Snow goose hunting is one of the up and coming phenomenons in the waterfowl industry. Many people are taking to this sport because of the unlimited limits many states are imposing. The snow goose, also known as the blue goose, is a North American species of goose. They are mostly white in color, and that is where their name derives from. These birds usually find one partner, and mate for life. They also normally nest in colonies, and they have been having extraordinary breeding rates and the populations are getting over-populated. This is why many natural resource departments have placed a season in effect where there is no limit on the birds. In this article, I will discuss why the avid duck hunter should give snow goose hunting a try, and also more aspects of this new sport.
An avid duck hunter who likes to fire off a lot of shots during duck season should consider taking a trip snow goose hunting when duck season closes. Snow geese migrate each spring, in tremendous sized groups. This results in a ton of shooting for the hunter if they can time out the migration at the right time. Another good added bonus to snow goose hunting is that conservation allows the use of electronic callers, which can result in louder and better sequenced calling. In a typical days hunting, it is not uncommon for hunters to bag over 50 snow geese.
Most snow goose hunts are guided, so usually all you have to do is show up to the location and meet the guide. The guide will then explain the hunting process, and what to expect. Most guides will typically use over 500 decoys, and will hunt out of a pit. The guides will also provide lunch since the hunts last all day, sunrise to sunset. Snow goose hunts can take place over a field, or over a body of water. You must be careful to recognize the type of birds coming into the decoys, because usually during snow goose season, Canada geese and white-fronted geese are out of season. This is another added bonus of hunting with a guide, because they will help specify what to shoot.
Snow geese typically breed from late May to early August. However, they typically leave their nesting sites during their annual migration to and from warmer wintering areas. Their migration can sometimes reach distances to up to 3,000 miles. During their migration is typically the best time to hunt them, as they are in very large groups. Many biologists think that their shift in winter feeding has led to the over-population of these geese.
If you are interested in self-guiding yourself on one of these hunts, you will need quite a bit of equipment. First off, you will need a very good electronic caller so the birds will be able to hear you well. When a large group comes in, their calling will overpower a cheap electronic system. Snow geese also usually fly at very high altitudes, so this can make for tough calling as well. A call that continuously plays a variety of calls tends to work best. There are also calls these days that hook up to an iPod, or other mP3 player. This way you can play which calling sequence you have downloaded on your mP3 player
