I'm hoping to get into a little honker action this year. Got my feet wet last year with duck hunting, but unfortunately geese were not really abundant where we were hunting. Now that I've relocated I'm hoping to drop my first goose. Pre-season opens up here in less than a few weeks. I've been using a Canada Hammer II to learn on (can't stand the call). My buddy let me borrow his Bad Grammar DVD, but that was back in January and I've since given it back. Went to cabelas to check out calls and the guy was a complete *insert slew of profanity here*. So, in light of his nasty comments I'm going back to the basics. My question is how complex do you guys get with calling geese? Will simple honks and clucks pull in geese? I'm assuming it's similar to duck hunting. No one really calls like a competition caller in the blind. Just looking for some opinions.
Once won a bet by clucking our (then) limits of Ohio Valley Canadas to their deaths with a 25 cent garage sale squeeze-bulb bicycle horn, and then did it again the next morning just because I could, then quit the stunt in part because it felt disrespectful. So it's not all about how many sounds you can make or how pretty they are. Not that you won't be much better off in the long run for having mastered a call.
more important than learning every sound the goose makes is learning how to read a goose or geese in flight, don't expect to learn this right off, It takes a lot of field time, practice with live geese and patience. Once you learn to read geese, you will be a more successful hunter
more important than learning every sound the goose makes is learning how to read a goose or geese in flight, don't expect to learn this right off, It takes a lot of field time, practice with live geese and patience. Once you learn to read geese, you will be a more successful hunter
x2, was going to say this exact same thing. There is no routine for the field, if you expect to go out and do the same hail call, honk, cluck cluck, moan moan, murmur, for every hunt/flock, it'll be a sad few hunts. There are different calls that work better than others depending on what the birds are doing and how far out they are. Nothing can substitute experience for reading birds. As far as calling is concerned, like other people said, is one of the least important thing as compared to spread, hide, and if the birds want to be where you are. But if it makes you a more confident hunter, learn the basics, no need for double clucks, triple clucks and trick notes right away. Getting out in the field and getting some experience under your belt is the best thing you can do.
I don't do a lot of calling at geese usually just let let the decoys do the work, that being said I think geese are more reactive to a call then ducks are.
Buy a bag of corn or bread and go to a park that is holding geese feed them and listen to live birds. listen to how they cluck and moan back and forth with each other
There is nothing wrong with a Canada Hammer. It's the caller not the call. Simple calling will kill plenty of geese. Many times you can strike up a conversation with the geese. You call at them and they will talk back. Many times it will just be one goose in a group that you strike up the conversation with. Just immitate whatever that goose does and talk them in. How much I call is usually based on how much the geese talk and react. I see you are in my area. Drop me a pm and let me know where you are at and if you want some help want to try out some different calls or get together and try a hunt.
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