Secrets to Hunting Geese: Part Four

More Goose Hunting Tips with Steve Bierle

Author’s Note: Steve Bierle of Canton, South Dakota, has hunted geese in various areas of Canada and the northwestern United States his entire life. He’s won several state championships and has competed-in and judged many regional and national goose calling championships.

Don’t Shoot Too High:

When geese pass over my blind too high to shoot, I’ll use a moan that you’ll hear geese give when they’re gliding onto water in a field. You can use this note with a few clucks to trigger that landing response and convince the birds to get low and come on in to light. This note sounds like, caaa, caaa, caaa, with a little grunt to it. You make this note by blowing the goose call to get a moan, allowing the reed to stick and then releasing it. When you release the reed, the call produces an almost two-dimensional sound. You get a high and low vibration from the reed at the same time. Although this note is somewhat more difficult to make than an everyday moan, it sounds really goosey, since it has that hollow reedy sound that you hear real geese make.

Another call that I use to get the geese down and convince them to land is what sounds like a low feeding murmur. But instead of completing the murmur, I’ll give a sound that I’ve heard geese on the ground give that sounds like a beginning of a cluck, but they don’t quite put enough air through their larynxes to complete the clucks. The sounds they make come out much like grunts. Geese do this call a lot when they hit the ground, wag their tails and stretch their wings. They seem to make this sound when they’re completing their transition from landing and just before they start feeding. You’ll hear them growl and barely get a cluck out. The sound is much like the sound that a human makes when he’s clearing his throat. I’ve heard geese when they’re down low and on the back side of the blind before they come to light give this grunting type of sound. On calm days and when the geese aren’t talking much, knowing how to give this sound can be deadly effective.

Know When to Call the Shot:

I believe that the closer the bird is to the blind, and the slower he’s moving, the better your odds are for getting a lethal shot. So, I continue to call until either the geese have hit the ground, or I know they’ll pass over the blind. Let’s say we have a flock of 10 birds coming into the blind. I typically won’t call the shot until the first goose has its feet about 10 inches above the ground. When I call the shot, I want my shooters to take the geese that are about 6 or 8 feet off the ground first. Then when the lower birds start to try and climb, we’ll have time to shoot the birds almost on the ground with our second or third shots. If you wait until the first goose almost touches the ground to call the shot, generally you’ll get much cleaner kills, and often the hunters can double or triple on one flight of birds.

I think many hunters call the shot too soon, especially when hunting Canadas. The main reason for this is those Canadas look so big. You get so excited when they start coming in that when they get close, you lose your depth perception. You’ll often take a shot at a goose you think is only at 15 yards, when it’s really at 30 yards. When you take that 30 yard shot, the geese usually will flare, and you’ll take marginal shots instead of certain kill shots. That’s why I let the geese come all the way into the blind and begin shooting just before the first bird has its toes on the ground. If the geese are coming from your right to the left and not straight in, remember to take the shot sooner than you think you should, rather than later like you do when the birds are straight up overhead. If you take the shot as the geese are approaching, then when they flare to the side after the first shot, or they flare when you first pop up out of the blind, the geese still will be in the pocket where you’ve hoped they’ll land. So, you can take your second and third shots straight out over the decoys. If you wait until the geese are right over the center of the pocket, your second and third shots will be at geese going away from you and flaring – a much more difficult shot than a shot at birds flaring right in the pocket.

This article is part of a series on hunting geese. Click here to go back to part three and click here for part five, using goose stuffers and scarecrows.

John E. Phillips

John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.

Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.

The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.

Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.

While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.

Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.

EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.

EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.

WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."