Originally Posted by Hunter MD

trmichels,

I have some general questions about goose hunting that I am sure that if I search through here long enough, I would be able to find my answers. Since nobody else has replied.......


Background,
This is my first year officially goose hunting and we have a private lease located in a bean field. There are 5 of us that are going to be hunting out of a pit blind. My schedule is a bit different than the rest of the guys and I have a son who is almost 2 years old and since we paid a pretty penny I would like to get out there any time my schedule permits even if this means hunting alone.

1) How many decoys would I need to have set at the very least to successfully bring in the birds (I realize there is more to it than that).

You can get by with 12, but get the most realistic you can, Bigfoot is good.

2) What is the basic rule of thumb when setting them up (Spacing, wind direction, pattern, prox to blind)


Real geese usually stick to families, so space a group 2-3 yards from another group, with 1-2 feet between decoys, simulating families.

3) I have been working on calling a little this summer using the primos honker call and trying to follow the video. If my skills are not completely there, can I blow the hunt by calling? If I dont call do I have a chance at having them come in? What do you thing are some calling basics that I could follow.

It is hard to blwo the hunt with calling, unless you are really bad, not all geese are perfeft, especially young ones. Geese often come in when there is no calling. What you might want to do is call when you first see them, and keep calling as long as they come your way, if they suddenly veer off, something is wrong, but not necessarily your calling. You can often stop calling if they keep coming, dn they will keep coming. If not trly using just some low honking.

4) Our season start Sept 1 and the beans are currently about 16 inches tall. Will they land in standing beans or will we have to wait until they are picked?


16 inches might be a bit high. But, since geese are grazzers, they want to eat grass. Look for grassy areas, where the grass is less that 8 inches high.

I have a bunch more but we will start with those. I have hunted geese on fields before with a few friends about 3 times, but really just did what I was told while setting up without really knowing why.

Get a good book. E-mail me and I'll recommend some.


Thanks