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Jump Shot a Limit O' Geese
I have a permission to hunt on a private lake here in Ohio that is on the way to my regular deer spot. The lake has been dead for the past week or so, with no geese sitting it. Today, I decided to swing by and see if that situation had changed with the high winds and overcast skies, more so to scout it for a chance to set up decoys and hunt it tomorrow. That said, I wasn't above jump shooting a few birds if conditions were perfect to try.
Truthfully, I used to look down my nose at jump shooting as an option of last resort. But, over time I came to realize that it takes just as much skill as any other stalk, and requires that you get even closer with a shotgun - often within 30 or 40 yards - to make your shot pattern effective. Sure enough, I saw birds in one of the few places on the lake where a jump shoot stalk was possible. I loaded up the gun with 3 rounds of T-shot and put a few extra #2 shells in my pocket in case I had to water swat a wounded bird. This place has virtually no cover, and the geese that I spotted were right on the bank. A line of trees is close to the water's edge, but the rest of it is effectively a huge, open lawn. The only other "cover" is the sharp roll in the bank leading to the water.
I used that bank roll to belly crawl toward the trees, keeping them between me and the flock of about 20 birds standing watch. Complicating things was a flock sitting on the water about 100 yards away that could sound the alarm at any moment if they saw me. A little bit of patience in waiting for wind gusts to cover the sound of my body on sparse leaves, and removing sticks as I went, made for about a 15 minute belly crawl over 120 yards. When I finally got to the closest tree trunk to the birds, I spotted a sentry bird's head and carefully eased the gun up on him. These birds are the overwatch for the rest of the flock and extremely tough to pull up on since they are on high alert.
BOOM!
A 3.5" T-shot shell crumpled the lookout and the other birds blew off the ground, racing for the open water. I fired a second shot and dropped another bird into the water just off the bank. A third shot dropped a final bird, but he made it well out into the water, upright, but unable to fly. The extra shells in my pocket came in handy as I loaded up and turkey shot him before he could swim too far out. Since I had no waders on, it was only a matter of waiting for a few minutes as the strong wind pushed the dead bird right back to the bank for an easy hand retrieve. I scooped him up and completed my limit.
Two different shot sizes were retrieved from the dead birds. On the left is a T-shot pellet. On the right is a #2-shot pellet. You can see why Hevi-shot even makes a coyote load with those T-shot pellets. They're freaking huge by bird shot standards.
It was a great precursor to my failed deer hunt tonight. With a full limit of geese in the truck, I didn't really care that the wind killed all deer movement. I still had game to clean when I got home.
Truthfully, I used to look down my nose at jump shooting as an option of last resort. But, over time I came to realize that it takes just as much skill as any other stalk, and requires that you get even closer with a shotgun - often within 30 or 40 yards - to make your shot pattern effective. Sure enough, I saw birds in one of the few places on the lake where a jump shoot stalk was possible. I loaded up the gun with 3 rounds of T-shot and put a few extra #2 shells in my pocket in case I had to water swat a wounded bird. This place has virtually no cover, and the geese that I spotted were right on the bank. A line of trees is close to the water's edge, but the rest of it is effectively a huge, open lawn. The only other "cover" is the sharp roll in the bank leading to the water.
I used that bank roll to belly crawl toward the trees, keeping them between me and the flock of about 20 birds standing watch. Complicating things was a flock sitting on the water about 100 yards away that could sound the alarm at any moment if they saw me. A little bit of patience in waiting for wind gusts to cover the sound of my body on sparse leaves, and removing sticks as I went, made for about a 15 minute belly crawl over 120 yards. When I finally got to the closest tree trunk to the birds, I spotted a sentry bird's head and carefully eased the gun up on him. These birds are the overwatch for the rest of the flock and extremely tough to pull up on since they are on high alert.
BOOM!
A 3.5" T-shot shell crumpled the lookout and the other birds blew off the ground, racing for the open water. I fired a second shot and dropped another bird into the water just off the bank. A third shot dropped a final bird, but he made it well out into the water, upright, but unable to fly. The extra shells in my pocket came in handy as I loaded up and turkey shot him before he could swim too far out. Since I had no waders on, it was only a matter of waiting for a few minutes as the strong wind pushed the dead bird right back to the bank for an easy hand retrieve. I scooped him up and completed my limit.
Two different shot sizes were retrieved from the dead birds. On the left is a T-shot pellet. On the right is a #2-shot pellet. You can see why Hevi-shot even makes a coyote load with those T-shot pellets. They're freaking huge by bird shot standards.
It was a great precursor to my failed deer hunt tonight. With a full limit of geese in the truck, I didn't really care that the wind killed all deer movement. I still had game to clean when I got home.
Accuracy: because white space between bullet holes drives me insane.
Replies
You woulda' loved it, Ned. There were several pockets of birds around the lake. These were the most jumpable and once one I got within 35 yards or so, you just knew it was gonna be a great jump.
I grew up jump shooting ducks from little ponds. Too poor to own or even know how to use decoys.
Like you need em!!
I was not aware of how prevalent jump shooting was when I got into waterfowling. I learned that jump shooting and pass shooting can both be extremely effective and require nothing more than the hunter, his gun and some knowledge of where the birds want to be. In a tough waterfowling state like Ohio, I've gotten WAY more down with these methods than over decoys.
Life member of the American Legion, the VFW, the NRA and the Masonic Lodge, retired LEO
:rotflmao::roll2::rotflmao::roll2::rotflmao::roll2::rotflmao::roll2::rotflmao::roll2::rotflmao::roll2::rotflmao:
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Well, that's pretty close to how it went yesterday morning, too. I towed the decoy trailer out, put out...oh...82 or so total fullbody and floater goose decoys (complete with having to launch my canoe to get the floaters out there) along with a motion flapper goose...and scored a whopping 2 birds total between me and my hunting partner, Brian, on a half day hunt.
Now, conditions were not ideal and the forcecast was one that I normally would not consider great for a decoy day. But, Brian had never killed a goose, saw the limit I pulled off of there the day prior and was really wanting to go. I pulled out all stops to try and get him a bird and it paid off in that regard. The very first pair of geese that flew in the morning came right into the spread and he got his first bird. I dropped the other one.
I'll post pics of the spread and such when I get home.
You both have roots in the Midwest. I'll be right smack in the middle between South Dakota and Kansas if my orders come through. You know who to call if you want to set up a hunt...my friend in eastern Nebraska already has some spots picked out and scouted.
I am already talking to my friend in Nebraska about doing a Sandhill crane hunt down your way sometime after I get my next military move out of the way. I'll let you know when that is and we'll see what we can do.
We ate some last night as kabobs, and a few followed me in to works today for lunch. I can post the full recipe if you'd like, but it essentially involves soaking cubed breast meat in cheap beer overnight followed by a teriyaki sauce bath, skewering with mixed veggies as desired, and about 8 minutes on the grill.
I have never hunted geese but would like to give your method a try. The recipe sounds delicious
I'll have to try that recipe. I love kabobs. I use mostly antelope/deer for them.
Jump shooting waterfowl ( in my opinion) is classed as one of the pursuits that gives the most fun with your clothes on........( Not sure how Buffy would do it though).
The only problem I had with it when I was growing up was that the limit of Mallards back in those days was 20 birds per person.......and 20 mallards were difficult to carry.......which meant that I had to stash them and when I shot my limit, retrace my steps and pick them up. It was not uncommon to walk the same 'route' twice on a day spent jump shooting.
Geese are a whole different story. With no limit now on Canada's, due to them being classed as a noxious pest, I dont envisage jump shooting geese as a 'whole day' activity........:tooth:
Actually, at the end of this clip, you can see the trees that I used for cover and just how flat the rest of the field is. The first bird that I shot was standing in the front on where the fullbody decoy were set, just downhill from the trees.
So, yeah - all of that for this...
Now, if this was setup in Nebraska, there would've been two limits of geese dead on the ground. But, this ain't Nebraska. It was still cool for Brian to see how a "real" decoy spread is setup for late season.
I've been told that 3 1/2 inch 12 gauge ammo kicks like a <your choice of expletive>. Has that proven to be your experience?
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
Trust me. It's awesome. Definitely try to eat the goose while hot. It doesn't reheat as well and can get pretty tough when reheated.
Yes, it does kick a good bit more than more conventional shells. It can brutal with heavy turkey loads, some of which hold 2oz.+ of shot for a 3.5" shell. Now with *waterfowl* loads, it's usually not a painful experience but the payload weight isn't insanely high with steel shot in a .35" shell (typically about 1.5 oz for a 3.5" shell). That said, it's sufficient enough to take you off target noticeably more than a 3" or 2.75" shell.
The reason you typically find T-shot only in 3.5" shells is because, due to the pellet size and how few you get per ounce (it can be literally half the total pellets you get with #2 shot for the same weight), you need to make up for the lack of total pellets per ounce/lack of pattern density by adding more total pellets. The only way to do that is to simply use a bigger shell.
FYI - I found a table that shows 1.5 oz of steel #2 shot has 187 pellets. The same weight of steel T-shot has only 78 pellets.
Holy hell! A 20-mallard limit! That had to be an incredible day.