Why are their so many snow geese?
Why are their so many snow geese today compared to 20 years ago? I was doing some research today on the Journal of Wildlife Management and I learned some interesting facts about snow geese and the size of their brood.
Many people suspect that the reason snow geese have grown so much in population is that the predators in the artic are less than ever, therefore no competiton yields more geese. When in fact this is not true - today there are as many artic fox's as ever and now there is evidence that the polar bear due to a shrinking ice cap is adding snow geese to their diet. So what then is causing the massive increase in snow geese?
The research indicates that the evidence is that related to the amount of fat reserves a goose has once breeding season starts. The clutch size is directly related to the nutrient reserves after migration. So what does this mean for a snow goose hunter. A snow goose is going to feed heavily in migration to keep the nutrients high to produce high amounts of chicks. Therefore it is important to hunt where food is abundant. The geese will hang around a day or two where their is food. Since snow geese eat vegitation naturally look for open areas around rivers and water in the north migration for feeding geese.
The use of many cheap snow goose decoys in your spread will entice the geese to think food is abundant.
Tags: brood, cheap snow goose decoys, ckicks, clutch size, Snow Geese
Posted in Goose Decoys and Goose Decoy Patterns, Goose Hunting Information, Goose hunting accessories | 2 Comments »
Shotgun Choke Patterns – Understand how your gun shoots!
Which choke is best for your gun?
As we enter the off season for goose hunting one of the best things we hunters can do is get to know your equipment better. All too often, a goose hunter assumes that they should be using a full choke or a goose choke when out hunting geese. The trouble is every gun shoot differently and every choke has a different pattern with your gun. When you start to think about which choke to put in your gun for hunting - you need to evaluate what are the conditions you are hunting.
1) Are you hunting water or fields? Distance that you are shooting will have a big say into which choke and shell type you use. If shoot lond distances in the late season - a hunter may need a extra tight pattern choke. In certain cases a turkey choke may work really well because it holds such a tight patten.
2) Shoot your gun at various distances to see how tight your pattern is. How many times have you been hunting and have seen hunters shooting at birds way out of range. At very long distances that pattern on most guns is very disperse yielding a very slim chance of hitting a bird. So test your gun and see what distance is reasonalbe for you to be shooting.
This is all too often overlooked when it comes to hunting success. Make no doubt about it - learning how your gun shoots will help you become a better hunter.
Tags: goose hunting choke, shotgun choke patterns
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