Moose Droppings

Now is a good time to be looking for Hunting Spots for Geese

Jul 08, 2006 @ 11:53 pm by Moose

September will be here before we know it and that’s when the resident geese season opens. About 20 years ago there was very few Canadian Geese around anywhere then State Wildlife departments began experimenting with stocking them in. The stocking worked but not the way they had hoped.

Many of these states are now faced with an over abundance of “resident geese”. These are geese that do not truly migrate; they’ll move around but for the most part they live their entire life in a much smaller area then their true migrating cousins. To many they have become a real nuisance.

During the month of July geese can not fly because of the molt of feathers and if you can find land where they are grounded you may find a fed up landowner. Even with the price of gas these days a drive around the countryside may help you find potential places to hunt. Besides noting where the geese are key on ponds and crops that may attract geese once the season comes in.

Residential season the daily bag limit is increased to encourage the taking of more geese but don’t be fooled these birds are not dumb. Resident Geese can be difficult to hunt because they are good at finding places to be that they can’t be hunted like parks and golf courses.

There maybe some additional changes on the federal level that will hopefully provide additional oportunities in the future to kill geese. There is a push to allow electronic calls, unplugged guns, expand the shooting hours till 30 minutes after sun down, and to open the season on August 1^st.

The August season would be not a hunting season but a “Management Take” because it falls outside of the dates put forth in the “Migratory Bird Treaty”. This would hopefully reduce the need for geese to be rounded up and euthanized.

States like Tennessee have been busy banding geese the last week or so to show that the birds killed in the early season are not migratory birds but residential.

In the near future look for some tips on set ups and strategies as well as some tips on preparing geese for even the finicky eater.