I first started snow goose hunting a handful of years ago. At first it was a frustrating
endeavor. I was so used to hunting
ducks and Canadian geese that I expected snow geese to act the same…. Boy
was I wrong! I had also heard many
people say that snow geese are stupid and easy to hunt. In my opinion that can’t be
further from the truth. Yes at the
beginning of the season, juvenile birds are easy to hunt. But to consistently get flocks of snow
geese close is the most challenging waterfowl hunting that I have done.
Over the last few seasons I have spent a tremendous amount of time
hunting snows and have learned a few keys to being successful. One of the things that drives me crazy is that far too many people do not believe
that you can consistently decoy snow geese. I totally disagree. Too many people simply pass shoot at 60
to 100 yards.
First off the area that I hunt in Washington State only has a flock of about 120,000
birds. They are however using a
relatively small area and our properties are right in the prime zone. So this is different than the Midwest where they are dealing with tremendous numbers of
birds. Here are some of the keys
that I have learned.
1. Be where they want to be – Snow geese definitely have a flock mentality. Typically they will return to the area
they were feeding the prior afternoon.
A lot of our property is right next to a refuge which has worked out
great for us. X marks the spotJ
2. Decoys, Decoys, Decoys - One of the biggest mistakes snow goose hunters make is not having enough decoys. I know that it can be a large
investment, and a lot of work, but having a large spread is a must. I have tried a lot of different decoys
from shells and silhouettes to full bodies. My favorite by far is Sillosock Decoys. You can carry a large number at one time
and the motion that you get in a breeze is fantastic.
3. Motion – Having a large spread is great, but motion in the decoys
is even better. Watch a flock of
geese that are on the ground, the whole flock moves. You must have a way to have motion in
your decoys!
4. Decoy placement - Decoy placement is very important when hunting for snow geese.
Everybody seems to have their opinion of which type of setup works best.
Obviously there are a lot of factors ranging from wind direction, where your
blind is located, how many decoys you have, and on and on. Something I have seen frequently is that
people put their decoys too close together and simply put them in a blob or
circle. This may work at the
beginning of the season, but once the birds wise up you must improve your
spreads. I have put together some
diagrams for decoy spread ideas for you to see in the tips and instruction
portion of this website.
5. Knowing when to call the shot
– As I mentioned, snow geese are very different than ducks and Canadian
Geese. The first thing I would say
is, if you have a close shot at a couple birds… take the shot,
don’t wait for the whole mother load to decoy.
