Early Season Canada Goose 28ga TSS

[bullet225ho]

Hey folks,

Was fortunate enough to take a nice Canadian this morning off my property.

45-55yd Passing shot. 8.5TSS/4 Steel duplex

28gagoose2.jpg

[UPEgger]

Verrrrryyyyy Nice.

Carl L.

[Dave in AZ]

I don't recall seeing this before, nice job!

[bullet225ho]

Yep Dave,

My failed dove field turned out to be a spot that the resident geese decided to fly over after they left their roost hole. I had some geese in the field in the summer picking at wheat and rye after it was cut. I got a six pack of full body decoys and if they are flying over me they will actually give a good look. My buddy came over from Texas to check on a rental property of his her in GA about 2 weeks after I killed this bird and we took 2 one morning over the decoys while he was here. 8.5TSS brings them down.

[Dave in AZ]

Well I'm glad to hear you're getting some decent use out of that field! I wasn't aware that it didn't work out for you for dove oh, I remember you posting about the work you were doing and planting. It's always disappointing to put in a bunch of work on the land and not have the game show up.

But man if I had a spot where I could shoot geese right there at my house? That's way better than Dove for me! Course I got a lot of places for dove all around me out here in Arizona, but I never see a goose unless I go to that hell hole Cibola Refuge. They won't let you shoot above 10 yards High oh, and there's a guy in a tower at 30 feet up with binoculars watching all your shot if he sees Horizon when you shoot a goose he comes and kicks you out.

[paulinkansas]

Let me tell you about my dove field. I planted sunflowers the first year. It was overgrown with pigweed and didn't produce a crop. The second year I applied Treflan. That suppressed the weeds but the deer ate all the sunflower heads. Tried RR corn the next year. Deer at all the corn before the season started. Tried RR soybeans the next year, deer ate all the soybeans. Tried sorghum the next year. The deer didn't eat any because there was a drought and it didn't go to seed. So now I just fertilize the weeds, bush hog it, let it dry, then burn it.

[Dave in AZ]

Lol... lot of work Paul!
I've got 13 Sage bushes I need pulled out of my backyard and I can't get a dude with a chipper to come chop them to save my life. I've been looking at buying a 15 horse chipper and just doing it myself. I can't imagine having to do all that work and brush hog those weeds, and not get any dove in the field!;)

[bullet225ho]

Paul my sentiments are with you. LOL

I also planted sunflowers last year and the deer hammered them. I was surprised by trail cameras to see that what I had thought was a doe and yearling buck browsing through my field was a night time massacre of about 10 does and a bachelor group of bucks that hid under the dark of night. One thing I can tell you is if deer eat it...it better be 20+ acres and then still say a prayer or two as it still may not make it. I have no idea how these farmers around here have any sunflowers as mine will look great and push a flower out and then the next day its GONE!!!! not a few...ALL of them gone.

With my dove field experiment last year I learned a lot. I planted too early. I replanted too much and then I cut too early. I had some birds and shot some birds...but nothing like I thought or had seen other fields of my size produce (5 acres) What I didn't know is within 10 miles of me there were LARGE sunflower and sorghum fields in the 200+ acre size planted just for doves. What birds I did have made there way to those fields and evidently into a cooler as they did not spook and head back my way.

This year I still planted the 5 acres in millet...but I waited until 3rd week of June. I have a good stand and seeding out like crazy. Also this year I don't have a barrage of tweety birds flocking to the field as I only planted once vs cutting and replanting since early April. We'll see what the doves do. If they do nothing then I'm ok with that as I know some goofy geese that cant stay away from full body decoys and soft goose flute call.

[bullet225ho]

Dave,

It's almost like the things you can't have you want the most. I'd love to have doves flying down my shirt collar every day of dove season. The geese are almost like pets. Jokers run little ones through my field and actually had a pair of honkers with babies in my pool this spring. I had to get the skimmer net and plop the little ones out as they couldn't jump out on there own. I'm sure I'll sling some TSS at them this Sept. LOL I got wood ducks by the dozen that roost within site of my house. Yet they are gone by shooting light and don't re appear until after legal shooting hours. I do bust one or two that fly in from elsewhere and decoy into my roost hole. I have a small deer population that frequents my property and they are healthy. I harvested a respectable buck last year (dare I say....from my deck) but I had eyes on a whopper for GA on trail camera that never crossed paths with me in my tree stand. Yet I had 10-15 hogs rooting away the whole season. There are folks that travel a good ways to shoot wild hogs. I shoot theme too, but I just wish they would leave.

Good luck with your sage patch. I wish I could say that 15hp shredders where like shotguns...but I just can't say that. I'd say you could pick one up, use it for your project and throw it on the market place and it'd be gone as soon as you listed it. Well, it would be if my better half saw it and thought she could use it. That's a whole nother story.