# 31 year old banded goose



## wmcpartland (Dec 13, 2004)

I killed a goose the other week with a lead band on one leg and a plastic one on the other. The lead band was barely legible and when we finally made out the numbers and called it in, we found it was banded in Colorado on January 5, 1974! Now that's an old freekin' bird! I had no clue they could live that long.


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## savageman_15weatherby_270 (Jan 30, 2005)

*im 15 yrs old and i shot a 7 and a half yr old Canada :sniper: *


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## savageman_15weatherby_270 (Jan 30, 2005)

and i shot it out of a pair dad went into a different field and we had some buddies with us and they went with them and i said are you sure you wanna go with him and they said yes * and i was like ok.Because i seen a couple banded geese in the Corn Field i was in. :sniper: *


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## wmcpartland (Dec 13, 2004)

savageman_15weatherby_270 said:


> and i shot it out of a pair dad went into a different field and we had some buddies with us and they went with them and i said are you sure you wanna go with him and they said yes * and i was like ok.Because i seen a couple banded geese in the Corn Field i was in. :sniper: *


huh?


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

They did not join him. Had they hunted with the boy they may have gotten the other goose!

Congrats on the old bird. Did that break the record? Post some picures of the lead leg band.


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## wmcpartland (Dec 13, 2004)

I would but, no matter how close I got, I don't think you could read anything other than a piece of shot that hit it. I should have the certificate soon and I'll post the vitals. For an old bird, it wasn't very big, maybe 11 lbs.


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## purepower (Sep 11, 2004)

congrats on the old bird :beer:


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## BigBadWolf (Jan 31, 2005)

31 years...........Awesome...........We don't see to many Bans here in Maryland anymore.We did however Kill 1 last week with 2 bands.1 with the NFWS and the other was a 100$ reward for the info.The bird was only a 1 1/2 year old though and Banned in Ontario Canada.


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## wmcpartland (Dec 13, 2004)

this bird was killed in Howard County, MD. We usually get 3 or 4 a year. In fact, I remember one being from Ontario and the others were banded close by near Laurel, MD (within 20 miles)


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## mallardhunter (May 15, 2004)

Wow thats an old bird. It had to be through alot in his life.


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## wmcpartland (Dec 13, 2004)

I wish there was a place I could have the taxidermist send the carcass to see how many other times this bird took shot. It's so old, I'm sure there's probably some lead in it.


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## DeltaBoy (Mar 4, 2004)

Are going to have the bird mounted? That bird is older than I am...


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## wmcpartland (Dec 13, 2004)

Other than the age, there nothing special about the bird. It's neck is short and wingspan is just average. But after finding out its age, I think its only the proper thing to do. Just imagine how many silohuettes, shells and bigfeet this bird has seen. And you know its gotta be carrying some shot from the skybusters. The bird will definitely find a spot on the wall.


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

I had no idea they could live even close to that long!


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## wmcpartland (Dec 13, 2004)

imagine what it would taste like.


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## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

That is wild but some birds manage to live that long. I shot a snow that was 25 years old and I thought that was old but 31 holy crap that is a long time to fly around and not be shot. Congratulations


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## north14 (Oct 1, 2004)

I've read that Sandhill Cranes can live to be 50 to 60 years old. That had to be one lucky goose to survive all those hunting seasons, you have to wonder how many close calls he had.


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## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

Any band is special, but a 31 year old band is in a league of it's own. Congrats on the bird, it's a true trophy and if I said I wasn't envious I'd be a lying. :beer:

BTW, leg bands are made from aluminum, not lead. A lead band probably wouldn't have stayed on a month...let alone 31 years.


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## seagulhunter4life (Oct 7, 2004)

thats amazing, 30 DAMN HUNTING SEASONS without being shot. Thats one lucky bird!!!


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## wmcpartland (Dec 13, 2004)

I think I can pretty much guarantee that the bird's carcass has more that one size shot load in it. There's no way it can go that long without being shot. As soon as I found out what else is in that bird, I will definitely post it.


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## Dan Bueide (Jul 1, 2002)

wmc, WOW!!!

I put this thread up a while back:

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/vie ... ht=banding

Unless something was recovered since or that was specific as to the Central Flyway, you may have bagged _*the *_Father Time of all Honks.


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## wmcpartland (Dec 13, 2004)

DB,

it looks as if I may have broken a record by 3 years. ain't that some ****? that's what keeps you gunnin' even on bright blue, cold, windy days. :thumb:


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

Wow! I'm glad somebody finally shot that goose! Sick and tired of him dragging every bird away from my spread at 70 yards! :lol:

Imagine the evolution of goose hunting that bird had seen!


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## bubolc (Aug 11, 2003)

I wonder what was going through that bird's head while he was making his final approach...he had to know what he was getting into after all the spreads he'd seen.

"Well it's been a good 31 years, all my freinds are gone, I been dragging this heavy thing on my leg across the country for too long, it's time to go."

Congrats that's pretty cool.


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## wmcpartland (Dec 13, 2004)

very well said...although refer to the dude who was happy to have him/her out of the flock for pulling all those gagles away from our spreads. :beer:


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Wow! I mean come on, you just broke the unofficial record for the Canada goose (by around 3 years!).

I can't even comprehend a goose that old, amazing. Congrats man....and get your butt to a casino why you're still hot!


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## Drew Willemsen (Sep 29, 2003)

Dude thats SWAAEEEEETTT!!! Post pictures as soon as ya can, I know we all would love to see em!! Nice work!!!


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## SBEIIstyle (Feb 3, 2005)

wah thats an old bird congrats :beer:


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

Any pics of this bird? I wonder what it looks like


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## 870 XPRS (Mar 12, 2003)

Remmi_&_I said:


> Any pics of this bird? I wonder what it looks like


I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it looks like any other goose that you've seen. Feathers, wrinkled web feet, black beak, white cheek patches, etc...

:bop:


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## Anas Strepera (Nov 10, 2004)

I bet not many people have killed a goose older than themselves. That is pretty awesome. :run:


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

I know, I know. After I hit post reply I could here "HERE'S YOUR SIGN" in the background!


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## fishhook (Aug 29, 2002)

Keep pitching fastball's packer backer :wink:


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