# Snow Geese



## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Anyone heading out west? Just got off the phone with Dad, he is out in Mound City. They got 52 on the ground right now and he got his first banded goose in over 40 years of hunting geese. Said its a pretty blue. He said there are geese to no end. Refuge count is like 1.5 mil right now. Guess its really foggy and they just show up outta nowhere. The guide and my 14 yr old cousin Will are out on the quads making rounds and bringing back geese that fell outta sight in the fog. Sounds like theyre having a blast out there. I think they hunt till Friday, so hopefully they can keep on em.


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## nimrod4 (Mar 20, 2009)

That sounds incredible! We are heading out there on our spring break from the university the very beginning of March so hopefully this weird, mild weather will still have plenty of birds around out there to tangle with. Keep us posted as to how many more white devils they pile up this week!


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

Nice job by your dad!
NEB just got a foot of snow so they wont be heading north anytime soon.

Another report on the fuge, most juveniles they have seen this early in the conservation season around the boot heel of MO, which is usually an indication of the tail end of the migration north.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

He called back with the band intel and i entered it for him...Was banded WAY up north...NUNAVUT!!!!

Band number: *1937-58003*

Species: *BLUE GOOSE*
Date banded: *08/07/2011*
Banding Location: *9 SE JOHNSON POINT, NUNAVUT, CANADA*
Age: *HATCHED IN 2010 OR EARLIER*
Sex: *FEMALE*


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

Did your Dad hunt with McMann? I see he posted they got a band today.


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## norton shores killer (Oct 24, 2009)

my first snow goose was banded
band number-1587-59576
species-blue goose
hatched in 2006 or earlier
banding location-AUPALUK,Quebec,canada now thats in the middle of nowhere

Congrats to your dad


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

If i was to guess the banding permit might be under the name Caswell. 

Queen Maud is waaaay up there. I think its the most northern point they band snows.

An little Cliff Claven trivia as i have a ross band from up that way. Looked up Johnson Pt and it too is in the Queen Maud bird sanctuary. 

"In 1982, 450,000 geese, including the majority of the worlds Ross's Geese, nested in the sanctuary, one of the largest concentration of geese on Earth.
The park was established in 1961 under the Migratory Bird Sanctuary Regulations of the Migratory Birds Convention Act of 1917."


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

norton shores killer said:


> my first snow goose was banded
> band number-1587-59576
> species-blue goose
> hatched in 2006 or earlier
> ...


Curious, was it a lesser or greater snow goose?


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Yep with mcmann gene

Thanks for the insight on the area also


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## norton shores killer (Oct 24, 2009)

wavie said:


> Curious, was it a lesser or greater snow goose?


 i dont know
it didnt say on the certificate and i havent shot enough to know the difference


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## lastflighttaxidermy (Jul 12, 2010)

Yeah they are way ahead of schedule this year. My dad talked to the guide and they are everywhere. Heard they got a good snow line to the north. They should stick around a while yet.


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## honk/quack (Dec 18, 2009)

Hey 'Bomb, thanks for the info . . . . really cool :coolgleam


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## mintgreenwalleyemachine (Jan 18, 2005)

Tell your dad congrats on the band! Mike and crew have been on the birds since it opened! My good buddy just back and shot good numbers every day! I wish I could have went but I have to much going getting ready for my wedding.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

mintgreenwalleyemachine said:


> Tell your dad congrats on the band! Mike and crew have been on the birds since it opened! My good buddy just back and shoot good numbers every day! I wish I could have went but I have to much going getting ready for my wedding.
> 
> 
> _OutdoorHub Mobile, the information engine of the outdoors._


Will do....Leave it to those women to complicate the hunting eh?:lol: ....and congratulations


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## ugly808 (Mar 24, 2011)

Seeing this post makes me very nervous...we are not leaving til the 29th...Hope birds are still around...


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## AmberMae (Jan 27, 2011)

I can tell you the refuge count for Squaw creek went up significantly in a couple weeks. Basically two weeks ago was at 22000 then jumped to 52000 and then this week when my dad called them it was at a mil on the area and another half mil estimated in the area...Thats a hell of a push.

This is Adam, im on my GF computer


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## mintgreenwalleyemachine (Jan 18, 2005)

Adam Is this your dads group?



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## AmberMae (Jan 27, 2011)

Yep....Front row from l to r is my cousin Will, Aunt and Uncle, back row is Dad, Gary and Tom. Got a text a lil while ago from young Will. Only 8 this morning i guess. Havent talked to Dad, so i dont know any details of what they seen or what happen with the hunt. Id guess they probably put them in the same field and it sucked today..Just a guess though. Seems to be the nature of the beast with geese.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Just talked to Dad. They got 47 birds total today. Said it was quite a bit slower and weather was a big factor...imagine that eh? Said it was clear and sunny and they just picked away at em. Shot 15 this morning for the whole crew. Everyone but my Dad and Uncle went in at lunch and they shot 13 in an hour when a snow squall came in. Had a mix of weather tonight i guess and got a few more. Said they seen hundreds of thousands of geese, but they were flying high with the clear skies. When itd cloud up and get nasty they got their birds. They shot a few last night as well and i think theyre up to 115 for the first two days. So far so good in big MO.


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## Water_Hazard (Aug 16, 2006)

adam bomb said:


> He called back with the band intel and i entered it for him...Was banded WAY up north...NUNAVUT!!!!
> 
> Band number: *1937-58003*
> 
> ...


 
I've shot a couple Canada Geese in Michigan that were banded in Nanavut.


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## cupped-n-locked (Jan 5, 2006)

Water_Hazard said:


> I've shot a couple Canada Geese in Michigan that were banded in Nanavut.


me too!!


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

I sure hope they are still there by the 20th. I will be in Mound City for 5 days.


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## goosemanrdk (Jan 14, 2003)

craigrh13 said:


> I sure hope they are still there by the 20th. I will be in Mound City for 5 days.


Don't worry, those birds aren't going to be going anywhere(except maybe back south) over the next 5 days. Lows are supposed to be in the teens every night for the next 5 days in Mound with very few highs above freezing during the day. Also, just north of there(Nebraska/SW Iowa) is covered in snow right now. I am pretty sure that some of the birds pileing up in Mound right now, would normally be over in Nebraska, but the blizzard stopped them a little short last week. Even once things warm up, many probably won't move out for a bit yet. South Dakota is snow free, but never had any snow, so there will not be any sheet water for the birds to utilize for water or roosting, so they are going to be dependent on South Dakota warming up and melting ice to have roosting/drinking water to stay up there. Lows up there(central) are supposed to be in the single digits for the next week.
Also, this time of the year, I don't put much value in any forecast that goes further out than 5 days as most years they have seemed to be wrong. While they are not currently forecasting any future snow storms, one could show up next week, and slow the whole migration down BIG TIME!!! Seen that happen just about every year for the last 4 years.

Besides, I wouldn't mind seeing these front edge birds get through and open things up for the younger adults and juvies. I am heading down on the 23rd for 17 days of fun in the sun.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Well, Just talked to dad. He said the hunting is really slow today. Dead calm and sunny. Said they seen maybe 30000 birds today at the most and they were all flying really high. Only 11 birds so far today, their hoping for a good evening hunt. I guess my Uncle took a ride around the refuge and he said there isnt any room for anymore snows to land so im guessing there isnt any shortage of birds.:lol: If its not too late when i hear from Dad again this evening ill give you another update.


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## FullBody (Nov 4, 2008)

Adam, why the heck aren't you with them? :lol:


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Would have liked to have gone, but ive been laid off and decided its probably smart not to spend the money. Luckily there is no shortage of snows and theres always next year. Just got a pic text from Will, guess my dad just pulled a double on some real LONG shots. I forwarded it to my email so ill see about getting it up. Only took three days to get a pic of a dead bird...What the hell?!?!?!?


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Well, they got 23 tonight so they ended up with 34 for the day.


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## mintgreenwalleyemachine (Jan 18, 2005)

Sounds like a lot of goose breasts!


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Looks like the sausage stuffer will be in use this week that's for sure!!!


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## GuppyII (Sep 14, 2008)

Hopefully the weather sticks. We will be there in four weeks, assuming there are still birds around.


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## FullBody (Nov 4, 2008)

Looks like they POUNDED them today Adam.


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## michiganoutdoorsman (Dec 29, 2010)

FullBody said:


> Looks like they POUNDED them today Adam.


I saw that too! Triple digits!


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## MCMANN (Jan 13, 2010)

If you seen the pic i posted on facebook that is a pic of the last couple of days the group ended with 160 birds on their hunt


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

MCMANN said:


> If you seen the pic i posted on facebook that is a pic of the last couple of days the group ended with 160 birds on their hunt


Hope my rowdy bunch wasnt too hard on ya.:lol: Sounds like they had fun out there hunting with Ron. Keep on em.

Ill get my Dads pics forwarded to ya when he gets home. Thanks again for showing them a good time.


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## mintgreenwalleyemachine (Jan 18, 2005)

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## mintgreenwalleyemachine (Jan 18, 2005)

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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

No question the real work starts after you pull the trigger. I just sat down for a break. Started at 9 am. All the birds were processed with the bird hitch and resulted in about 450 qts after this process. So today we had to breast out, clean up and de-shot the birds. Then we ground the birds and pork and then reground together before putting in the mixer with all the ingredients. Just finished stuffing the hickery sticks and have a 150 qt cooler of hickery stick in 4 varieties. Currently ensuing is the packaging of the remainding 60# of meat that we made into bulk breakfast sausage. Tomorrow is going to be another busy day processing this meat to completion....Alright...back to it...UGH!!!:gaga::lol: 

Will post some pics later.


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## lastflighttaxidermy (Jul 12, 2010)

At least if you were in on the shooting adam it would be more meaninful.. Your one nice guy!


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Ah, its all good. They woulda helped me just the same. Thats what its alla bout. We had us a great time yesterday. Heres some pics from field to processing. Have the first batch of sausage going right now. Should be done in a couple hours. Cant wait for it to cool so we can try it out.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)




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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)




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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)




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## honk/quack (Dec 18, 2009)

A big . . . *WOW :yikes:* Thanks for the great pix.


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## Mike L (Sep 8, 2003)

Nice to see the white ones down. Man, that's a lot of sausage adam !
Got a total on the geese ? Great pics thanks for posting......


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## Socks (Jan 8, 2007)

Ok, I'm jealous!


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## mintgreenwalleyemachine (Jan 18, 2005)

Nice pics!


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## SBE II (Jan 13, 2009)

Holy Hell thats some snausage...Great job guys...I head to SD Mid March


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## jonesy16 (Sep 19, 2011)

Just got back in from Colorado this morning. I've never given Nebraska a second thought besides for producing a lot of corn and beef but after seeing clouds of thousands of snows and Canadians along I-80, I almost ran off the road a few times. My girlfriend had to take over driving, I was looking out the window to much. It was very impressive and next year I'll have to look into a trip out there. I saw about three parties set up on ponds and fields along side the high way. Just when I thought my itch for waterfowl hunting was scratched with our season being over......just can't stop drooling thinking about all those birds.


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

I just got back from the Mound City area after a week of hunting with Tony Toye (Big River Guide Service). It was AWESOME!! All the stereotypes i heard about that area were never seen. We always hunted at least 10 miles from Mound and NEVER seen another hunting party. Seen hundreds of thousands a geese a day (if not a million or more). Shot a ton of geese and got to experience a "tornado" more then once. Hunting snows is a whole different game then Canadas. You had better get an extension and learn how to shoot at 70 yards AT TIMES. Them geese some days have a ceiling and they do not like to drop in close. Other days they will sit at your feet. Very finicky birds for sure. I recommend this guide service to anyone and if you have never been snow goose hunting DO IT!


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## starky (Jun 19, 2006)

Leaving Saturday to hunt with Tony. This is my 3rd year, can't wait.


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Starky; Gary (Farmers) field is hot this year. It was averaging 50 birds/day and we had an 80 bird day out of that field. The monkey pond was coming around also. Adams field and Matts field both are producing good numbers with the right weather. You will have a blast.


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## GuppyII (Sep 14, 2008)

We are supposed to go with pro outfitters next week, he told us its tough right now and the birds are call and decoy shy. Said we can reschedule for next year. What do you think?

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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Guppy: you going to be in the mound city area? If so I would go. The birds are picky but it changes day to day depending on weather. One day they will be at your feet, the next its 60-70 yard shots. For example one field shot 66 one day the next they shot 9. It just varies. The juvies had not shown up in huge numbers when I was there. We still pounded them though. Squaw creek and the surrounding areas are holding a ton of birds right now. We Slayed the migrating flocks as well. Keep an eye on the weather. If it is looking like sunny days with wind you will do great. Cloudy days are no good! Birds right now are feeding heavy in the areas around maitland, graham, Craig, and marryville. Drive down 113 and u will see THOUSANDS. PM ME if you want to talk more and I will give you my number.


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

i would listen to my guide. any reputable guide would tell you the truth. long drive out there to be diappointed. things can change quickly though.


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)




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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

5 of us shot 20 in one tornado. Only 1 guy had an extended magazine or we would have really shot them up!


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Only had around 50 at the time of the pic. Shot 30 more in less then an hour after this pic.


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)




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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Finished the day with 80. If we all had extended magazines and a little better shooting would have easily brought down well over 100.


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

Guppy, hope this is not the outfit you booked with.

Enjoy the read. These are the shinanigans you here about around SC.
http://www.duckhuntingchat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=92351

Nice pics Craig. You obiously went with a more reputable guide and it shows. Yes i know its hunting but when more than one group has the same complaints, buyer beware.


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Who did you hunt with? I just talked to Rick who hunted with Tony on the 29th and the 1st and he said they shot 22 on the 29th during the high winds, and 70 the next day. Another field shot 50 and 51 during those 2 days.Sounds like they lost a lot of birds down there but some are coming back. He said the big groups of juvies have still not shown up. Maryville seems to be where it is at. Maryville, Graham, Maitland, all those areas around there.


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## ugly808 (Mar 24, 2011)

I hunted with Shawn Eldredge of Praries Edge, I was told the same about the juvies not showing up yet as well. Shawn had a few other outfitters working for him as well that where from the Texas area. They said that the birds never even made it down that far due to the warm winter that we have had. You have to be on the spot that want to feed on, otherwise they will give you a look and keep on flying, we hunted inbetween Mound City and Marysville. IMO we where not far enough East.


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## lastflighttaxidermy (Jul 12, 2010)

yeah its hard killing them things close to the refuge. gotta get aways from mound for sure. a couple of our best hunts down there were when the birds were not to mound yet and we hunted way south. less concentration of hunters and less educated birds. the way i like em.lol


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## deadduck365 (Nov 5, 2010)

craigrh13 said:


> Who did you hunt with? I just talked to Rick who hunted with Tony on the 29th and the 1st and he said they shot 22 on the 29th during the high winds, and 70 the next day. Another field shot 50 and 51 during those 2 days.Sounds like they lost a lot of birds down there but some are coming back. He said the big groups of juvies have still not shown up. Maryville seems to be where it is at. Maryville, Graham, Maitland, all those areas around there.


We are round there right now. We shot 29 yesterday. Not looking good today. Bird numbers are real low. What do I know this is my first time. 




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## starky (Jun 19, 2006)

We got back yesterday from Mound City. Shot 54 in three days and that includes not killing a goose on Wed. Tony told us that they had moved out on Tues. night. Juvies still haven't shown up yet.


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## boomstick (Aug 31, 2010)

starky said:


> We got back yesterday from Mound City. Shot 54 in three days and that includes not killing a goose on Wed. Tony told us that they had moved out on Tues. night. Juvies still haven't shown up yet.


Starky, I think we spoke to u guys in mickyd's. Saw lots of birds north of MC the day we drove in. Still having fun, not always about the numbers. 


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Starky what guides did you hunt with? Like whose fields, Garys? Adams? Curts? I am glad I went early this year. I was very happy with the 162 birds we shot. Seems like it has been a weird season/migration.


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

deadduck365 said:


> We are round there right now. We shot 29 yesterday. Not looking good today. Bird numbers are real low. What do I know this is my first time.
> 
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29 isn't a bad day. Whose field were you in? Looks like the refuge count is way down just read a report that yesterday every bird left the refuge and headed north yesterday morning, meaning hopefully birds south of there did the same and you guys will be getting more birds.


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## boomstick (Aug 31, 2010)

We ended up with 81 birds for 3 days. Lots of birds moving north. Were staying in St Joe, and heard birds flying north all night. 


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## deadduck365 (Nov 5, 2010)

boomstick said:


> We ended up with 81 birds for 3 days. Lots of birds moving north. Were staying in St Joe, and heard birds flying north all night.
> 
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


Great time. Glad you guys had me along. 





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## starky (Jun 19, 2006)

We hunted with Kurt the first day at the pond and shot low 20's. Second day we were with Rick who was a replacement for Adam I believe and shot in the 30's. Last day with Tony and never shot a bird.


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## lastflighttaxidermy (Jul 12, 2010)

thats part of hunting. those skunk days suck but dont happen very often thankfully.


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## goosemanrdk (Jan 14, 2003)

Just returned from hunting for 16days in northwest Missouri. Had an absolute blast. Due to life issues(for friends) I was by myself for the first week and hunted with my father the second week. The time frame of 2-24 thru 3-3 am was VERY good. Was able to harvest 41 birds for that timeframe. Shot into numerous large bunches everyday, and had several nice tornados happen over the week. Was able to be picky and take the birds that I wanted, and get many multiples from flocks. With a full group, it could have been some big numbers(in the neighborhood of 200-250 birds given the groups I had come in and some of the specific bird decisions I made). The big winds came on 3/4 right after Dad arrived and never let up until 3/7, made for some tuff hunting, and amazingly, many of the birds left around were still mostly adults. Still managed to take 29 birds for the week with just me and Dad. Saw many groups of migrators the first week and very few the week with dad. Did have 1 nice group of Ross's migrators work in really tight for dad and he was happy. Never saw the juvie mass. Only got a Zero on one day.

Took my youngest lab out with me and could not be happier with how she handled things and progressed during the time. She went from rookie, to seasoned veteran snow goose dog.
Had a great time doing this on my own for the first time, and look forward to doing more in the years to come.

Fun side notes: Extensions are a must and come in very handy.
1-Had a flock of migrators work in and had 5 snows drop down right into my face. Using a 9 shot extension, I was able to take all 5 out in one go round.
2-Had a single Ross's come in, and could not seem to catch up with him on shots 1 thru 5, but shot 6 dropped him right in the center of the spread.


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## kccaro (Sep 13, 2007)

My truck, my buddies, and their dogs and gear are in SW South Dakota right now. Stinking school has me stuck here working on lesson plans and grading papers instead of chasing snows. Good luck buddies, and take care of my truck!


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Ahh so it was Adam who was sick. I talked to Rick the day he was driving down there to help Tony out. Adams field is a good field on the right day. I got an email from Tony yesterday saying the juvies have finally arrived. He said they're not seeing the huge numbers of birds but they are decoying GREAT.


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

Just got back from SE SD. Missed the big push of adults by one day and the juvies hadnt showed. Birds didnt really cooperate but thats hunting. Last day never fired a shot. Regardless had a great time with great friends.
Majority of birds migrated past us on strong S winds for several days in a row, but what a sight. Some highlights were the mid morning arrivals of migrating canadas and turning them at nose bleed altitudes with the ecaller. Spilled air and couldnt get in the spread fast enough, flocks of 25-50 back peddling at 10 yards. Had a migrating flock of sand hills riding up in the thermals, could barely see them and we mouth called them down into the decoys. Had 5 common mergs that liked something in our dry field spread, didnt land but gave us opportunities had they been in season. Pintails and widgeon, good lord they looked good in their spring attire, buzzing the spread just over the layouts. FWIW, hitman blinds are big (too big a profile for my liking), but at 6 feet 200lbs, i could easily fall asleep on my side. Came back with a nasty sun burn/wind burn, 73F and clear blue skies.
Birds flight path really pushed them east this year, E central SD got all the birds when they left Squaw Creek. They were there for a day or two and have really started pushing into ND. Friend reported them moving into S manitoba already, not many but way early.
Its snow goose hunting and can be hit or miss, but man is it fun.


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