# How do you guy's do it???



## Leggie (Sep 15, 2003)

Being from Kansas and having a goose season that opens on Nov. 1, I was just curious how you guy's hunt the honkers up in the Dakotas and how much it might vary from how we are forced to hunt them down here. Keep in mind, by the time the geese get to us they have survived 2 month's of early seasons, have seen decoys in 3 states plus Canada and have heard the best and worst of goose calls.

We usually get birds showing up around the end of October on a normal year. Geese will usually be fairly easy for the first couple of weeks that they are here and they gradually get tougher and tougher. We typically run decoy spreads from 100-200 Foots, 80 Hard Cores with an addtional 200 silo's and Higdon Stackables mixed in. Granted we usually don't put out the whole spread unless we have to, such as when birds are flying high and out 8-10 miles to feed. We typically pit hunt in green wheat, milo stalks and sometimes corn stalks, but have killed them just about in everything including pastures.

How about you guy's, does it vary much from this??

Thanks, 
Mike
prowaterfowl.com


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## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

I wouldn't think hunting for them really varies all that much in KS as it does in the Dakota's. We usually scout them the evening before and then set up where they feed the next day. Not many guys hunt pits, especially in the eastern third of the state, but there's some around the river.

I doubt you are shooting the local geese from up here that far south. I'd be very suprised if any of them migrated any farther than Nebraska even in a cold year. Our locals stay here all season until freeze up and most don't migrate very far, if they even migrate.


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

Sounds pretty much like the same way we hunt. Except for the pasture? For example this early season we were pretty much in Stubble fields (one corn field) hideing in xlander blinds. We did a lot of scouting, which was needed. They are alot of small families out there, so finding a bigger feed was time consuming. We usualyy use all full body decoys. Bigfoots, hardcores,ect.

I think alot of it is the calling. You really have to know how to react off of the birds.It's not like contest calling, where you get into a routine. You have to get their confidence to make them actually land in your decoys.

We get the same thing when it comes to spring snow hunt. They have seen thousands of decoys and herd all the calling and have been jumped from the beggining to the end. So they become extremely hard to decoy.

Mav....


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## Leggie (Sep 15, 2003)

Well, I didn't expect it would be different in the fact that, you guys don't use decoys, or something extreme like that  . We still get the family groups down here but I'm sure the feeding patterns may vary a bit than they do up there. We have to use quite a few decoys and 90% of the time we are not hunting the X, but instead are in their path so being in the flyway is key. Leasing ground is predominantly the way of life and we very rarely hunt over water. I would agree that we wouldn't get your local birds in the migration. Calling is key as you mentioned but we seem to have to call a little more aggressively, but much of that has to do with not being in the field they are going to.

Mike
prowaterfowl.com


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## goosehtr4life (Dec 16, 2002)

Leggie, late in the season add as much movement into the spread as possible...and also patience...these birds take several passes before they even think about coming in...I always hunt river bottoms in late Nov. and Dec and the birds are very jumpy.....have your blinds conceiled even more than normal...calling is very key...the more people calling the better....the only thing I would not put in the spread for movement is a robo goose...most geese can't stand them... :sniper:


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## Leggie (Sep 15, 2003)

I agree with you, movement is key, especially when you put out 10-20 dozen decoys. What we tend to do late season is move decoys farther and farther away from the pit. Geese tend to get decoy smart and skirt the spread at about 80 yards. We move the decoys farther back to close the gap.


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

GH4life......I REALLY agree with the robo goose quote! They just don't like them at all!They will not commit with one of those on!

Mav....


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