Who's going snow goose hunting?

[Finlander]

4 1/2 weeks to go! Maybe!
Snow's starten to melt.
Can't wait! 4-5 weeks and the snows geese should be in South Dakota justa askin to be shot!

I'me going to pattern my shells and chokes to see if i can get
a killer pattern for 50-60 yards out of my stock full choke which means
90% of the pellets in a 30" circle.
The I.D. for my Undertaker Long Range choke is .709.
Stock modified is .706.
Stock improved cylinder is .714.
Stock full is .687. It is "marked full for steel and lead"!
Remington sells a choke for Hevi-Shot that has an I.D. of .675, man you would
think you blow the choke tube out being that tight!
Guess i'll find out!
Going to try some new Hevi-Shot and High-Velocity Federal 3.5" 1550fps 1 3/8oz."BB"'s.
Going to test the pellet penetration also!

[huntnfish]

I am starting to get excited for those snows, too. I usually go to ND to hunt them because I live in moorhead and you don't see many of them around these parts. We decoy them(or try, anyway) and there is nothing like seeing upwards of 2-3 thousand geese circling the spread. I still need to pattern my new choke as soon as this warm spell gets here. I bought an improved modified from Trulock and hope it will do the trick. Good luck.

[IceHawk]

It won't be long this weather will get the snow melting and up they will come. There have been some scout flocks poking into Nebraska which is a good sign. A couple of guys from my group went out to SD to check our fields and gain permission for this year, they said the central part of SD has around 4-5 inches of snow with black dirt showing in some of the fields. I cant wait I can already hear the insanity of flocks of snows hovering over our decoys.

[bobber_down]

Finlander... a pattern master is the best bet (I think) for a nice tight pattern. They claim 100% in a 20" circle at 40 yrds. and I'll back them on it. that'll make those 50-60 yrd shot's no problem.

[Sartell Angler]

Me, my bro, and our friend are hunting snows for the first time this spring, and we are going to a kid's cabin in SD. None of us have ever been to south dakota, or seen a large flock of snow geese....so with that type of inexperience, anything will probably satisfy us. As a bonus, this kid manages to kill a lot of snows every year (he has the pics to prove it) and has promised to put us on birds if we are there when the birds are (and according to years past, we will be). So I personally can't wait for spring break...no Mexico this year, but plenty of fun....maybe we'll even have some celebratory margaritas after one of our successful hunts!

S.A.

[ChuckN]

Oh, I can't wait!!! Last year my friend and I couldn't make it. This year is definitely a go!

[Finlander]

Sartell Angler,
bring lots of shells, and take your plug out of your gun!
Try to buy some Hevi-Shot #2's or High Velocity Federals Ultra-Shot BB's that spit them pellets out at 1550 feet per second!
And pattern your gun to find the tightest pattern at 50 yards!
And bring a lot of gas money as you will do a lot of scouting to find the large flocks of geese.
Don't forget a face mask as these geese seem to know where you are at the last second and have a way to slide off to one side or another to stay out of range, there good at that!
Also for this year bring high top rubber boots to keep your feet dry with the wet fields you will be running through!
Have fun!

[This message has been edited by Finlander (edited 02-26-2004).]

[Sartell Angler]

thanks Finlander, I'll keep those things in mind....already have the shells taken care of, the only thing I'm concerned with is the timing....with more snow this year, the geese should be in SD for a longer period following along the snow line. However, we are limited to hunting March 17th-21st because of school....if there doesn't seem to be a chance of any geese being around, we might have to scrap it and maybe just head out there for a FRI-SAT-SUN hunt.....good luck to all those helping out with the conservation order.

SA

[IceHawk]

There starting to pile up on the Nebraska SD Border. I have also heard of a few scout flocks in Sd. If this weather continues things will start to happen in the next two weeks. I know I'm ready the decoys and gear are piled up in the garage waiting to move at a moments notice.

Sartell: I think you are going to be right on with your trip dates, I realize alot depends on the snow line weather etc, but our trips over the years have always happened around the last 2 weeks of March to the first week of April.

[Perch Jerker]

I'm looking to trade an all night catfish trip (flathead & channel cats for 2 people) in the Twin Cities area for some Snow Goose shooting this spring. If someone out there would be willing to add a shooter to their blind shoot me an e-mail. I'd be up for MN, SD, or ND. As far as shooting I'm a better than average and I load my own shells with a 1/2 steel - 1/2 Hevi-Shot mix from Bucks Run in Pine Island, MN.

I've hunted spring snows before about 5yrs ago and it's definately a location, location, location game and we were in the wrong spot. So if you want to have pity on a fellow waterfowler please e-mail me at [email protected]

------------------
"I think we're gonna need a bigger boat"

[Guest]

Sounds like I'll miss the best shooting. I'll be on LOTW on the weekends of the 13th and 20th.

From the reports I've been reading and the snow cover maps, they will be in ND by the time I can go which will be the weekend of the 27th.

I just cant see em sticking around in SD for very long if the snow line is up in ND.

[IceHawk]

Tom Talked to some guys down in Nebraska today and most of the snows are loaded around Clay county in the rain water basin. There is a good snow line North of Hwy 94 in ND, The snows won't push above this, I wouldn't count out a trip late to Sd yet, alot will depend on the weather. Last year we hunted the last week of March into the first week of April and we pounded them. We were on the tailend of the migration but alot of the birds are newcomers and juvies and decoying was easy as they were tired and looking for a place to rest.

[rattlem'up]

A couple buddies and I would like to go to SD to do some snow goose hunting in late march and was wondering if any of you guys would be interested in having a couple extra guys along with ya. Someone to show us what snow goose hunting is all about. If ya wanna get ahold of me you can reply back here or email me [email protected] THANKS

[Guest]

Ice,
Thanx for the tip. It will all depend on the guys that invited me. They do mostly pass shooting between large flocks and no decoying so we'll have to see.

[ChuckN]

My buddy and I usually go around Easter time and we've done really well in South Dakota. Especially when we had a big snow storm to the north and the snow line was right where we had been concentrating. Wow, what luck we had.

The snow pack in extends down through Nebraska right now according to NOAA. There's a large snowstorm tomorrow through the weekend down south into Iowa and whatnot. There is plenty of time, these birds aren't moving yet unless it really warms up.

[This message has been edited by ChuckN (edited 03-04-2004).]

[Sartell Angler]

I think hunting them with decoys would be a blast, but for us that is just not realistic unless we managed to hire a guide...although we have a ton of canada goose and duck decoys, I don't plan on compiling a spread of snow geese dekes since I'd only have a chance to hunt them once every couple of years. Hopefully we can set up between 2 large flocks and manage to get them passing over low enough to get some shooting in. I was watching a program on this style of hunting, and apparently it is most effective with just one or 2 guys, laying on the ground/hidden in a ditch, with a dog to retrieve the birds....apparently the geese don't get as spooked by the dog as much as they do by the guys with guns....good luck to anyone heading west in the coming weeks!

s.a.

[walleyewacker]

I go to school at SDSU and it was my first fall watching a snow goose migration. I will be honest in saying that I am still stunned at the number of birds. Sad thing is that all of the guys out laugh and say just wait till spring. We started seeing small flocks and there are a couple hundred to a thousand in kingsbury county as of late. Bring your A game if you plan on decoying because these things are not stupid. E callers and hundreds of decoys a minimum. Besides hunting, it is truely an awsome sight for any waterfowl hunter to whittness. There is no snow to speak of in the eastern part of the state so most birds should funnel this way. Snow out west has diminnished because of recent rain and warm weather as well.

[This message has been edited by walleyewacker (edited 03-04-2004).]

[Neighboor]

Most likely head out to SD this weekend to see what is going on. I will report monday on what is going on with the migration. Looks like next weekend will be good for the south portion of SD and the weekend of the 20th good for the SD/ND border. I see the weather is suppose to be mid 50's by next week. that should get the birds into SD.

[IceHawk]

The spring migration is really something to witness, I have been hunting the spring season ever since it started and the spectacle witnessed always gives me goose bumps. You are right it takes some knowledge,scouting and a little luck to decoy these birds there not dumb. We have 3 e-callers we use and sometimes set up 3-400 decoys, all Northwinds,and shells. A tip if its windy don't set rags as they rattle to much and the geese key in on the noise. Every year these geese get tougher to decoy and good looking decoys are the key to success. Don't be afraid to hunt with a small set though we have had excellent success at times with as little as 50-100 decoys. The key to success is scouting, finding roosting locations and feeding fields then figureing out a game plan for hunting them.

Lets all relay info we here of or witness so we can all use it to our advantage. We are ready to move at a moments notice but the way things are shapeing up my guess is that the weekend of the 20th is when our group probably will set out on our hunt.

[walleyewacker]

I would take it easy for a while boys. Scouted today and probably saw a dozen snows from Brookings to Thompson. As we speak there is snow falling hard and the ground is covered. Cold weather forcasted as well. The way things look here and in Nebraska the first huntable numbers probably wont be here for days yet. Keep your eyes open though.

[Guest]

Hunted eastern SD over the weekend. Gunned a few, but the best action is yet to come. The numbers have doubled daily since Friday. This week is going to be prime time to be here.
mw

[Guest]

Just spoke to one of our salesmen...he was in NW Iowa and he said EVERYWHERE he looked THOUSANDS of geese heading North. All in migration mode.
My guess is that they are blowing North until they hit the snowline.

Get out there and get ready. I'm guessing that SW MN will be good this year if the snow cover is gonzo. They are on their way!!

[Finlander]

Fill your gas tank boys!
The geese are up!
Going to South Dakota saturday morning. The reports from South Dakota HSOforum say they are everywhere and more coming north.
Hope this helps! Good luck!

March 8 -- Today's snow goose status report could be kept short and sweet by saying: they are everywhere!! Some examples of the snow goose blitz happening right now include a report that last Saturday a steady stream of geese were seen moving north between Omaha and Sioux Falls. Many flocks were seen on the ground about 15 miles south of Sioux Falls but then Sunday evening these geese seemed to be on the move northward. Another report indicated geese were flying to the west and northwest over Minnehaha County all day Saturday, Sunday and yet Monday morning. Some of these geese are probably the large flocks seen throughout Lake County, with most appearing to be in the Nunda and Winfred areas. Over the weekend light geese were seen all over Turner and Hutchinson counties. On Sunday, a number of small and large flocks were seen along Interstate 90 from Kimball to Mitchell. Sunday and Monday, large flocks estimated at tens of thousands were noted in Beadle County resting, feeding and flying, with Lake Byron being a focal point. Scattered bands of geese were observed in Kingsbury County near traditional areas of Lakes Thompson, Preston and Whitewood. Further north yet, huntable numbers of geese moved into Hamlin County Sunday and Monday, plenty of geese moved into Clark County as of Monday morning, and thousands of geese were reported being in the Doland to Redfield area of Spink County on Sunday, with some movement on north yet.

[Sartell Angler]

man alive....sound like there are some geese out there! too bad there isn't a SOB (snow or blue) goose migration through the heart of Minnesota.....actually, it is probably a good thing because my grades would probably fall since that is all i would be doing this month.....can't wait though, 5 of us are driving down to the Worthington area on sunday....wish us luck....none of us have even seen a flock of snowgeese let alone shot one...so hopefully it will be a great day!

s.a.

[Roosterslayer05]

does anybody hunt MN for snow geese? I guess some years its ok some years its horrible. Like a couple years ago only about 800 were shot but the another year like 6,500 were shot and the average hunter that participated got 4 apiece, that doesent seem too bad for MN. Its weird when I went to SD in the fall pheasant hunting we saw no Snows in MN and 30 miles into SD they were everywere, even 20 miles into SD we saw a few.