Gun: Merkel 50(E) 12 bore, 3 inch, choked Modified and Full
Cartridges: BOSS 3 inch, No. 3, 1 1/2 Ounces
Location: First Hunt Eastern Kentucky and Second Hunt a little further West in Eastern Kentucky
Game: Canada Geese.
Weather: 75 Degrees with High Humidity and Overcast.

The All Mighty’s Frying Pan!

I was hunting by myself on day one. I was hunting on a decent sized farm pond. Below the rise of the pond was a cut corn field. I got in some tall Johnson’s Grass in a borrowed ground blind. I cut a bunch of Johnson’s grass to brush in the blind. I also bought at least fourth hand some very rough Canada Goose full body decoys. I have no idea what they are called. They have big plastic feet that rock into the body like AK magazines rock into the magazine well.

I placed four decoys to my right and three to my left about 21 yards out in kind of a U. There was a lot of sign, well not a lot, but a concentration of sign in the U.

At 7:45 I heard them honking. A group of about 15 just outside the fog flew across my right to my left 60ish yards out and 60 yards up. They flew all the way down the end of the pond. I could not see the end for the fog. I heard them turn left. However, they turned back right and flew in the exact opposite left to right than as they came. The geese when they got back to my end turned tight right and flew right over me. At this point, they were only 10 yards above me. I held tight. One half turn later they landed right in front of me about 20 yards. I got up. Before I got up and the door open, they started to take off more or less straight up.

I caught movement out of the corner of my left eye. I do not know why, but I went to that bird swinging right to left. The bird got about four feet of the ground when I crushed his head with the Modified Barrel. Somehow, the onside wing got blew off as well. The viewer can see in the pictures I crushed his head.

I have heard of folks say, “We made them do backflips!” Well, this goose did not do back flips. When he took the shot, he looked like The All Mighty just smashed him to the ground with fraying pan!

This was not a big bird. The whole group was first of they year.

STANDING KNOCK OUT!

The next morning I met two buddies. Buddy 1 and Buddy 2 at six am. We drove about 30 minutes West to the next county. A client of mine owns the fields we were hunting that day. The weather is the same except not as overcast and the fog burned off quick.

We got to the field which is one of three. The fields are just green pastures with cattle in them and picked down by the cattle. The field we set up in had a small pond and four heifers in it.

Similar senecio, we brushed in three ground blinds with green reeds growing up from the pond. Right at 7:15 a mallard drake and mallard hen flew in right in front of of us in the closets corner of the pond. The only legal ducks are Wood Ducks and Teal. We would not see any legal ducks.

About 9:00 a.m. things start to get interesting. The heifers had come down to the pond and this chased off the ducks. Well, the Geese started to arrive about 9:00 a.m. they arrived in four groups and totaled over 150 geese. I know no one is going to believe that being Eastern Kentucky. However, the statement is true any how. THe first two groups arrived at the same time. They came right to the little pond. The little pond would not have held them all. The problem was the heifers made a little stampede out of the pond. The geese turned right and shot up and went to a field three fields away which was over 500 yards directly across. We had a good pass shot here, but Buddy 1 was leading this hunt, and the call was his to make. He let them go hoping others would hit the pond.

Well, for about 30 minutes groups of Geese honking and flying could be seen over the red horizon. These groups would circle to the third field.

The red dawn faded into a morning that had one half of the ski blue and clear. The other half of the ski had dark heavy clouds.

We sat, we talked, we napped until about 11:00 a.m.

Buddy 1 said, “It is too much walking for me, but if you guys want to go left, get behind them using those stacked up hay bales, you might get to jump shoot them.”

Buddy 2, “We are not hunting tomorrow.”

Buddy 1, “I know they will get up and come over here eventually, or they should?”

There were two knolls between us and the field the geese landed in. Right behind them we could see the top row of covered hay setting on top of another row. The geese were right in front of those hay bales spread all over the field.

I got access to this area, but was the greenhorn. I gave no comment on what we should do.

Buddy 1, “You guys go over there and jump shoot them. I will stay here and shoot anything that comes over.”

So, we did. We worked below and parallel to the geese for the longest. Finally, the knolls that gave us covert rose and flattened out. I could see geese ahead and to my left. I stopped us because there was a big goose right in front of me facing me.

“I do not think we can get to those hay bales. There is one right in front of me looking this way. Can we step up here, pointing with my right ear and shoot them.”

Buddy 2, “There is a house right behind those hey bales we would be shooting into.”

We stood there as I studied the situation. A county road was to our left. A yellow mustang drove right past us. More importantly, the yellow mustang drove right past the goose I was staring at. The goose did not fly, but walked off to the right out of my immediate sight. We could hear a bunch of honking, but no wings.

Buddy 2, “That mustang got past them, and these birds have not been shot at; your call?”

“Okay, swing to the left to the road, and let us get to behind those bales.” Somehow that worked. We were now behind over 150 geese. I came around the corner on the left, inside, of the hale bales, Buddy 2 came around to the right, outside, of the hay bales. I killed the goose that had, had us pinned down with the Modified barrel to the head. I killed one to his left with the Full barrel.

I heard Buddy 2”s Winchester X3 go off. We pushed forward. Some birds to the right got up flying straight away. Some birds stood there and some pushed down the slope of a little hill. I killed one to the right. Buddy 2 fired again.

I saw geese come out on the other side of the knoll. I went a little lower. Buddy 2 moved took my former spot. We got low and dropped into the little slope. A few yards, I could see Geese heads. “Slow down. They are right in front of you.” He could not see them where they were. I raised Bismarck. “I am going to kill one okay?”

Buddy 2 replied, “Go ahead.”

I crushed another one in the neck. One ran to the right. My Buddy shot at it. He got no response. I shot another going away running. The Full Choke set him down. Buddy No. 2’s goose got up and started running.

Buddy No. 2 yelled at me, “Kill him. I can’t reach him with mine.’ I ended it with the Full Choke Barrel.

I thought too myslef, “This is just like culling elephants that cannot run you over.” Needless to say, I shot the barrels hot.

“Dude! The chokes on that gun are awesome! I was not doing anything to them, and you were flattening them!”

“Well, shooting them on the ground is different than shooting them in the air. You can center the entire pattern on them.”

Buddy 1 did not get any shots. The geese had flew straight only to turn one hundred yards out.

Buddy 2 recounted how my double flattened birds. These are not winter fat, but full grown geese.

I restated being on the ground makes flattening them easier.

Buddy 1, “I could tell when your double was going off.”

I smiled and felt like Nash Buckingham.

I gave one away to Buddy 1 and two away to Buddy 2 for going with me.

Geese are great eating.

If someone will, please pm me. I will send you pictures to post.

Congrats, you’re bitten by the bug!

I think that the bigger difference would be you were using bismuth shot and he wasn’t.

Steel 2’s just don’t work well on big geese unless you can head shoot them- and steel doesn’t handle choke too well.

If you are blowing holes in them, you are close!

Sounds like a good time was had by all!

Congrats.