[Franchiguy]

Does anyone have names of some guides for a snow goose hunt near Coffeen lake? I am looking for day hunts with no lodging as I live in St Louis.
If anyone has any names of guides for hunts within an hours of St Louis, I will take those too.
Thanks Scott

 

[jaysweet3]

The thing with snowgoose hunting, is ya gotta go where the birds are. Ya gotta be willing to travel. Are there going to be birds within an hour of St. Louis on the day you book? That's a good question.

 

[SpinnerMan]

I just hunted near Carlyle Lake. I think that's around an hour from St. Louis. If interested, you can PM me and I'll give you the name and my opinions on them. It was my first trip with them. We saw a crazy number of very uncooperative geese. I've hunted snows enough to know that was not the outfitter or guides fault.

We did end up with an incredible rare trophy, but not a whole lot of other geese were killed.

 

[jaysweet3]

Wow! That is a hell of a trophy. The rarest bird in all of waterfowl. Congratulations.

 

[jaysweet3]

Forgot to ask, did it go to the taxidermist?

 

[SpinnerMan]

Forgot to ask, did it go to the taxidermist?

Yes. The guide is going to get it mounted.

I am not a person that mounts anything. If I was certain that I shot it, I would have likely got it mounted. I was not the only person that shot at it. However, the guy next to me who didn't shoot leaned over to me and told me I'm pretty sure you got that, which I am as well, but opinions vary :wink: Pretty sure wasn't enough for me to mount it, but I'm glad it is being mounted.

 

[SPatrick]

Its a hybrid, still rare. But not the unicorn. Awesome bird though!!!

 

[SPatrick]

Does anyone have names of some guides for a snow goose hunt near Coffeen lake? I am looking for day hunts with no lodging as I live in St Louis.
If anyone has any names of guides for hunts within an hours of St Louis, I will take those too.
Thanks Scott

Few outfitters starting to pop up around Carlyle Im not aware of any around Coffeen. South Central Snows outfitters is the one name that comes to mind, They are in keyesport, big, permanent spreads.

 

[SpinnerMan]

Its a hybrid, still rare. But not the unicorn. Awesome bird though!!!

That's a blue phase Ross goose. It's not a hybrid, it's a rare color phase of the Ross.

Snows and Ross's do hybrid, but this was a little Ross. Nothing about it suggested a hybrid.

http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/rosss-goose

Not until the late 1970s was it discovered that Ross's, like Snow Goose, can occur in a "blue" morph. Blue Ross's Geese are still rarely detected.

I've heard frequency that range from 1 out 1,000 to 1 out 30,000 Ross are the blue color phase. Not a unicorn and it was not a hybrid either. It was a rare blue phase Ross. A true once in a lifetime bird.

 

[SPatrick]

any warts on the bill?

 

[SpinnerMan]

any warts on the bill?

No, it was a young one.

 

[SPatrick]

gotcha, I can't see the bill very well now that I'm looking closer. you may be right. Sorry not trying to be a d-bag. :beer:

 

[SpinnerMan]

gotcha, I can't see the bill very well now that I'm looking closer. you may be right. Sorry not trying to be a d-bag. :beer:

I never took it that way.

 

[Eliminator]

Close to St Louis pits all sidesof Carlyle - http://www.southcentralsnows.com/