Maximum Range Geese!!

3

300magman

New member
I hunt a place or two that would benefit from having the longest kill zone possible so I'm wondering what others use to kill geese as far away as possible. I'm probably picking up an 870 waterfoul which comes with the standard variety of chokes and I've heard good things about Black Cloud ammo for the cheap price...so I guess thats going to be my standard combo for most hunting unless someone can recommend something vastly better or cheaper.

BUT for the really long range situations what ammo (Brand and # shot) should I consider...and would I want to pick up some aftermarket chokes?
 
#1 Get a 3.5 inch 12 gauge magnum shotgun

#2 Load it with Hevi-shot ammo

For a choke tube, I have no hard and easy answer. What may work good in one gun, may not in another. You may need to experiment with a couple of chokes before finding one that will give you good patterns.

Definitely avoid getting a ported choked tube. They are horribly loud, and bad for your hearing.

--
 
I don't know about specifc brands but I've used my 3" 870 (30") and my 3.5" browning gold (28") with good success. I have shot T's, BBs and BBBs of various brands (usually whatever highbase steel is the cheapest). I've never had any issues. I usually try not to go for the too long of shot so the dog doesn't have to far to go, but some times I get the better of myself and drop one a little too far out. In the corn fields it usually isn't a problem.
 
Cornfields are pretty much a staple of my goose hunting adventures, but I do a few other locations as well, one of which draws amazing #'s of geese, but not to any specific point in the terrain. Decoys don't do much (they aren't bad if you put on a massive spread and are good with a call) but for a 2 man operation with limited time...we get off work at 5, dark falls at 7, that kind of deal...its easier to stalk them up through the trees, bushs, tall grass, or even drainage ditches and then just pop up and start banging.

Some people might call this unsporting as we are not shooting them as they are flying over, I say this is supremely sporting as stalking a goose is about the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. They are supremely attentive, have excellent vision, are always on the look out for predators (man included) and often have air support to spot you from above...its a challenge!

Therefore the longer shot I can make the better. Steal is ****!, plain and simple..its cheap, but its tremendous energy at the muzzle causes too much damage if something is 10 yards too close to you and its low retained energy fails to kill cleanly if your target is 10 yards too far. I like the old days of lead, if it was between 10 and 40 yards my old (2 3/4") remington was the ticket with #2s.

But back on topic...this new hevishot etc, what is the ticket to killing a goose at 50-80 yards? Perhaps a 3.5" load of #1 hevishot? or is that range impossible?
Oh and is there any of this stuff that doesn't cost $2 per round???
 
Quick question!

I know of several waterfowl hunters. They will eat ducks, if properly cooked.

My question is: What do waterfown hunters do with geese when they bag them. My friends tell me they don't eat them but give them to a food bank. They don't eat them. They are too hard to cook properly. I've heard it all, I think. At the local church wildlife cookout, I've asked this question. Most say that they like to work the dogs and shoot geese as a challenge. I've never heard anyone say that they cooked a goose. One of the older guys told me that his mother tried back during the Great Depression but he can't remember that she completed the task.

This is not a sarcastic question, BTW. Just curious. I have never hunted waterfowl.
 
Both Ducks and Geese are amazing meals if cooked properly, and really its not that difficult....gut it, pluck it (or skin it, yes you really can skin waterfowl) then toss it in the oven and roast it, I suggest drapping some bacon over it and tossing on a few orange slices ;-) btw, plucking and leaving the skin on results in a more moist meal, though it takes longer.
 
I prefer Canada, then Snow geese...

Cook it the same way you do a turkey of that weight...

We just pluck them as the skin is what keeps them moist...they taste great...

Bacon makes them greasy...We sometimes cover the bird in peanut butter and orange slices and that is very good eating but takes a lot of time to prepare and a huge jar of peanut butter and about 5 minutes a pound longer to cook...

Matter of fact, there is a goose we shot this fall in the oven as I write this...braised potatoes, fresh green beans, carrots and corn (just picked),
 
First, Hevi Shot 2s are the best goose load I ever tried, including lead 2s. Choke lightly, something around LM is best.

Re edibility, Canadas here turn into two meals.

The breasts are filleted out and cooked like beef roasts. I like just salt,pepper and garlic powder, use a low heat like 250 degrees and go slow.

Meanwhile the carcass sans skin goes into the biggest pot we have with....

A celery stalk, cut up.

A good sized yellow onion,also cut up,

Two large carrots,chunked.

A bay leaf.

Potatoes, chunked, to taste.

An oz or so of wine.

Cover the carcass with water and/or beef stock and simmer until the meat is ready to come off the bones, Do so, then return the meat to the pot along with pan drippings and any breast meat left over. Let cool overnight, preferably outside in the winter.

Remove any congealed fat on top and reheat. Use the recipe on the Bisquick box to make dumplings and sprinkle those as they cook with caraway seeds.

Mom called it Goose soup but it's more like a stew.

Enjoy....
 
I cook Canada's like a Turkey; stuffed with Sage Dressing & baked in a baking bag.

Snow Geese are nothing but 'Sky Carp' & not worth the cost of the shell.

Another way to use Canada's is to breast them out; pound the breast flat & cut in strips. I make it into a type of Rumaki. A strip of bacon; a slice of breast; and, a Water Chestnut all tooth picked together. Broil until bacon is crisp. Makes a great appetizer.
 
I should have addressed the original question.

I have hunted Geese since the mid 70's in the Southern Illinois Quota Zone, when there were Geese there, and at Horicon Marsh. Southern Illinois was just about all decoying birds & usually used 3" #1 shot with most shots inside 30 yards. Horicon was all passing shots, so BB's were the ideal. Those shots were between 50 & 60 yards. I would consider 60 yards a max for Canada Geese. Today, for 50 yard shots, I would use Hevi Shot 1's, if available.
 
Remington Wingmaster HD #2 is a great load. I spent less last year on shells using Wingmaster than I did with steel shot the year before.

Teriyaki Jerkey!

slice breasts into stirps
2C Soy Sauce
2C Worcestershire
1T diced galic
splash of liquid smoke

Soak over night
Rinse well with water in the morning and put in the dehydrator
 
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Geese

Some cooking tips, passed on from a chef in a waterfowl camp:

1) Always remove the triangular bit at the tail ("Pope's Nose")=gamey taste

2) Parboil gently 20 min. before roasting.

3) Roast over water on a rack with foil tent, remove foil about 20 min. before done

4) Overcooked waterfowl = tough

I have also read that soaking in lightly salted water overnight, and in milk or buttermilk for a couple of hours before cooking, are good too, but haven't tried them.

As for 80 yard geese-that's a loooooong way. Easy to wound with one pellet, then bird sails 1/2 mile and drops, not retrieved.
 
I've had good luck with a Mossberg 835 UltiMag and 3 1/2" Blackcloud shells. I don't know what the maximum range is, but I have shot some from further out than I thought I could.
 
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