Minimum Size Snow Goose Spread

slickwilly · #1 01-21-2015, 06:01 PM

With my suffield tag a bust, and the dogs remaining as wiley as ever, I have set my sights on some possible snow goose hunting this spring.
Obviously, getting into snow goose hunting from scratch isn't a small undertaking, so I was wondering if some crafty vets could answer some questions:
1. what is the smallest snow goose set up you would consider going out with (or have had success with)?
2. what is the most economic set up combo to use? I would hate to buy x hundred of the econo socks and find out they don't work. Anybody have experience with different levels of wind socks? Does having the heads on the socks make a difference?
3. where do you hunt and what is the guys number?
Probably a long shot on the last one, but worth a shot.
Thanks guys,
Slick

Habfan · #2 01-21-2015, 06:40 PM

All kinds of decoys work, rags on rods,plastic bags,wind socks, full bodies, silhouettes to name a few. Yes, lots are better, but I find an e-caller is most important ! The worst thing about spring snows is that they like fields with water still in them from snow melt, almost impossible to hunt and no farmer is going to let you drive on a field that is still even moist. Very tough hunting unless it's dry, actually tough hunting regardless, because of the pressure the birds have been getting since fall !

slickwilly · #3 01-22-2015, 06:09 AM

Interesting. It will be interesting to be on the other end of the flyway for a season, and see what all those suckers in Louisiana deal with when they try to bring in those raggedy, twice shot shot birds in the winter.

snowman160 · #4 01-22-2015, 06:20 AM

You can kill snows with a 100 properly places decoys and econos are just fine to use.you just paint them yourself so a case of beer an some time an you have basically the same thing as Taylor mades..ecaller an yeah proper music is the most important thing to have,there are tons of tunes out there but only a few work the best.and ya it can be a ton of work if you have to get into a wet feild..
Ps.snows are easy to kill IMO the easiest of all geese.im gona get slammed for this lol but it's what I believe an I've been doin it solid for a long time..
Most IMPORTANT thing:your hide

densa44 · #5 01-22-2015, 09:09 AM

Spring is not fall and it can be very muddy! Also is can be over in the blink of an eye, here to-day gone tomorrow.

Other than that, newspaper works too, there is a clever way to fold a sheet that if you have enough of them work just fine, clean up after you are done.

Don't use the coloured pages.

It would be great if you can shoot lots.

Sneeze · #6 01-22-2015, 11:49 AM

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...ght=snow+goose

See this thread and scroll for post by Pikebreath. He is Jedi of Snow Goose killing.

slickwilly · #7 01-22-2015, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sneeze

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...ght=snow+goose

See this thread and scroll for post by Pikebreath. He is Jedi of Snow Goose killing.

That was a good read. Thanks for the link.

slickwilly · #8 01-22-2015, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by densa44

It would be great if you can shoot lots.

You're telling me!
But I like to come in with nice low expectations.

slickwilly · #9 01-22-2015, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowman160

You can kill snows with a 100 properly places decoys and econos are just fine to use.you just paint them yourself so a case of beer an some time an you have basically the same thing as Taylor mades..ecaller an yeah proper music is the most important thing to have,there are tons of tunes out there but only a few work the best.and ya it can be a ton of work if you have to get into a wet feild..
Ps.snows are easy to kill IMO the easiest of all geese.im gona get slammed for this lol but it's what I believe an I've been doin it solid for a long time..
Most IMPORTANT thing:your hide

Interesting.
At first I meant my hide meant not getting punched full of T-shot. But now I get what you mean.

Kyle · #10 01-22-2015, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slickwilly

3. where do you hunt and what is the guys number?
Probably a long shot on the last one, but worth a shot.
Thanks guys,
Slick

Snow geese are a here today gone tomorrow bird, especially in the spring. They also like to feed in different morning/evening fields and move to different fields randomly making it very hard to pattern. More or less I'm trying to say if you think there is such thing as a magical field...there is not.

jamesonepp · #11 01-22-2015, 08:54 PM

Forgive my ignorance, as I've never hunted snow geese before, but it sounds like the geese being Wiley, skittish, smart... whatever you want to call them... Let's say hypothetically you were driving home from work one day and saw a flock sitting in a field where you had permission.
What's the likelihood that you could walk up a ditch or sneak up close enough to get a shot or two off? Wouldn't that be a decoy-free option?
Although realistically, you Might get one or two and that would be all. Definitely not anywhere close to the limit

bobalong · #12 01-22-2015, 09:41 PM

Never been on a spring snow goose hunt, so my comments are just based on observation, watching videos, and reading about them. I have driven through Sk. in the spring and around where I hunt in Ab., so I have observed their spring time habits, and they are different, in Sk. especially.

With the rolling hills around the area I hunt there are not the huge sloughs like in Sk. and many of the snows still use roosts. Like another member mentioned many of the snows in Sk. just stay on the large sloughs in the field they are feeding in, so hunting these birds is going to be tough, as they never leave. Should be a bit easier here in Ab., due to the many trees around, at least where I hunt, you do not need to walk nearly as far from where you park your truck, if you have to walk in.

There are a few million snow goose that migrate through Sk. so decoy sets of 1000 are what they use. The flocks I have observed in Ab. are much, much smaller, at least in the area I hunt, so I am going to try it with about a 100 dekes, and I have an E-caller.

Not expecting really big numbers where I hunt, but am still anxious to try it out. Goose hunting in morning and evening and pop a few gophers through the middle of the day.........it will be interesting

NewGuard84 · #13 01-23-2015, 12:02 AM

Silo socks is a good and convenient way to get a big spread which can be transported in a reasonably sized cube. And an e-caller seemed to help a lot as well.

snowman160 · #14 01-23-2015, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesonepp

Forgive my ignorance, as I've never hunted snow geese before, but it sounds like the geese being Wiley, skittish, smart... whatever you want to call them... Let's say hypothetically you were driving home from work one day and saw a flock sitting in a field where you had permission.
What's the likelihood that you could walk up a ditch or sneak up close enough to get a shot or two off? Wouldn't that be a decoy-free option?
Although realistically, you Might get one or two and that would be all. Definitely not anywhere close to the limit

Well you can do that of course but it's fairly looked down upon by the guys who hunt em in the feild.doin all yur homework,gettin up at 2-3 am possibly quading or walking into a muddy feild an settin out 50 dozen decoys or whatever all to have it ruined by someone that either blows the roost that morning or jumped yur feild the night before after ya headed home with high expectations is a tough one to swallow.sure you can do it but I've had this happen on multiple occasions an it sucks.also makes the birds jumpy skiddish an likely to keep bouncing an moving constantly at the sight of every truck seen on a grid road..just my two cents.