# My First Hunt In Two Years



## Snow Hunter (Nov 16, 2004)

Last week I decided I could no longer wait for the Snows to get to North Dakota and that I had to go after them. I just got back from Iraq a month ago and all I have been doing is getting ready for a hunt. I went home to my mom's house this weekend and tried to get my brothers to come with but I had no takers for a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday hunt. So I decided to go any way. I got up at 3 am on Monday morning from Spicer MN (Mom's house) and started the trip out to SD. I got about 40 miles and realized I had forgotten my ecaller and laptop computer so I turned around and went back. Not the start I wanted but better there then in South Dakota. I put a lot of miles on Monday starting south of Madison and heading up to Clark and found the most birds in the De Smet Area. So I started asking permission to hunt some land for a Tuesday decoy hunt and I got permission at every spot but one. Now it was around 3pm and I decided that instead of waiting for the geese to get off the roost and follow them to were they were really feeding that I would set up quick in a cornfield close to the roost, big mistake.

As I was setting up the birds got off the roost and were everywhere. I put up as many as I could half-assed the blind and turned on the ecaller. I had only gotten about 250 decoys up, they didn't look that great, my blind looked terrible and now I wasn't going to find out were the geese were feeding. I ended up firing my gun twice out of frustration and packing it up at sunset.

I had gotten permission to hunt another cornfield about 2 miles from the roost as well so I decided it was a good place to try since it was up on a hill and could be seen for a long way. I had also seen around 5,000 geese using it on Monday. I got up at 3 and headed out to my field. I put up around 500 decoys; my decoys were set up for the SW wind of 5-10 mph. When it got to be shooting time I realized that all of my decoys had a light coat of frost on them and now my decoys were very shinny. Needless to say the birds that looked didn't get very close and I didn't even get a shot until around 8 when all the frost was gone. Then the wind shifted to so that it was coming from the west and picked up to about 15mph and I adjusted and shot my first two geese of the season, a blue and a Ross. By about 11am I was getting pretty hungry so I left my decoys ran into town got some food and right back to the field. Around 2 it started to get really dark and then began to snow, now my decoys were covered in it. I still managed to pull down a few stupid ones and at this point I had 5 geese. Then as soon as it started it was over, it stopped snowing, and the sun came out and melted to snow. Now my decoys were all very wet and shinny. They finally dried off around 4 just as the wind shifted and started coming out of the north at around 30+ mph. My decoys started pulling out of the corn stocks and blowing everywhere. The decoys that didn't blow out looked great so I started picking up the downed ones and hiding them. I was pulling in more geese now and ended up shooting 10, 3 Ross, 2 Blues and 5 Snows all adults. I should have had a few more but it has been a while since I shot at something in the air. This was the longest day I had ever spent in the field 3:30am to 7:30pm. I decided to leave the decoys up and sit in them in the morning, another big mistake.

When I got out to the decoys on Wednesday morning they were covered in a thick layer of frost and I knew it would be a long time before it melted and I got any shooting. So, I waited until around 8:30 and packed them up to try to find a few to jump.

I started driving north and after around 15 miles the road I was on drove right into a lake with over 100,000 birds on it. I stopped about a half-mile back and looked at them with my binos and realized they water came all the way to the shore. Not only that but the birds were sitting on the road where it went into the water. This was a great chance at a sneak. I got all geared up and after about 20 minutes I was within 70 yards of them and started my belly crawl. I got to within 40 yards when they saw me and took off. I got up and fired three times :sniper: . I knocked down 13 birds, however only 2 of them were on land. The other 11 were in the water and 8 of them were alive and swimming away fast  . I ran up and started trying to kill them. I killed 4 of them and despite multiple shots four of them got away. I am now faced with a new dilemma, seven dead geese on the water and I have no waders :withstupid: . Luckily there was a strong north wind and I was on the south side of the lake. I went back and got the truck so that they would be beached by the time I got back. Unfortunately, all the geese came to rest was against the rim of ice along the shore and I knew that I was going to get wet getting them. I am not one who would leave game if there were any reasonable way they could be retrieved so I stripped down to my long underwear and wool socks and stepped onto the ice :withstupid: . Of course I broke through the ice right away and was in water up to my knees. I got to the water's edge and VERY QUICKLY picked up my geese and ran back to the truck where I had dry clothes waiting. So after a 30 minute sneak and icy an icy cold water dip, I had 9 geese, 6 adult Snows and 3 adult Blues including one beautiful white-bellied blue that I am having mounted 8) . 
[siteimg]1106[/siteimg]

In all it was a fun trip, but too much work for one person. Next time I go I will be sure to have some help, both for shooting and putting up the decoys. So if anyone needs some back up for a hunt in South Dakota in about a week or two I would be happy give it another shot for a few days. Or when they get to Nodak I will be hunting them hard as well.
:beer:


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Hehe...sounds like you've got our kind of luck. Glad to hear you had a good time. I hope you gave them sillosocks a workout!

We're pretty much after snow geese every weekend (with the exception of this weekend as I have a poker tourney in Bismarck). Feel free to drop me a line.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

> I should have had a few more but it has been a while since I shot at something in the air.


  

Wow, there is a reality check for all of us here that owe all you guys a debt of gratitude for all you do for us!!!! :beer:


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## Snow Hunter (Nov 16, 2004)

[siteimg]1104[/siteimg]

I didn't get the sillosocks that I won from this forum because they just got here today, but I did use the 15 dozen that I already had. They are great decoys, when all the rest of my decoys were blowing away these just looked great and stayed in place. Also they were very easy to put up, half the time of the other decoys. I am definately going to get some more of these great decoys. The blues look so good. I think that i will be turning my whole spread to sillosocks and custom northwinds. If anyone would like to buy some snow goosee outlaw and herters millenium silouettes shoot me a PM.

Chris I will be sure to get in touch with you for a hunt later this spring.


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## Snow Hunter (Nov 16, 2004)

I can't figure out how to get a picture to this forum, but it is in Hunting Pictures and my personal album if anyone wants to check it out.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

FYI - if you look under every picture in the photo album, there's a "Pic ID" listed in bold.

To post the pics from the photo album on the site, just put that number inbetween the "siteimg" tags like shown below:


```
[siteimg]1104[/siteimg]
```
That's all it is. I have a new tutorial on the list of things to do and will have it posted in the new album area soon.


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## MnDiver (Oct 1, 2002)

Sweeeeeet Blue, I'd like one like that for the wall as well..


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## Snow Hunter (Nov 16, 2004)

Thanks Chris, I have got the picture posting down.
:beer:


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## Draker16 (Nov 23, 2004)

wow nice blue goose, I am glad to hear you had a good hunt, congrats


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## Draker16 (Nov 23, 2004)

how are u going to have it mounted? (meaning landing, standing or something different?)


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## Snow Hunter (Nov 16, 2004)

I am going to have it mounted in a pose landing with its wings back, feet down and mouth open. I think this pose will show off its great wing and breast plumage.


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## quackattack (Sep 27, 2003)

Nice job snowhunter, thanks for serving our great country! :beer: 
Maybe we could hook up when they get to ND. I always look forward to meeting people from the site.
:beer:


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## The Norseman (Jan 8, 2005)

Good afternoon,

Welcome back to civilization. Thanks for the great story.
Sound like you had lots of excitment.


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