# 1010 in 8 hunts? wow



## greenc

has anybody else been hunting snows in nodak i dont understand the birds they are decoying like there drunk evrytime we have been out its been 80+ bird days i dont understand whats up with the birds i have never seen them decoy so well has anybody else seen this or been out there are still plenty of birds in the state i have only seen 1 other spread in 2 weeks ?


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## FoldEmXtreme

I haven't been but sure sounds like I am missing out! Nicely done man, that is a lot of snows on the ground!!


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## ndhunter44

I've been out this past couple weekends and have been pretty successful! There was alot of snows that came through. Hopefully this snow doesn't push them out. I hope you don't mind me asking what you had out for a spread when you go out?


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## SDOutdoorsman

Is this some kind of sick joke just to torment me, haha, I'm very jealous.

Nice job though, glad someone is getting after them. Just out of curisosity how many out of 1010 were banded? Had to have picked up at least a few shooting that many.


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## DUCKWHISPERER

Save some for the Spring Please...Seriously though, thats a Smackdown...Nice Job! :beer:


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## brobones

From your earlier pictures a lot of the birds looked like juvenile birds... about what percentage of your birds are adults would you say. You are really laying to them..Way to go..


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## huntingmaniac

dont mind me asking but what part of the state where you hunting?


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## greenc

i cant say exactly where but its in the southern part of the state


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## PA Snow Hunter

Excellent job man. If all snows decoyed like this the CO would be a thing of the past as the population would be reduced! Good job man, keep whackin em. :sniper:


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## bluebird

huntingmaniac said:


> dont mind me asking but what part of the state where you hunting?


You keep asking everytime somone posts up big shoots where in the state they where.

Just dont internet scout man. A lot of work is put into finding birds and getting into them like this.

Get out and over the years you will know right where the birds should be during a certain time of the year and what they are doing with the weather. It will pay off!!

Nice Shoot!!!!!!!!!!!


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## greenc

thanks bluebird yeah about 7 tanks of fuel and many hours driving they are here but not for long :beer: i am headed back out today to put more on the ground hopefully :bop: :bop: :bop: :bop:


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## wtrfowl14

Congradulatations man that is awesome. My area stunk this year was able to get out 1 day and it was great but they didnt stick around this year for reasons that I do know but cant control, but next year is shaping up to look great.


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## Nick Roehl

greenc said:



> i cant say exactly where but its in the southern part of the state


I know where they are having been killing them. I have been hunting all those areas since I was a kid. Just need to put on the miles and look around, not that hard to find them. But once you do killing big numbers separates the men from the boys! :beer:


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## ndhunter44

Let us know how you do today, if you went out?


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## Brad Anderson

Go get em tiger. make em feel the wrath. Dont think i've ever heard of such great fall goose hunting in my life... Glad I got into 5 days of great hunting... hope tomorrow works out... say hello to clay for me..


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## KEN W

Nice hunt.Now some of you younger guys know what it was like here in the 70's,80's,till the mid 90's.The northern part of the state had this kind of hunting from opening day till freezeup.


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## nodakoutdoors.com

220 dropped Saturday - I'm sure he'll post some more pics.


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## southLA

Sheit. What kind of spread are yall hunting over?


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## nodakoutdoors.com

Sillosocks


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## Chaws

Making lots of "jerky" I bet huh?


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## Ima870man

I cannot imagine 1800 lbs of jerky figuring a lb of meat per bird -- WoW! Or if one mixed it 50/50 with beef or pork to make sausage which would equal 3600 lbs of meat. Now that is a lot of processed meat.

Ima870man
Jeff


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## greenc

that would be crazy but there was 8-10 guys per hunt so i took my and a couple others in and it came out to be 412lbs of sticks and summer sausage and brats wich was 8 boxes full should be gone by the spring :thumb: and if the fall was this good chances the spring is going to be insane i am ordering 10 more cases went through 5 this fall


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## Chaws

Some pretty happy processors in the area with that other 3200 lbs of meat then!


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## goosebusters

It does get a bit sickening at the end of the hunt when you are staring down at a pile of birds. A lot to clean, its a good problem to have, but if everyone in your group doesn't pitch in it just keeps piling on to the rest. If you shot 10 limits in a fall you'd be looking at 200 pounds of geese per person minimum, translating to 400 pounds of sausages. Its now got to the point where its not worth skybusting a flock or shooting multiple times into a flock for me. I'm happy seeing 15 on the ground with some good retrieves from the dog. I just don't need more than 50 pounds of meat anymore, that's why I stopped deer hunting. But it is the reason we hunt right, for the meat? Once I get some more mouths to feed in my family I can probably start shooting more birds again. :thumb:


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## DUCKWHISPERER

Or you could donate to the less fortunate...feel good about helping them out & even better while you pilem up, not to mention saving theTundra. Win win Win :beer:


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## Chaws

DUCKWHISPERER said:


> Or you could donate to the less fortunate...feel good about helping them out & even better while you pilem up, not to mention saving theTundra. Win win Win :beer:


If you believe that there really are places to donate waterfowl meat, then I have some land down in Florida that you could take off my hands for one heck of a deal!


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## DUCKWHISPERER

Yep I know for a fact that there is places that take them. Keep your crappy land too! :lol:


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## Chaws

DUCKWHISPERER said:


> Yep I know for a fact that there is places that take them. Keep your crappy land too! :lol:


Do tell. That questions has been asked numerous times and not a single person has been able to step up and identify said location.


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## DUCKWHISPERER

Well...where I'm from there is a Church orginzation that takes them as far as specifics, I'm sure thats useless information for you but they are out there...Trust me!


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## J.D.

Chaws said:


> DUCKWHISPERER said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yep I know for a fact that there is places that take them. Keep your crappy land too! :lol:
> 
> 
> 
> Do tell. That questions has been asked numerous times and not a single person has been able to step up and identify said location.
Click to expand...

Ive got a place that will take all the meat I can bring it but I am sure not going to put the info up on the internet. Id rather have them begging me to bring more back than turning me away because they have so many donations already. :beer:


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## DUCKWHISPERER

Ive got a place that will take all the meat I can bring it but I am sure not going to put the info up on the internet. Id rather have them begging me to bring more back than turning me away because they have so many donations already.

EXACTLY!


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## Mike J

I just throw mine in the ditch. Snow geese are a pest and now nothing more than a varmint. I bowfish carp and throw them on the bank, I varmit hunt but have never eaten a fox or coyote, I've never cleaned a crow either and snow geese are now no different to me. Don't blame me for my actions, blame the people in charge of managing them who have let them get this out of whack.

Wanton waste laws in the vast majority of states only require you to retrieve waterfowl. Throwing them in the ditch you can get a littering ticket so I've actually been throwing a lot in the trash, or a dumpster on big shoots. I use to clean every snow when the limit was five but those days are long gone old timers. Times change and respect for something you may still value has changed too.


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## Savage260

> Don't blame me for my actions,


Idiot! :eyeroll:

You want some welfare with that too?


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## greenc

yeah then some farmer drives by and see them real smart Dumb [email protected] its guys like you that give hunters a bad name have some respect for the game or dont hunt period!!!!!!!!!!!! :******: :******:


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## Mike J

I don't consider snow geese game anymore; like a lot of other people. They are vermin. We are all products of society to a certain degree. I'm not the one who mismanaged snow geese to the point where they had to liberalize the regulations and urge the hunting community to, "kill them all."

Anyone who snow goose hunts knows how many geese end up in the ditch. Sorry for keeping it real. How many snows would get thrown if the limit was five? A lot less. The USFWS can't urge guys to kill hundreds and also expect people to eat them all.

By the way, a farmer getting mad at seeing a bunch of dead geese in a ditch? Ha! That's a good one. Like I said, I throw them in the garbage these days; which is completely legal in ND. Look it up.


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## DUCKWHISPERER

I don't consider snow geese game anymore; like a lot of other people. They are vermin. We are all products of society to a certain degree. I'm not the one who mismanaged snow geese to the point where they had to liberalize the regulations and urge the hunting community to, "kill them all."

Anyone who snow goose hunts knows how many geese end up in the ditch. Sorry for keeping it real. How many snows would get thrown if the limit was five? A lot less. The USFWS can't urge guys to kill hundreds and also expect people to eat them all.

By the way, a farmer getting mad at seeing a bunch of dead geese in a ditch---Ha! That's a good one. Like I said, I thrown them in the garbage these days; which is completely legal in ND. Look it up.

UHHHHH.COULD YOU LIKE SHUT UP? YOU SIR... ARE A DISCRACE.


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## Mike J

No, I'm honest. Throw all the stones you like, it doesn't change the truth.


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## Mike J

For the record, I enjoy eating waterfowl and would be willing to bet I eat a lot more than most.


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## DUCKWHISPERER

OK WE GET IT YOUR NOT THE ONLY UNETHICAL PERSON OUT THERE...STOP POSTING CRAP THAT GIVES US REAL HUNTERS A BAD NAME, BESIDES THIS THREAD IS ABOUT SOME GUYS WHO OBVIOUSLY LOVE THE SPORT & THEN YOU COME ALONG. WAY TO GO BUDDY.


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## Mike J

OK, SORRY FOR HIGHJACKING THE THREAD. YOUR CAPS LOCK IS ON.


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## ew1439

Hey, if anybody wants to get rid of their geese, I'll take them! Properly processed of course...(breasted, wing on, not rancid). This goes for the spring hunt also.


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## mntwinsfan

Unfortunately, too many people ditch their birds. Some people are just dumb enough to talk about it online. It's pretty cool that you are "keeping it real". Hunters like you truly are a black eye on the sport. Do you have any clue why snow goose numbers have erupted? Lets see what ya think.


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## WingedShooter7

mntwinsfan said:


> Unfortunately, too many people ditch their birds. Some people are just dumb enough to talk about it online. It's pretty cool that you are "keeping it real". Hunters like you truly are a black eye on the sport. Do you have any clue why snow goose numbers have erupted? Lets see what ya think.


Hey he already said its the Game & Fish's fault, mother nature has nothing to do with it whatsoever or the fact that there is 10x's more food available than there has ever been. Just the stupid Game & Fish, gosh dang them.


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## mntwinsfan

Ding, Ding, Ding

Its been proven ever since the CO season was put in place that hunting will not reduce the numbers. The season has slowed growth, but the population has increased. Short of blowing up the nesting grounds, the population will not be slowed by hunting. So, continue blaming "society" on your laziness and disrespect for the resource.


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## Mike J

12 years ago the USFWS said the sky was falling and the tundra was undergoing irreparable damage by the amount of snow geese at that time. Their estimates were that the population needed to be reduced by a third. Instead it's grown and the alarming rate of damage has increased. They weren't proactive in managing a clearly burgeoning population until it had grown past the point where hunters could reduce it. The plan they put in place hasn't worked and they've done nothing additional to hunting to reduce the population.

I think the USFWS is the best thing to ever happen to waterfowl and people that enjoy them. However, they have completely failed, based off the goals they set for snow geese. There's no debating that.


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## mntwinsfan

Once this population started growing, the FEDS initiated the CO season. It took awhile before it became popular. What else were they supposed to do? The Feds had nothing to do with increased food sources which is the major reason for this population. While this population has grown to unsafe sizes, does it give you the right to completely disrespect hunting etiquete? Apparently no one taught you to respect what you shoot. Worthless.....


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## Mike J

mntwinsfan said:


> Once this population started growing, the FEDS initiated the CO season.


Not true. There has been a constant/average growth rate in the lesser snow goose population since 1970 of .05 (5%). You couple that with a reduced mortality rate and anyone who passed sixth grade math can figure out what's going to happen.

Since you guys are so concerned about guys dumping geese in the trash and not consuming them, why don't you contact your reps to change ND's wanton waste law? I think it would be great to really put some teeth into it and follow the ethical state of MT where they require you to keep the breast, legs, and wings. As well as putting in some verbage where all edible parts must be consumed? I'm sick of the bird hitch guys disrespecting the waterfowl resource by dumping so much meat. I clean all my valueable waterfowl (non-snows) and keep the legs and also pluck quite a few. I think you guys should put up or shut up and lobby to get a wanton waste law in this state with some teeth. I'll comply (as I am now). I'll just call it a morning when I have 4-5 snows down so I'm not cleaning all day. Afterall, the emphasis is on cleaning snow geese, not killing as many as possible right?


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## mntwinsfan

Mike J said:


> mntwinsfan said:
> 
> 
> 
> Once this population started growing, the FEDS initiated the CO season.
> 
> 
> 
> Not true. There has been a constant/average growth rate in the lesser snow goose population since 1970 of .05 (5%). You couple that with a reduced mortality rate and anyone who passed sixth grade math can figure out what's going to happen.
> 
> Since you guys are so concerned about guys dumping geese in the trash and not consuming them, why don't you contact your reps to change ND's wanton waste law? I think it would be great to really put some teeth into it and follow the ethical state of MT where they require you to keep the breast, legs, and wings. As well as putting in some verbage where all edible parts must be consumed? I'm sick of the bird hitch guys disrespecting the waterfowl resource by dumping so much meat. I clean all my valueable waterfowl (non-snows) and keep the legs and also pluck quite a few. I think you guys should put up or shut up and lobby to get a wanton waste law in this state with some teeth. I'll comply (as I am now). I'll just call it a morning when I have 4-5 snows down so I'm not cleaning all day. Afterall, the emphasis is on cleaning snow geese, not killing as many as possible right?
Click to expand...

You are sick of people wasting birds through bird hitching yet you throw every snow away? Man your dense. What makes a Canada goose more valuable than a snow? The emphasis is on treating wildlife with respect.


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## Mike J

mntwinsfan, the guy who thinks the snow goose population miraculously exploded in 1999, is calling me dense? That's rich. Thanks for the laugh.

Snow goose hunters are hands down the biggest slobs of all waterfowl hunters. The old adage is that 10% of hunters shoot 90% of the geese. The amount of slobs in that 10% is absolutely staggering. I've met or hunted with at least a dozen of the more dedicated groups of snow goose hunters over the years and they literally all dump geese. Your average group of casual hunters from outside the flyway who make a trip or two each year to hunt snows aren't the ones dumping geese. They are thrilled with a couple 20-30 goose days and are very good at cleaning them. It's the true die-hards that are the worst. If the G&F had a list of the top ten guys who shot the most snows in a given year, and checked their freezers, the lack of geese in possession would be truly hilarious. You'd find some processed stuff and maybe a few breasts but we're talking 1-2 geese out of ten accounted for.

It's interesting how those same guys are the ones beating the, "respect the resource," drum online but when you run into them at the bar during the spring they openly joke about throwing their sky carp in a ditch. I'm sick of the about-faceness of these slobs so let's do something about it. Let's get the most stringent wanton waste law in the country passed with serious consequences for offenders. Breasts, legs, and wings must be kept and consumed. Violators automatically receive a suspension of hunting privileges revoked for a minimum of three years. I'd like to see the G&F start checking the freezers of hunters they check in the field who have a pile of geese. If what they shot and what's there doesn't add up then they better start explaining where they went.

I know you guys are all on board, let's make this happen. The overall deterioration of respect for not just snow geese but all waterfowl, is sickening. When I'm on a trip and start plucking some birds it shocks me at how many hunters have no idea what I'm doing. They've never seen it done. Or how guys look at me like I'm crazy when I keep the legs on an early season bird.


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## Mike J

As far as the value of Canadas versus Snows, here's a simple analogy that might help you.

A fruit stand is giving away apples and oranges. There's a limit of three apples per person but you can have as many oranges as you want. Which fruit has more value?

It's a fairly simple concept, even for us dense people.


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## mntwinsfan

I am really confused how you can be offended by people throwing away their snows yet you openly said you do that with everyone you shoot. I just don't get it.

What happens if I like oranges more than apples? Than oranges would have more value.


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## Horker23

:rollin: wow!


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## Mike J

mntwinsfan said:


> I am really confused how you can be offended by people throwing away their snows yet you openly said you do that with everyone you shoot. I just don't get it.


It's called, "playing devil's advocate." I was hoping that would become clear, and I'm sorry if it hasn't. I clean all my game. I also don't shoot a bunch of geese just to pile them up for a glory shot because I know there's no way I could possibly consume that many or even gift them. I love how many waterfowl get "gifted" considering how few people who don't hunt them would ever accept any.

The point is, snow geese have been relegated to vermin, the "kill them all" regulations have created a hunting culture of slobs, and wanton waste laws that allow people to throw their geese in the trash don't do anything to curtail the waste. What do you think of my idea of getting a wanton waste law passed that actually could force hunters to respect the resource by only shooting what they consume?

I think you see my point about the "oranges" even if you personally like them more. By removing a limit on any game animal it is impossible to not greatly devalue it. Just a few years ago there were deer units where doe tags were essentially unlimited. There were a lot of deer seen with only the hind quarters taken or even just the backstraps. Now that tags are harder to come by you don't see it very much because if you can only shoot one or two that meat has more value. Simple game supply and demand. I doubt many guys waste even a scrap of meat if they are lucky enough to draw and harvest one of ND's big three. If you personally like "oranges" more and take several hundred from the fruit stand and actually eat them all, good for you. Most don't. That's a problem and it is taboo to point out online because all the guys dumping snows adamantly claim they don't and that it doesn't happen much.

I am extremely confident that the percentage of snow goose hunters who shoot several hundred geese each year and clean them all can be no higher than 5%, at the most. It's much lower than that for the sampling of hunters I've met personally, as in 0%. Of course I'm probably going to be ridiculed for writing this, mostly from the very slobs I'm talking about. They don't want the issue exposed because something might be done about it. All of them who read this know I'm telling the truth. Which is why my idea for a wanton waste law will be met with little fanfare.


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## Original Goosebuster

Mike,
You have stated that the game and fish should be doing freezer checks on hunters with large bags of birds. What is this going to do other than cost everyone even more money? How many hunting parties are checked each fall? Do you think the game and fish has time to be going to peoples houses and checking in their freezers, even if they are allowed to do so by the homeowner? What if I make all of my birds into sausage, how will they know what is goose and what is store bought, or even venision or other wild game? There is a fine line between enough regulation and a waste of resources.


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## Wulffhunter

Snow geese have not been put down as vermin, they have been tagged as a threat to their arctic nesting ground. They are eating all of the plants and rooting them up, so in a sense they are eating themselves out of home. The FWS wants to reduce the population size so that the destruction is slowed. That is not vermin status. And I'm pretty sure snow geese aren't going to be running around and picking off ditch chickens like vermin do.


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