Deer/turkey hunter interested in goose hunting
 

Hi ya' ll I' m a deer/turkey guy right now but I' m interested in goose hunting but have a few questions.
1. The only shotgun I have is a rem 1100 20 ga. Is this enough gun? Getting a new gun is not an option. I know this gun works just fine on turkey' s. Also understand that I am a bowhunter so I understand all to well about range estimation and staying well within a weapons effective range. I' m pretty experinced with this gun and I feel like I shoot pretty well with it.

2. What' s a good beginner call to have?

3. Would a blind such as the turkey hunting blinds made by ameristep be a good enough blind without having to by a blind jsut for goose and maybe duck in the future?

4. How many deke' s? What brands? any good resources online to learn how to set them out?

I understand that' s a lot of stuff but any help will be greatly appericated and i can return the favor in (whitetail)deer/turkey info.

RE: Deer/turkey hunter interested in goose hunting
 

The 20ga is a on the light end of what I' ve seen people use for geese. I know one guy that shoots a 20 exclusively at geese and does pretty well with it... but he limits his range, shoots small pellet loads (#4 steel) and goes for head/neck shots. Personally, if I was forced to use a 20ga, I would choose something like Hevi-shot or tungsten-matrix in #2 or #4. These shells are a bit pricey ($2 ea), but they' ll work better than steel out of your 20. Personally, I shoot a 3" 12ga with #1, #2 or #3 steel over decoys (to 35 yards). I use my 10ga for pass shooting with BB or BBB steel (40-45 yard maximum shot). If selecting steel shotshells, remember one thing... velocity = knockdown power, and knockdown power is what puts birds down. The heavier the shot load, the lower the muzzle velocity.

Geese are big birds and their size makes them look like they are moving slower than they really are if you are pass shooting. Don' t forget the lead...

I have two calls that work well and have good tone. The easiest one to use is a Model 800 (?) " OLT" . The other is a " Goose Flute" - a little harder to blow but much richer tone and you can sound like a whole flock when you get good with it.

Blind? A couple corn stalks, cat tails, mound of dirt, hedge row, etc always works for me. Just personal preference, I like to hunt the fields and stay away from the water.

Dekes... it depends. Sometimes they work, other times (later in the season) they push birds away. Last Saturday, we had the same 75 Canadas pass us by 3 times just pushing range... we didn' t shoot thinking they would put the landing gear down their next pass. They ended up landing 100 yards away their 4' th time around and wouldn' t come any closer. I think the dekes actually hurt us that day... Other times they come in to just a few decoys. Other times the more the merrier. A single goose (or a couple) will normally come in to just a few dekes... bigger groups normally want to see more before giving them a second thought.

Keep your shots within range, shoot `em in the beak and you should do fine.