SD Spring snow geese question

  • carnivore
    Dubuque, Iowa
    Posts: 434
    February 21, 2015 at 3:15 pm #1514634

    Is it possible to hunt snow geese in SD without decoys or a very small spread. If so how do you do it? I’d like to try it but only have a few duck and Canadian decoys. We do have an electronic call.

    Ben Brettingen
    Moderator
    Mississippi
    Posts: 605
    February 21, 2015 at 5:45 pm #1514671

    Decoying without a spread would be nearly impossible. Your best bet would be jump shooting small sloughs and small feeds.

    JD Winston
    Inactive
    Chanhassen, MN
    Posts: 899
    February 21, 2015 at 9:17 pm #1514715

    Impossible! You could use a bunch of sticks and white bags/rag BUT those dang buggers have been shoat at quite a bit on the way up and are pretty dang smart by the time they reach SD.

    Ben is right on it, jump shoot off the road with some stalking or intercept as they come off the water. Good luck! The sheer number of birds you can see is mind boggling.

    Jake
    Muddy Corn Field
    Posts: 2493
    February 22, 2015 at 7:41 pm #1515059
    Ben Brettingen wrote:

    Decoying without a spread with be nearly impossible. Your best bet would be jump shooting small sloughs and small feeds.

    It’s worth the trip just to see “it”….the spring migration. Jump shoot, pass shoot and just take it all in…it’ll give you the drive to buy the decoys and do it full bore in the coming years. Snow goose hunting is unlike anything else….some love it and some will never do it again.

    cougareye
    Hudson, WI
    Posts: 4145
    February 24, 2015 at 2:06 pm #1515812

    SD might be tough but ND would be easier without decoys. ND has a rule allowing land access if not posted. That way, you can chase large flocks around and pull sneaks and jump shoot. In the fall, we do better sneaking and jump shooting than we do with decoys, especially without an ecaller.

    SD you’d have to have permission ahead of time and hope the birds use the land or obtain permission once the birds sit down. Usually not enough time to do so.

    youngfry
    Northeast Iowa
    Posts: 629
    February 24, 2015 at 2:17 pm #1515820

    For the spring season I would recommend pass shooting. Jump shooting is the other method but its a quick bang bang and then you’re done. Pass shooting can be awesome and all day if you find the right spot. Plus you can pick out nice mature birds… especially the eagle heads. Swatting into a big bunch is a good way to shoot some non-target species like specks or cacklers.

    river rat randy
    Hager City WI
    Posts: 1736
    February 24, 2015 at 9:40 pm #1515943

    ..From the looks of that snow goose video, that is here on IDO. All you need is the right Redneck Rig, you can leave your guns at home. Oh ya I think you better have a Big Pair.! …rrr

    kooty
    Keymaster
    1 hour 15 mins to the Pond
    Posts: 18101
    February 25, 2015 at 11:55 am #1516181

    I would also recommend going just to see the pure volume of birds. If you can catch a windy day or two, which isn’t that hard in SD. You can sit down wind of fields and pass shoot. I never had problem getting permission to hunt the NE part of the state as long as I didn’t try to drive in places I shouldn’t be. Those farmers tend to hate ruts come planting and harvest time.

    Quintin Biermann
    Posts: 170
    February 25, 2015 at 12:01 pm #1516184

    Actually on the right day you can kill juvies with non target decoys and a caller as long as you are in the right location or on the X.I highly discourage jump shooting, heard way to many stories about cacklers , ducks, and big honkers being killed with this method. – QB

    stuwest
    Elmwood, WI
    Posts: 2254
    February 25, 2015 at 12:07 pm #1516186

    One of the things i’ve done to supplement a set in a pinch is to buy a couple hundred plastic bags from fleet farm and tie them to paint paddles work fine and have lots of motion.

    Doug Wood
    Posts: 13
    February 26, 2015 at 10:01 am #1516632

    So, let me get this straight… You can kill decoying snow geese without snow goose decoys?

    fishthumper
    Sartell, MN.
    Posts: 11917
    February 26, 2015 at 10:29 am #1516653

    The Texas Rag ( White bag on a stick ) have taken many Snow Geese over the years. Todays birds are getting much smarter and May not be fooled by them as well these days. I’m sure they are better than nothing and rather cheap.

    Jim Adams
    Colorado/Montana/South Dakota
    Posts: 4
    March 5, 2015 at 2:05 pm #1520168

    I have killed snows with less than a 100 decoys in the spring in SD.

    LARS
    Posts: 3
    March 24, 2015 at 9:30 am #1526578

    Without any decoys, an e-caller in a blinding blizzard works wonders on snows, we’ve done it a few times. Find a good feed or a loafing pond and if the conditions are right, its no problem putting snows on the ground if you can handle the conditions. Last year in SD we had the perfect opportunity, one guy stayed in the truck and 2 of us went out and shot 29 in 40 min before our guns froze and wouldn’t cycle anymore. The conditions have to be dang near spot-on, but its a blast.

    tegg
    Hudson, Wi/Aitkin Co
    Posts: 1450
    March 25, 2015 at 8:01 am #1526915

    I dont have any advice but a lot of snows to get one in the mood (courtesy of Bosque Del Apache NWR, New Mexico).

    Attachments:

    1. Landing-Snows-Bosque.jpg

    2. Snow-in-Flight-Bosque.jpg

    3. Feeding-Field-Snows-Bosque.jpg

    4. Big-Lift-Off-Bosque-Snows.jpg

    5. Bosque-Sunrise-Snows.jpg

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