's EVERY DAY!

What is even more important is the knowledge he brings to a hunt. Having grown up hunting and fishing in this area of Upstate NY, he knows the patterns of nearly all game animals. Again, guide level service for the price of being a friend. I do my best to pay back his generosity by paying for fuel and picking up a tab for food/drinks...but it's not about money. It's about spending time outdoors, doing the things we love to do. Doing it with a good friend makes it even more special.

My thanks go out to him and his wife.

 

[BeeMaa]

8 Sep - Get set for disappointment.


I wake up early and start going through our gear. IGS is taking his wife to the airport and won't be back for a while. I pull the pontoon boat out of the truck and start drying the gear out from yesterday. We were talking on the way home that the blind we attached to the boat was a little tall and we should go with something more low profile. My task while he's at the airport is to find something that works.

A small three panel pop up turkey blind is found and I set to rigging up a support to attach it to the boat. This lower profile will reduce our wind profile, because yesterday we were being blown upstream with the big blind acting as a sail. Not sure what the wind is expected to do today, but the weather is sunny and 70F - 75F with a light wind of 1-3 mph out of the north. We are planning on floating north so this wind will be in our face, not exactly ideal.

The mock up of the pontoon boat in the driveway..

 

[BeeMaa]

IGS returns from the airport and we have a large meal to fuel up for a long float. We make a few adjustments to the boat and set out to scout and put in. After dropping our pick-up vehicle downstream, we spot large flocks of gees above where we had planned to put in. We go above the geese to start our float with the flock in sight.

If we can see them, they can certainly see us. The stalk is on. They are mostly on the right bank and 300 yards away. The water level is making the stalk difficult, we have to lift and drag the boat over the rocks. This movement doesn’t go unnoticed by the geese and they fly off…some to the north and other to the south. We decide to push the boat into a shady area on the right bank close to where they were before the stalk. The idea being that they will return, and when they do…blast away.

The geese that flew south come back in less than 10 minutes…landing in the middle of the river and out of range. They immediately spot us and turn towards the other bank, busted. We shove off with more than 8 miles of floating opportunities ahead of us.

The wind is variable and when it really picks up can stop any progress we are making. Changing to a lower blind was a good decision. Adjustments are made to the camo netting that cover the pontoons down the sides for better concealment. Hopefully we have a chance to put it into play.

 

[BeeMaa]

The float goes on, turn after turn. Checking tiny streams that flow into the river and cutbacks for any sign of geese, nothing is found. We stop to find how far we have left and take a break. IGS is looking at a map on his phone while I glass downstream. We are about halfway and there is what looks like a goose about 800 yards down river on the opposite bank. A plan is made and we get back on the water.

We cross the river and use the bank to get within 300 yards. We creep around the corner with me glassing, I hold my hand up and IGS stops the boat. I see the rock…and the bird on it…it’s a cormorant. Damn it! We relax a bit and get out into the river again to keep looking.

The higher water level of the river has significantly changed the way everything looks. The locations where we shot geese just a few days earlier are almost unrecognizable. We revel in the recent memories while keeping our eyes on the future possibilities.

 

[BeeMaa]

A hunters heart is full of optimism. For the chance of game, for good weather and for good shots. However anyone who has hunted for any length of time has had those doubts in the back of their head... Should I have gotten out earlier? Should I have waited? Where the hell are the game? Is my method flawed? Man this weather sucks.... We all have doubts. I started this day with the title "Get set for disappointment" and every hunt has that distinct possibility, however the goal is to keep a positive attitude and embrace every opportunity like it could be your last.

1.5 miles to the take out point and if I told you I was feeling optimistic, I'd be lying. We've been on the water for 4 hours and haven't seen a goose since we put the boat in...I'm getting my mind set for disappointment. I force those thoughts to the back of my head and continue to glass.

The left bank...wait...what the hell is that?!?! A flock of 30-40 geese loafing on the grass and in the shallow water near the bank. The bad news...there is no cover...anywhere. We will have to approach in full view of them for the next 400+ yards.

I'm at the front of the boat crouched down with my feet up...folded up like a sandwich with my gun across my lap. IGS is controlling the boat from the back by walking on the left bank at an excruciatingly slow speed. We are in the shade for most of the stalk and I believe it is helping. Every now and then I lift my head to take a peek, each time the birds are closer and seem to not really care about this floating piece of debris heading towards them.

It's been an hour since we have started the stalk and we have closed the distance to 70 yards, just in range for my first shot that is a turkey load. I loaded my shotgun this way for exactly this situation, a stalk that could result in a long first shot. I have my eyes just over the blind and shift my left foot a little...tingles run down my leg because it's asleep from being in the same position for so long. It doesn't matter at this point, it's going to be what it's going to be. I just have to perform when the time comes.

60 yards is reached and the geese start to take notice of us. IGS can't see the geese or the range, he's just keeping a nice constant slow pace. All the heads of the geese are up and they start to walk away with the distance being 50 yards. One of the birds honks and IGS picks up the pace, we both look up and the geese are starting to walk away to take flight. I raise the shotgun and get a head to line up with the front bead...BOOOOOM...and a goose is down. The others run away taking flight.

 

[BourbonTrail]

@BeeMaa - I’m following this like a buffalo hunt, way to write probably the best damned waterfowl report ever.

 

[BeeMaa]

We have done it...stalked up on geese and taken one. It will be one of my most remembered hunts for what we went through to be successful. Not getting a game animal is always a possibility, hell you can do that from the couch and be much more comfortable. Getting out and giving things a try is what hunters do, it's a mentality that is very difficult to explain.

IGS and I head back to the house for pizza and beer...and to discuss what tomorrow will bring. Always thinking about what can be done and pushing our own limits. As of this writing, I'm not sure what plans we have, but it might be sitting and waiting instead of a stalk. If we can get them to come to us, maybe we can line up 2 or 3 heads and use a turkey load to fold 'em up.

What I have learned about Canada Goose is that anatomically, they are very similar to turkey. Very big birds with the wings protecting the beautiful breast meat when they are on the ground. Close the distance to within turkey load range (70 yards for us) and you will keep that meat from being shot up by taking out the head. On the wing, you have to be much more careful and use a proper lead to keep the meat from being shot.

 

[BeeMaa]

@BeeMaa - I’m following this like a buffalo hunt, way to write probably the best damned waterfowl report ever.

Thank you sir. Just writing whatever comes into my head. Appreciate you following along. One more day of hunting before I have to book it back to the real world.

 

[BeeMaa]

9 Sep - One is an accident, two is a coincidence...three is a trend.

We slept in a bit more than normal, maybe 6:30 or 7 before we made coffee and started to discuss what we might do today. We mock up the pontoon boat again to discuss what worked and what didn't. An umbrella that was a turkey was spray painted in camo and added to the top of the 3-panel blind on top of the 3-panel pop-up blind. Then that was covered with a camo netting. All of this was done to be able to stalk geese on the water. Something that I've heard can NOT be done. We did it yesterday, but there were complications...not being able to see, not enough cover for me and the geese possibly seeing below to where my feet are.

These issued addressed, we set to scouting the area for geese...and we find them. A plan is made for an eight mile float. EIGHT miles... That's more than just a little float, especially seeing as it's past 10 am already. I suggest a slightly shorter float of 4.5 miles with the possibility of doing more after the take out point...IGS agrees to this.

We put in and set up the blind on the front of the pontoon boat. Expectations are high, but we will be needing an opportunity to prove what it is capable of.

 

[Tra3]

This adventure keeps going! I’m enjoying the ingenuity!

 

[BeeMaa]

After floating and glassing for a few hours a flock is spotted at over 800 yards. I know this because my rangefinder only goes to 800 yards and gives me an error for ranges beyond that. The plan is made to for IGS to slowly, and I mean very slowly, work the boat down the left bank. We will be in full view of the geese for the last 600+ yards. On top of this we will be in full sun for this stalk further hampering our progress. We press on...

300 yards and the geese are moving back and forth across the river, not paying us much mind. 150 yards and I look down to see tiny little fish swimming under the cover of the camo netting...geesse still unaware. At less than 70 yards there are geese left and right, IGS is having to make a decision on what the geese are looking at, and we press on to the ones in the center of the river standing on a rock.

I can not believe we have made it this close without only a single goose honk every now and then. Less than 50 yards now and IGS picks up the pace because he knows I'm within range of the ones on the rock. I give a signal to him that I'll be pulling up in 3....2...1...

I pop up and to my surprise the geese...GO NOWHERE!!!! I line up two heads and pull the trigger. One goes limp immediately, the other is obviously hit but still swimming. We pick up the dead one and have to chase the other to the bank for a finishing shot. The rest of the flock has flown north, downriver...where we might just meet again.

 

[BeeMaa]

So it is possible to put the stalk on geese. Once yesterday and again today...it can be done. It takes some time, but it can be done on these resident (conservation season) geese.

Pictures done, we load back up and get back on the water. IGS said the geese didn't go far...possibly just around the bend...and he's right. There they are, but we are on the wrong side of the river. IGS rows against the current to get us to the other bank out of the sight of the geese. Again it will be a long stalk. I estimate over 1000 yards but the bank will provide us cover for all but the last 300. Switching sides was smart although it taxed IGS a bit. He has no idea what is to come...

We pass around the bend and are at 300 yards. IGS is walking the boat along the bank with me giving hand signals behind my back for boat direction and what the geese are doing. Although we switched sides of the river for better cover, the geese have moved to the opposite bank that we are on. The distance has closed to less than 100 yards and that's the good news, the bad news is the only way to get to them is crossing the deep center of it.

I'm focused on the geese. They are less than 70 yards away an I click off the safety. I'm still giving hand signals to IGS without turning around and the boat is responding in the manner I'd expect. When we close to 50 yards the geese begin to get a little agitated and I give the 3...2...1...pop up and...just like before...they barely react. There is a big one close and I snap one shot. It falls to the water dead, wings flapping but head down...to never come up again. Pictures of all three were taken a little bit later...

 

[BeeMaa]

What I didn't tell you...as we crossed the deepest spot in the river to reach the geese on the last stalk, IGS had abandoned his normal position at the back of the boat. I turned around to see him just holding onto the frame of the boat with only his head above water. Quite a sight and quite the sacrifice to make sure that I was able to make a clean kill.

We cleaned the geese on the rock (pictured above) and put the meat in a cooler. We meet up with our recent friends who are hunting the bank and give them a heads up that we will be pulling in where they are. We all share some hunting stories, talk guns and shells...the normal stuff. After picking up the boat and starting to head back to the house...it's hard to comprehend what this hunt has meant to me. It may take a little while for me to gain some perspective on all of this. What I do know is that you can stalk geese. By moving slowly with good camo, it can be done. Once is and accident, two is a coincidence...three is a trend.

It's the last day of the hunt for me, but I'll have a few more posts to recap the leftovers. Hope you stay tuned.

 

[TroyF]

Your not all that far from me, I'm just outside of Middletown. One thing I've never hunted was waterfowl, just never worked out and don't really know anyone these days hunting them.

 

[BeeMaa]

Your not all that far from me, I'm just outside of Middletown. One thing I've never hunted was waterfowl, just never worked out and don't really know anyone these days hunting them.

I was only up here for a week and have personally met 7 people who waterfowl in addition to that are a number of people who I saw hunting and didn't disturb because they were in a blind or something like that. Being around the water scouting and doing this will put in close proximity to those who are "in the know". Showing a little kindness to those people will go a long way towards finding out what you need to know.

Tell you what, start scouting the Bashakill WMA that's not too far from you and I can almost guarantee that you will met wildfowl hunters to get you started.

 

[BeeMaa]

10 Sep - Travel day and time for reflection.

It's been a good trip...really good. These are the thoughts in my head as I wake up. Coffee is ready earlier today because IGS has a chukar shoot/dog competition to get to. My stuff packed, goodbyes are said and I'm off.

IGS and I have carved out a system to stalk (non-migratory) geese successfully over the course of a week. Each day brought more innovation and solutions and I believe we had it down to a science by the end. I'm sure that next season there will be a strap on frame for the pontoon boat so attachment of the blind will be easier. We have also learned a lot about what the geese do with certain weather conditions and water levels. The learning curve has been steep, but is now in our favor.

The only thing I didn't experience is a field hunt, although we did get invited to a few. Some of IGS's friends were organizing them, but we decided to sleep a little later instead. Turned out to be a good decision, because the geese stayed out of range on every one of these hunts, while we banged them up on the river. At some point I would like to experience a field hunt, but it would probably be during migratory season when the patterns are more predictable.

Gear that worked. Benelli SBE3 with turkey loads for stalking and Black Cloud TSS for wing shooting. Simms waders & boots. Havalon Piranta knife. Patagonia rain jacket. Dive Bomb Industries waterproof blind bag...IGS has one of these on the way to him for a "goose camp thank you".

Gear that didn't. Waterproof gun slip, just not necessary and impossible to dry the inside once it got wet. If I had one that was water-resistant denier cordura material that fully unzipped it would have been better. Stock mounted shell holder will be thrown in the trash in favor of a belt slide to hold spare shells.

I pull into the driveway and Mrs BeeMaa explodes from the door with a big hug for me. She's glad I went and had a good time, but she's overjoyed to have me home. I'm very happy to be here as well. Short of telling you about unpacking and my laundry habits, this hunt is pretty much done. I hope you have enjoyed the reading as much as I've enjoyed sharing it. Cheers.