Hunting Geese In Colorado
If you have been blessed with some of Colorado's exceptional goose hunting opportunities, you can see why its presence has grown to a highly accepted operation just by driving along the Front Range and Eastern plains of this state. My guess is that you will find numerous goose hunting trailers and hunters putting their spreads out or picking them up, just before sunrise or soon after the sunset.
From my experience, goose hunting is definitely a practice makes almost perfect game and even most of the professional hunters and guides will tell you that you will learn something new each and every day you plan, scout and hunt in Colorado and anywhere for that matter. It is a challenging, highly competitive sport that can be frustrating, exhilarating and rewarding all at the same time. Everyone has their own style when it comes to hunting geese and some may become quite aggressive when on a hunt that does not fit their idea of what is right but there is not a specific way everything needs to be done in order to have a successful hunt. There will be similarities in approaches and strategies used in having a successful hunt in such areas as hunt location, scouting, decoy placement, decoy types, blind concealment, flagging and last but strictly not least calling.
The following will go through some basic styles and tips that you can consider when hunting for geese. There will always be a different tactic or style used and hunters are generally not afraid to express their own way which is what really makes this sport fun. Having so many different ways to hunt is really what makes the hunt to exhilarating.
When talking about decoys it all just depends but personally I really like the massive spreads of 35 dozen plus, it just looks awesome but you can get away with six as well. Weather is a large player here and when it is cold it seems as though the geese like to be closer together as it keeps them warm. If it is hot the opposite holds true and giving the decoys plenty of spacing will in turn replicate geese that are trying to stay cool. Having a spread that is stretched out can also make the flock look larger if you do not have 400 plus decoys. Realistic decoys would be hard to hurt the situation and as you will see when there is snow on the ground geese are always on their bellies. Shells in the winter conditions are crucial as they do look as realistic as it gets.
Feeders and more feeders is also another thing to note when watching geese in a real setting, there are always the ones that look around with their heads up high but most are head down putting the grind on the feed. Movement also always helps out and there are many decoys on the market that will provide you with the motion you need on a windless day or a day that the wind really does its part. Leaving an open area for them to land is also very important because you do not want a flock to land out of range or on one side not giving your whole hunting group a chance to unload their favorite shotgun. Geese favor to land into the wind so make sure you have an opening in front of the hunting blind with your backs facing the wind and they should glide right into your runway of destruction.
Pile pictures are always a nice way to remember that epic hunt but it you do not keep concealed it may not be the largest stacked pile when it is time for a picture. When a large group of geese come in to take a look at your spread that's exactly what they are going to do so it is crucial that you don't let them pick your gawking face out and with good concealment you can become invisible to all the eyes trying to pick you apart. Sticking out like the sore hunter who has a cold barrel or using corn in a winter wheat field is never good so try to use cover that is in the field when concealing your blind. In Colorado a lot of hunters use pits and the best ones are going to be flush with the ground, have lids that can be closed and of course are covered with whatever is currently in the field. Blend your layout blinds into the surroundings just as you would a pit. Concealing your blinds and of course yourself is a huge factor for success when hunting geese.
When using a flag, flag the geese that are far away to get them to notice you and try not to flag them when they are looking right at you. Flagging all the way until the geese land sometimes is what they look for but in general it is used to get and keep their attention. In some senses the flag can be compared to calling by going easy on the call as you would a flag when they are directly on top of you. Try to go softer on the geese when they are right on top with slow clucks and murmurs to replicate a goose that is feeding and if they look like their getting out of there try to call them hard and loud. You may have also noticed that small cackling geese tend to be very vocal and prefer fast clucks that are loud and if everyone in the blind calls in those cases it can really be worth it.
Do not think twice about changing something if it appears to not be working. You need to go through all the trials and tribulations to accomplish a small understanding of what the geese are trying to communicate and being able to understand that language is going to be what really works best. Your other best bet is going to be to put in the time scouting and without the scouting it would seem that you are the gambling type. Bring a lot of ammo when you do find that X on the treasure map and all the time you were scouting will be worth more than the large stack of geese you are going to have.
Scout, listen, watch and learn from everyone you hunt with and make sure to keep hunters that enjoy the hunt no matter what the outcome is and you will always get your fill from hunting geese in Colorado because there is no set in stone way.
From my experience, goose hunting is definitely a practice makes almost perfect game and even most of the professional hunters and guides will tell you that you will learn something new each and every day you plan, scout and hunt in Colorado and anywhere for that matter. It is a challenging, highly competitive sport that can be frustrating, exhilarating and rewarding all at the same time. Everyone has their own style when it comes to hunting geese and some may become quite aggressive when on a hunt that does not fit their idea of what is right but there is not a specific way everything needs to be done in order to have a successful hunt. There will be similarities in approaches and strategies used in having a successful hunt in such areas as hunt location, scouting, decoy placement, decoy types, blind concealment, flagging and last but strictly not least calling.
The following will go through some basic styles and tips that you can consider when hunting for geese. There will always be a different tactic or style used and hunters are generally not afraid to express their own way which is what really makes this sport fun. Having so many different ways to hunt is really what makes the hunt to exhilarating.
When talking about decoys it all just depends but personally I really like the massive spreads of 35 dozen plus, it just looks awesome but you can get away with six as well. Weather is a large player here and when it is cold it seems as though the geese like to be closer together as it keeps them warm. If it is hot the opposite holds true and giving the decoys plenty of spacing will in turn replicate geese that are trying to stay cool. Having a spread that is stretched out can also make the flock look larger if you do not have 400 plus decoys. Realistic decoys would be hard to hurt the situation and as you will see when there is snow on the ground geese are always on their bellies. Shells in the winter conditions are crucial as they do look as realistic as it gets.
Feeders and more feeders is also another thing to note when watching geese in a real setting, there are always the ones that look around with their heads up high but most are head down putting the grind on the feed. Movement also always helps out and there are many decoys on the market that will provide you with the motion you need on a windless day or a day that the wind really does its part. Leaving an open area for them to land is also very important because you do not want a flock to land out of range or on one side not giving your whole hunting group a chance to unload their favorite shotgun. Geese favor to land into the wind so make sure you have an opening in front of the hunting blind with your backs facing the wind and they should glide right into your runway of destruction.
Pile pictures are always a nice way to remember that epic hunt but it you do not keep concealed it may not be the largest stacked pile when it is time for a picture. When a large group of geese come in to take a look at your spread that's exactly what they are going to do so it is crucial that you don't let them pick your gawking face out and with good concealment you can become invisible to all the eyes trying to pick you apart. Sticking out like the sore hunter who has a cold barrel or using corn in a winter wheat field is never good so try to use cover that is in the field when concealing your blind. In Colorado a lot of hunters use pits and the best ones are going to be flush with the ground, have lids that can be closed and of course are covered with whatever is currently in the field. Blend your layout blinds into the surroundings just as you would a pit. Concealing your blinds and of course yourself is a huge factor for success when hunting geese.
When using a flag, flag the geese that are far away to get them to notice you and try not to flag them when they are looking right at you. Flagging all the way until the geese land sometimes is what they look for but in general it is used to get and keep their attention. In some senses the flag can be compared to calling by going easy on the call as you would a flag when they are directly on top of you. Try to go softer on the geese when they are right on top with slow clucks and murmurs to replicate a goose that is feeding and if they look like their getting out of there try to call them hard and loud. You may have also noticed that small cackling geese tend to be very vocal and prefer fast clucks that are loud and if everyone in the blind calls in those cases it can really be worth it.
Do not think twice about changing something if it appears to not be working. You need to go through all the trials and tribulations to accomplish a small understanding of what the geese are trying to communicate and being able to understand that language is going to be what really works best. Your other best bet is going to be to put in the time scouting and without the scouting it would seem that you are the gambling type. Bring a lot of ammo when you do find that X on the treasure map and all the time you were scouting will be worth more than the large stack of geese you are going to have.
Scout, listen, watch and learn from everyone you hunt with and make sure to keep hunters that enjoy the hunt no matter what the outcome is and you will always get your fill from hunting geese in Colorado because there is no set in stone way.
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