New to Waterfowl-- Need advice.

slicendice · 08-19-2003, 11:58 AM

I' ve been a bowhunter for many years now, but some new friends have talked me into trying geese for the first time. We' ll be hunting MD' s early goose season. We have a farm with several grass fields located near some feeding areas, as well as some ponds and small creeks nearby. I believe the plan is to set up a few dekes in the grass fields and set up in the wooded fence rows. I believe we' re going to try them first thing in the morning when they are flying to the feeding areas and in the evening when they are flying back.

Does this sound like an alright setup?

Also, I' ll be using a Fausti over/under 12 gauge in 3" . I' ll be using steel instead of HeviShot. I have a regular full choke and a regular modified choke. Would the modified be the one to use? Also, would the choke be ok to use with the steel shot?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

Slice

slicendice · 08-19-2003, 12:01 PM

Oh yeah, what size shot do you reccommend?

Thanks again!

Slice

SwampTHING · 08-19-2003, 02:51 PM

that hunt set-up sounds pretty good. I dont know if thats a big $ gun or not, if so have a gunsmith check it out for steel before firing a single round out of it!

Do not use a full choke,, modified at the tightest. Get some Fasteel #1' s in 3" and keep it under 35 yards! just remember,, tail, body ,beak,,,, boom! you have to lead them,, they dont look like they are moving fast but they are!!

Have fun!!

psandhu · 08-19-2003, 03:34 PM

don' t use the full choke. steel shot doesn' t compress like lead does and you can ruin your choke as well as the threads on your barrel.

shells, bb or 1 should work. get the highest velocity you can. velocity is more important than a maximum shot charge. heavier payloads are slower, lighter payloads are faster and speed is what kills with steel.

trailer · 08-20-2003, 07:01 PM

I have to agree , do not use steel with full choke. I had the forcing cone lengthen on my barrel and the choke reworked to modified for steel shot. Speed is the ticket to using steel shot and using bb or #1 should do fine.

Placing some decoys in the grass fields might be ok. The best bet is to be flexible. If there"™s allot of birds and you see where there flight path is, move to that location. Geese nearly always follow each other and they will fly right over you giving good opportunity to get some bird, as long as there nice and low. One more thing, have fun and good luck.

slicendice · 08-21-2003, 12:36 PM

Thanks for the help guys! I appreciate it greatly!! Good luck in the upcoming seasons!! Less than 2 weeks to go in MD!!!

E MAN · 08-21-2003, 02:53 PM

Remember, early season geese are different than late season. The geese aren' t as bunched up now as they will be. Use very few decoys. BBB' s with a modified choke has the best knock down power I' ve found. Good luck
E MAN

PowDuck · 09-01-2003, 08:12 AM

Remember that geese are large and look really close overhead when they' re actually out of range.

BigBore1895 · 09-01-2003, 09:15 AM

Take plenty of coffee, and welcome! I think that with hevi-shot out there, you may want to reconsider. You can get as much range as #2 steel shot with #5 hevi, giving you more hits on the goose. Definitely make sure that gun can handle steel if you are set on it though. Other than that, don' t get discouraged if they aren' t flying, and if they are remember that they smoke long cigarettes (the lead). Have fun!!