# Goose Hunting



## Grouse Hunter (Aug 21, 2005)

hey guys I have been hunting for a long time for grouse,deer,moose,ducks and rabbits and varmints!!!!, but i have never gone goose hunting and i have no clue what size of gun to use for them or how to approach them, can you guys give me some advice on it?


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## SDNDhtr (Apr 29, 2005)

i personally use a 12 ga. with 3.5 inch BBBs. if you want to hunt Canada geese all you need is a few decoys and, most importantly, the right field and your in business. its definatily not quite that simple but that is a very basic outline. everytime i think im doin everything right seems to be the day i go home empty handed.


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## Grouse Hunter (Aug 21, 2005)

ya im gonna do some searching on the net to find out some more info and thanx for that info ill get some decoys and stuff and i have a 12 gauge so im good for it soo far!


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## greenheadhunter (Aug 26, 2005)

get the biggest gun you possibly can them birds can take a hit. i have been hunting geese for about 10 years and i shoot a browning bps 10 guage 3/12. it hits em hard there is six of us who shoot 10 guage and we all like it. i had a 12 and all my friends were out shoothing me and i couldent shoot as far. go with the 10


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## 4CurlRedleg (Aug 31, 2003)

greenheadhunter said:


> get the biggest gun you possibly can them birds can take a hit. i have been hunting geese for about 10 years and i shoot a browning bps 10 guage 3/12. it hits em hard there is six of us who shoot 10 guage and we all like it. i had a 12 and all my friends were out shoothing me and i couldent shoot as far. go with the 10


Not!!

The whole idea behind using decoys, calls, blinds(whether store bought or natural) is to get the birds within gun range to make a clean kill. Not to see if you can cripple them at 50+ yards with the biggest gun.
Your 12 gauge is just fine, aquire a small spread of decoys, learn to call or bring someone along who does and find where the geese want to be. It is as easy as that. Good luck.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

A pellet traveling 1500 FPS out of a .410 or a 10 GA has the same energy at 40 yards. A 10 GA does not make that pellet more deadly. What happens as you go up in bore diameter is that you usually get more pellets on the target. This creates an illusion of hitting harder. Most guys that think a 10 is better at killing are using the increased pellet count to compensate for poor shooting skills. You soon learn that it is not the gun, but the person behind the gun when one gets a humiliation lesson from a guy shooting a 28 GA on passing birds and dumping them clean at 45 yards. He was putting the shot in the kill zone.

I currently shoot a 12 GA/3" chambered gun. I have never felt under gunned with this even when in the field with guys shooting 10 GA. I try and stay within my skill level as much as possible. I pattern my shells to see which ones work best and with what choke out to set ranges. If I do my part the birds fold and die just as well and just as easily.


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## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

agreed, no need for a 10 ga. get them in there close enough and you can kill em with a good 20 ga. load. that big gun is basically just to make you feel big. save your money and spend it on some good decoys or a good call. maybe a calling video or tape, learning a short reed can be tough.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Ron Gilmore wrote:



> I try and stay within my skill level as much as possible.


No.........Way too easy to pick that one apart!!!!  :gag:


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Dano you know I have no limits! Especially when I have to carry you! FH and I should be getting shell subsidies from you! :beer:


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## cflong (Feb 11, 2005)

My grandpa used to shoot ducks (and a few geese) with a 20 gauge Browning 2 3/4 & 7 1/2s. He killed more ducks than most people with 12 ga. 3 inch magnums. Granted, that was lead shot. He always told me, it doesn't matter what you are shooting, whether lead, steel or rock salt, you have to put it on them.


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## Grouse Hunter (Aug 21, 2005)

greenheadhunter said:


> get the biggest gun you possibly can them birds can take a hit. i have been hunting geese for about 10 years and i shoot a browning bps 10 guage 3/12. it hits em hard there is six of us who shoot 10 guage and we all like it. i had a 12 and all my friends were out shoothing me and i couldent shoot as far. go with the 10


Well i have been lookin for a 10 gauge but its hard to find one around here!


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## Drew Willemsen (Sep 29, 2003)

no need for a 10 GA...


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## Grouse Hunter (Aug 21, 2005)

alright ill just use my 12 gauge


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## pjpatterson (Sep 9, 2005)

I use a 12GA 3.5, and that plenty big enough. A buddy of mine uses A 20 GA. And he gets plenty of geese. yuo just got to wait for the right shot.


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## DeerScarer (Jul 23, 2005)

I think I have created a new word. Decoycentrism. (Like egocentrism?) For two months now I've let it go whenever people on these forums have insisted that "all you need is some good dekes and reasonable calling skills." At $300/dozen, goose dekes cost about ten times what duck decoys do, and I for one CANNOT afford them.:eyeroll:

Yet, I killed seven snow/blue geese last spring, and got a nice young canada goose on my second outing so far this fall. At age 33 I am just starting out goose hunting. If they made it illegal to hunt without decoys, I'd trade in my 12 for a 20 and hunt nothing but ducks and upland game.

-Dave


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## 4CurlRedleg (Aug 31, 2003)

If your satisfied, we're satisfied!!


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## Chris Schulz (Sep 7, 2004)

my brother and i ripped open a 10 gauge 3.5 BB and a 12 guage 3.5 BB. Sure we both thought that the ten would have more bb's then the twelve but it didnt i think the end count was 75 in the ten and 90 in the twelve. unless these were screwed up shells the 12 gauge had more bb's. Pretty sure we counted them twice. So if its more area that you want to cover for poor shooting then a ten gauge is a bad choice.


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