ROOST |
||||||
|
RH SHOOTERS
ROUGH EDGE OR TALL GRASS
SUN
Diagram 2
after flock , and several hunters have become so accustomed to landing geese and working flocks in close , that they add an extra element of fun and challenge looking for an especially pretty bird to get mounted , or just shooting young birds for table fare , or looking for neck collars or bands , or a rare bluephase ross , a leucistic color phase Canada , etc .
|
WIND
LH SHOOTER
NO TREES FOR AT LEAST 50 YARDS
sandra noell illustrations
So what has changed ? How can goose hunting be better now ? Great gear , great decoys , shared information , and more than anything , I believe , it ’ s that people ’ s time is too precious to waste . When we get the chance to go hunting , we want to make the best of it . We want it to be epic . We do the necessary work , both before and during the seasons . We scout , we do the research
|
, we practice calling , we buy the best gear we can afford and we read as much as we can . At the end of the day we expect it to pay off .
As the founder of Dave Smith Decoys , I made what might be considered the first “ ultra-realistic ” goose decoy in 1999 , and that may have started a trend in realistic decoys for waterfowl and turkey hunters . But if there ’ s one thing I really would want to be known for , and take a ton of pride in besides my decoys , is the effort I put into hiding while hunting . A great hide is arguably the most important element of a great goose hunt .
The goal of your hide is to be hidden . If you had any prior doubt about my qualifications as a writer and hunter , that priceless nugget should put you at ease . But seriously , I stated that obvious fact because we all need to remind ourselves of that , and keep that in mind constantly . It ’ s not about how comfortable you can be , or making sure your dog can mark birds and not feel “ left-out ”, or how perfectly spaced apart your layout blinds can be . The geese don ’ t care about any of those things and at the end of the day they don ’ t matter how successful you are . What Canada geese care about is what you do wrong . And doing things wrong when it comes to hiding will quickly ruin your hunt .
Don ’ t Go In Blind There are several ways to hide while goose hunting , and they all begin with the type of blind you ’ re hunting from . Let ’ s take a look at the various blinds that are common in today ’ s goose
|
hunting situations .
PIT BLINDS Hunting out of a good pit blind takes the hide out of the equation and is an ideal scenario . As long as the pit lid is level , and nearly closed , and the lid and surrounding area blends in to its surroundings ; a pit blind is a near 100 percent perfect hide . The beauty of a pit is that you can hide out in the middle of a field a long way away from any cover , making the geese exceptionally comfortable . Unless you shoot into larger flocks and educate birds to the pit location ( more on that in a future article ) it ’ s about as fool proof as you can find .
PORTABLE BLINDS The reality is most people don ’ t have access to a pit blind , unless they ’ re members of a goose hunting club or they ’ re on a guided hunt . So like me , they ’ re left to hunt from portable blinds and there are a few kinds .
LAYOUT BLIND The layout blind , such as the first and original Final Approach Eliminator invented by Ron Latchaw of Oregon , is without a doubt the most popular . These can be used in the middle of a field , or on the edge of a field in existing cover .
PANEL ( A-FRAME ) BLIND If you have good cover on the edge of a field or at a center pivot , another great option is a panel blind or A-frame blind such as Tanglefree ’ s Flight Series Panel Blind . These allow you to sit while hunting and stand up to shoot .
I ’ ve included two illustrations to help explain how to hide well . Diagram 1 shows a typical set-up using layout blinds at a field edge . Notice
|