USA: Early Season Fall Goose Hunt in NY

[BeeMaa]

I will be doing a Goose hunt with a good friend in NY. For the purposes of internet anonymity, we will call him IGS. The two of us have been hunting, fishing, motorcycling and doing wood projects together for nearly 10 years. He has a place not too far from me in VA and another house on a lake in Upstate NY, and it's in NY that this hunt will take place.

This will specifically be an early season (September) hunt to remove non-migratory Canada Goose. Because they don't migrate, they have lost their fear of humans and in many cases can be seen chasing them in parking lots or on the golf course. They have become a nuisance. As a result of this the daily bag limit is 15 per person per day for the zone we will be hunting. This is in stark contrast to the migratory bird season limit of 1 bird per day per person. The message is clear...fill your freezer early and let the migratory birds fly on.

When I was up there in May of this year for a trout fishing trip, we did some early scouting to see what may look good come fall. Geese were everywhere and as I mentioned earlier, have no fear of us whether we were walking through the marsh or floating down a stream. Getting them within 15 yards was easy. If conditions are even close to what they were in May, we will have Goose sausage on the smoker before the week is out.

Methods of take will vary. IGS is doing more scouting now and figuring out the patterns they are using. As hunters, we both understand the importance of having the latest intel. We are looking at 3 places to do blind hunting and depending on water levels could be doing floats down some of the waterways on kayaks or a float boat. Of course doing a float presents an opportunity for cast and blast, but we will see how things progress. The multiple blinds are for rotation purposes so we don't over-hunt one place and scare all the game away.

The gear we will be using is pretty standard stuff. I'll be using my SBE3 while IGS will be using his Browning Maxus and Browning Cynergy. All of the shotguns are capable of shooting 3.5" shells and have Carlson's chokes rated for TSS. Of course the Black Cloud TSS I received from @Mark Biggerstaff (aka @R&M FIREARMS) will be making the trip along with some Turkey loads I have laying around. IGS has some Hevi-Shot leftover from last season, but we are both really interested to see how well the TSS performs. I'll link the TSS thread I started below and post some of my findings there.

One interesting note is that the Browning Cynergy that I bought (before IGS bought his I might add) came out to the sporting clays range with me yesterday. I shot both the SBE3 and the Cynergy on 3 different stands in preparation of this hunt. The fit of the Cynergy really didn't work well for me and it showed in the lack of broken clays. The SBE3 came up naturally and broke nearly everything that flew using a FULL choke. I've said it before and I'll say it again...gun fit matters, especially for instinctive style shooting. The Cynergy will be staying home while the SBE3 will be going on its first Goose hunt.

Chest waders, boots, blinds, gear bags...bla, bla, bla. It's all pretty similar stuff to anyone who has gone waterfowling and found what works. I have less than 2 weeks before I leave, so I've started laying out my gear and getting stuff ready to go. The only new thing I've purchased is a dry-line blind bag from Dive Bomb Industries and it looks like it will work nicely. Trying to keep ammo dry with everything around you being wet is a challenge, this should make it easier. Any other gear suggestions are welcome as well.

I'll do my best to keep this thread updated while in NY, but given the choice of being on the computer or hunting...it's not even close. Thanks in advance for your understanding about this. I'm holding off on any pictures because I know the first one I post will be the "cover photo". I want it to be a good one.

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/tss-ammo-is-it-worth-it.66788/

 

[gillettehunter]

Sounds like a great hunt coming up. Looking forward to the updates.
Bruce

 

[BeeMaa]

It’s opening day and I’m not in NY… My friend and another cohort ambushed a flock of Geese this morning as they left the roost. In less than 5 minutes there were 16 birds on the ground.

I’m planning on being there sometime Saturday late morning. IGS says with so little water, it has placed the odds in our favor. I asked nicely for him to save a few birds for me.

 

[BeeMaa]

3 Sep - Arrived this morning and IGS was ready for me. We headed out to one of his prime honey holes for waterfowl. Unfortunately it’s public land and was occupied by some campers. We could have banged out a few birds, but it’s better to not draw that kind of attention.

Instead we are now crabbing on West Point…we’ll see how that goes.

 

[BeeMaa]

The geese on West Point are mocking us.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

View attachment 486896
The geese on West Point are mocking us.

Part of the "The Long Gray Line"???

 

[BeeMaa]

IGS is USMA’83.

I’m currently on trophy point overlooking the amphitheater and placement of the great chain. Free concert happens to coincide with the end of our crab fishing.

 

[BeeMaa]

IGS, his wife, myself and several family members enjoyed the show provided by the West Point band along with the fireworks. Hunting trips can often be overly focused on only hunting (or fishing) with little time left to “smell the roses”. Well tonight was a breath of fresh roses in the form of incredible patriotic music followed by one of the most amazing fireworks displays I’ve seen. Here is a picture of the band with the Hell Cats…

I didn’t take any pictures of the fireworks display. To tell you the truth, I was overwhelmed with emotion and allowed myself to just BE in the moment…and not worry about a cell phone or taking pictures. It was glorious. If you have a chance to visit West Point for the Labor Day celebration, I highly recommend it.

Goose hunting to resume tomorrow morning.

 

[Tra3]

Good luck in the morning!

the picture above looked like your method of take could be archery!

 

[BeeMaa]

Good luck in the morning!

the picture above looked like your method of take could be archery!

LOL. We walked by the geese yesterday and were within 5 feet. They have little fear of humans on post. Out on the lakes and rivers, the closest I come is about 15 yards.

Having coffee and preparing for our morning hunt now.

 

[Inline6]

Good luck to y'all this morning!

 

[Tra3]

LOL. We walked by the geese yesterday and were within 5 feet. They have little fear of humans on post. Out on the lakes and rivers, the closest I come is about 15 yards.

Having coffee and preparing for our morning hunt now.

At that distance, sounds like a samurai sword would be ideal!
Will you try for a two in one shot?

 

[BeeMaa]

4 Sep - I didn’t know how hard today would be…

Woke up at 4:30 to get stuff ready and sit a blind because we thought the geese were roosted nearby. We arrived and put on our waders, water levels being so low gets rid of needing a kayak. We ended up over our knees in silt muck as we approached the island in the middle of the river. It took us almost 10 minutes to cover 20 yards. I thought I was going to loose my boots.

We make it to the blind, but not a goose in sight. Instead we watched daybreak, saw a bald eagle, osprey, grey heron, and called in a wild turkey. We went back to the house for some breakfast and to regroup.

 

[BnC 04]

"breakfast and regrouping" are always a solid plan b brother! Keep it coming and good luck!

 

[Pheroze]

I hope all your hard work and perseverance foreshadow a successful hunt!

 

[BeeMaa]

We decided to do a float with a two person kayak down a river and find the geese as they are on the water after they’ve had their morning feed.

Earlier I mentioned the low water level…it’s was WICKED low. I ended up walking about 4 of the 8 miles (in waders and boots) with my shotgun on my shoulder, while @ IGS was pulling the kayak and supplies. What I wouldn’t have given for another foot of water.

I spotted geese at 400+ yards and tried to put the sneak on them from in the woods. They flew off when I reached 200 yards. Again I spot geese and try sneaky up on them, nope. Same story, flying off when I reach 200 yards.

I’m starting to get frustrated. The sun is high, I’m hot as hell and can’t seem to sneak up on anything. I’ve walked about 2.5 miles and both myself and IGS are starting to question our decision to do a float.

What’s that I hear in the distance? Honking coming towards us from downstream. About 15-20 geese flying 30 yards above the water with me in the motor the river in near disbelief as I see them. I turn my head to IGS who’s behind me to signal geese are coming.

I click the safety off and pick out the biggest one I can find. I bury the bead on the bird and pull the trigger, that bird folds up and immediately falls. I take a second shot and hit another and follow up on it with one more shot. IGS shoots as well but by then the birds had gained altitude and were out of range.

Two birds down and spirits have recovered.

 

[BeeMaa]

We check our position and it’s about 5 more miles to our take-out point. We are able to do a bit of floating with both of us in the kayak, but there’s a lot of walking mixed in as well. It’s turning into a slog.

I’m out walking on the left bank with IGS behind me about 50 yards. I look to the left and 3 sleep looking geese come out of the tall grass not 40 yards in front of me. Convenient because 4 shots later they were right back to to sleep.

I’m in the background of this picture taking off my waders, pants and shirt. Seems IGS recognizes heat stress when he sees it. We both lay in the middle of the river for 20 minutes to cool down before suiting back up to continue. Big thanks to IGS because I did not feel that bad.

FYI - we are about halfway through the float.

 

[BeeMaa]

There are 5 birds are in the boat, all victims of Federal Black Cloud TSS 3 & 9 loads. Seems I’ve left the BB & 7 at the house . The going is slow but steady. Thankfully there is more floating and less walking…a good chance to rest a bit and stay cool.

We come around a corner and there is a lone bird on the right bank about 200 yards away. It’s an injured bird (not from us) that’s limping around. As we approach it goes into the grass but can’t make it up the bank. I push through the grass from upstream and it flushes down towards IGS. In short order it joins the other 5 in the kayak.

We decided to sleeve the shotguns and just make some time downstream. By 3:30 we pull the kayak out of the water and just beat a thunderstorm. It’s a quick ride home for processing.

 

[BnC 04]

Outstanding! Turned out to be a very successful day for both of yall.

 

[BeeMaa]

We had no idea how long a day we were in for when we started, but hard work and perseverance paid off. We have a plan for tomorrow, but for now we are going to lick our wounds and get some well deserved rest. Stay tuned for what’s coming up next…

Notes - by far the 2 best pieces of gear are the Federal Black Cloud TSS and the Dive Bomb Industries blind bag. The TSS is folding geese like a lawn chair and the everything in the bag was well protected and dry. IGS said he’s ordering one of these bags this week.