Canada Goose season September 3rd?

[pnwsculler]

Anyone going goose hunting? Seems early, but September goose season begins in 2 weeks in eastern Washington. When I saw that in the regs, I couldn’t believe it. Somehow it doesn’t seem right hunting waterfowl that early, even though I know they used to hunt them year round in the old days before the migratory bird act was passed.

Seems like a chance to get some young birds that have never been hunted before.

 

[TheNorthStar]

MN has approved another early Teal season this year beginning on the 3rd, same as early goose, which I've never before participated in, but has been in our regs for many years now. I did get the permit this year though, so we'll see how it goes.

Curious about your apprehension, is it merely the ethics of it that give you pause, or something else as well? We have an over abundance of geese through our flyway and many think of shooting them in the same vein as shooting hogs. In fact they're not well loved by a lot of non hunters in the suburbs as well, chasing kids at parks and shitting up soccer fields the way they do.

 

[kansasdad]

Kansas used to have an early “resident” goose season, which was Friday, Saturday Sunday weekend in early September. The migrators will not really be filtering down to us in large numbers as the goose season opens in November.

The golf course/park geese don’t often leave the city limits in search of food. I think the success rate in reducing the resident goose population was minimal, and as it cut into the federally regulated flyway allowed number of hunting days, Kansas went away from the early goose season.

 

[pnwsculler]

Curious about your apprehension, is it merely the ethics of it that give you pause, or something else as well?

No qualms about shooting geese during the early season. I just associate waterfowl hunting with the fall - colorful foliage, cloudy skies, and warm clothing as well as shorter days and the coming of winter.
In Oregon the September goose season starts around the second week of the month and I usually go for my birthday. Last year was hot and sweaty.
I would guess there aren't as many hunters that hunt geese in September.
But they should as geese are plentiful and perhaps less wary then.

 

[Huntn4bucks]

The September early season is good for new and young hunters the birds are not as reluctant to come in giving them a good chance to get some shooting I personally love the early hunt meat in freezer

 

[Nick87]

The September early season is good for new and young hunters the birds are not as reluctant to come in giving them a good chance to get some shooting I personally love the early hunt meat in freezer

Yup if you can find them around fir the early season it's a lot of fun.

 

[Muskeez]

South Dakota residents can hunt them (in Eastern SD at least) starting last weekend. My daughter and her fiancé were out but it didn't go too well. Very few fields were harvested and the ones that were and had birds in them wouldn't give permission.

 

[F250]

We start September 1 in both NY and Vt. Birds are a bit difficult to pattern and the mosquitos can be an issue (Thermocells beside the blind help). But, HEY, it's goose decoys, shotguns, calling, and dogs !!!

 

[Mallardsx2]

I used to kill them by the hundreds in September. Gave it all up years back. The hunting pressure just got too intense. You had to sleep in a field to make sure that you had it for the morning. A couple years of that and I had enough of it.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Good luck to all of you guys who are out fighting for fields this September!







I'll stick to this and not have to fight the crowds.

 

[jt13]

Not often do I get to hunt an opening day, so I'm thankful it was a good one!

 

[Nick87]

Not often do I get to hunt an opening day, so I'm thankful it was a good one!

View attachment 237320

Nice pile there!

 

[seeth07]

Not often do I get to hunt an opening day, so I'm thankful it was a good one!

View attachment 237320

hell of an A-Frame there, love it!

 

[Scrumbag]

I'm out for a mix of Canada / Greylags and ducks in the week of 12th. Cannot wait.

 

[TwistedSage]

I hunted it a couple years when I lived in NJ. Hunting was probably not the right term for first 2 weeks of the conservation order. The conservation order was not to conserve the geese it was to help kill as many resident geese as possible. For the first 2 weeks you could take the plug out of your gun and I beleive the limit was 16. Had permission to hunt a farm, the same farm that I'd fish all summer around these geese. The best goose I've ever had, pretty much farm raised. Tasted like steak. You'd pretty much have a couple of really good gimme shoots and then the residents would fly south.

 

[Jamen]

Our early goose opened August 15th here.

 

[jt13]

hell of an A-Frame there, love it!

It felt like an a-frame tent city, lol.

Birds didn't mind it until the sunlight hit them, then it was all over. They started flaring off as soon as they got close enough for a good look. Had a few hundred come in, but the groups were too close together to hunt effectively. Birds and dogs and people running around everywhere, the good kind of chaos.