First time goose hunter, help please
 

ok, looked around a bit, but I could not find a thread about goose calls. This year I will try goose hunting for the first time. I will be able to have an opportunity at snows as well as canadians. Being that this is my first year, I do not want to spend a terrible amount of money on calls and decoys. What would be two calls that I could buy that would work for either and/or snow geese and canadas? Also, what would be a good decoy to use, and how many would really be necessary to bring in a few birds. I will be hunting by myself, so I only need to bring in a few at a time and am not concerned about getting my limit every time I go out. A couple here and there would be fine. Thanks for the help guys.

RE: First time goose hunter, help please
 

Fist starting off is tough. I can tell you what two calls I use but everone has different opinions about calls. Two brands I use are Quakerboy and the nightnhale. About $15 - $20 each but some calls can get real expensive just like decoys. I sugest in my own opinion start off with fairly cheap call untill you get the calling patterns somewhat sounding good. There is a call out there that all you have to do is squeeze it. It is a camo covered squeeze ball that has a ribbed tube attached to it somewhat like a deer call. I dont remember who make it but it sounds realistic and sells for about $23. Single hunting I use about 40 thin cadboard silhouettes that looks like geese (feeders and ones that look forward) , much lighter to carry than Plastic decoys. Plastic decoys are nice but pricey but I do use them when hunting with friends. Hope this helps somewhat maybe someone else has better answers for you .......GOOD LUCK

RE: First time goose hunter, help please
 

Haydel makes a pretty good Canadian Honker that's really inexpensive. Check it out.

As far as decoys, lighter the better in my opinion. I tend to keep my spreads small since the geese don't seem to decoy well to the larger groups. At least where I hunt. Lots of pressure from the Canadian boarder to North Texas! I use a few decoy shells (dozen or so) mixed amoung a few dozen texas rags.

Seems to work ok but I'm sure others here are much better versed on how to properly set up on geese.

RE: First time goose hunter, help please
 

I would recommend a big river long honker flute for someone starting out. Stay with flutes right now and work your way into short reed calls. Good luck.

RE: First time goose hunter, help please
 

The Haydel H-81 Honker is the one I use most. It's the easiest I've used and sounds good. An added benefit is you can use it hands free if needed. Small enough and light enough to clamp in your teeth.

If you're by yourself, shells will be your most efficient decoys as you can carry more with less set up time.

RE: First time goose hunter, help please
 

whiskeysnoot,

Have you tried switching out the reed base on the 81 with the snow goose. The longer tube from the 81 makes the snow sound much better and you can get more variation.

Give it a try when hunting those extended season geese.

RE: First time goose hunter, help please
 

Hello,
I would recommend either a Big River Long Honker goose flute, or a Woods Gander lander. They are both good calls. As far as decoys go. You didn't say whether you were going to be hunting land or water? I have a couple dozen floater goose decoys that I have bought over time. They are expensive though. Around $100.00 per six. I made my own silhouette decoys from quarter inch plywood and they work really well for field hunting. I would recommend at least two dozen and arrange them in small family groups of 5-7 with 5-10 feet between the dekes and about 10-20 feet between the groups. This seems to work well for early season. Have the sun at your back and call sparingly. Good luck!

RE: First time goose hunter, help please
 

Heck of an idea. I'll try that. Thanks.