I've never been a wingshooting enthusiast but after a recent hunt where we had flocks of ducks and some geese come in I have decided to go all out on a Canada goose hunt. I've seen videos on YouTube of huge numbers of geese coming down onto decoys, which looked like what I'm after.
Can anyone suggest destinations and outfitters, and does anyone have experience hunting geese in Europe?
Thanks in advance.

Hi Experess,

We organise some goose shooting on one of the Scottish Islands. There is a huge number of birds, (greylag and pinkfeet), but I would doubt if you were to shoot more than half a dozen per flight as big bags are generally frowned upon for geese in the UK. It is an amazing experiemnce tat can be tied in with some woodcock shooting of the finest order.

Forn real high volume geese and waterfowl in general we have some packages to RSA in August which are a lot of fun.

It all depends on your definition of high volume...

Rgds,
Kiri

Please explain to me what HIGH VOLUME is. Don't be shy. Give me numbers. Is reaching the Bag limit HIGH VOLUME? Or Shooting 10 times your bag limit? I often wonder.

Good point, my definition of high volume would have to be;

"Having the opportunity to shoot birds for the entire duration of the hunt at regular intervals without encountering bag limits."

In numbers, I would have to put it at 10 flights of multiple birds per hour, and upwards, from which you may shoot one, two or three birds, depending on how good you are. ;-)

I have looked at Sclotland, but their season closes next week, so that is out of the equation for this year, Romania is open for another month and also seems to have good shooting, but I can't get any feedback on it.

If I have to wait until next year I would prefer to travel to the US or Canada where they have the greater Canada geese which in my limited understanding are the biggest of the geese and appeal to me most.

Thanks for the heads up FB, I might be in touch.

Is there anywhere you can shoot Canada geese with a bag limit of more than 8 or ten birds?

@Express

You are not going to get high volume Geese in North America. Canada has strict limits, USA has even stricter limits, Mexico has limits as well and most good outfitters will make you stop shooting once you have got your limits.

So the only TRUE high volume shooting you can possibly get done is for Snow Geese only during the Spring Migration. You can hunt geese in hundreds but the location is always a moving target. In other words you cannot plan for certain specific dates and say I am going to hunt Snow Geese in a certain American state. It is a great opportunity for local hunters, would not ask you (a European) to plan a hunting trip based around that. There is no other TRUE high volume Goose option available in North America.

Low volume goose hunts are plenty and you have these species to pick from:

- Brant Goose
- Canada Goose
- Cackling Goose
- Greater White-fronted Goose
- Ross's Goose
- Snow Goose

Goose hunting usually requires large decoy spreads and most outfitters/guides are looking for atleast 4 guns to make it feasible from a cost perspective.

So say you are a single hunter, wanting to hunt High Volume Geese in North America....probably not the right place you are looking at

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ARGENTINA

Used to be an excellent destination for Goose hunting. Outfitters would book a single hunter. You would hunt geese by the pickup load. So literally one pickup load per hunter. Say 50 to 100 geese per gun. Goose hunting is currently closed in most of the high volume provinces in Argentina. Not because of low goose numbers, no, there is some politics involved and I hope they can solve their internal issues so the goose hunting will once again open up.

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SOUTH AFRICA

Not a High Volume destination by any means. They have the Egyptian Geese in good numbers and Spur-winged Geese in lesser numbers. But don't even come close to TRUE high volume goose hunting. If you want to go to an exotic destination, hunt some animals, shoot say 12 geese per gun per day, then it is probably ok. But that in my opinion is not a high volume goose destination.

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RUSSIA
Now we are talking numbers.....unlimited, unplugged, shoot until your shoulder can't take it any more. Best time depends upon if you want to go during the fall migration or the spring migration. You will not be able to bring the birds back (atleast into USA from Russia) because of the Birdflu issues.

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ICELAND

Nirvana....heaven....Goose Hunting still done by the truck load. You will primarily hunt Greylag Geese, and occasionally Pink-footed Geese, and very occasionally Barnacle Geese. Best time to go is during the Fall migration. Feel free to email me info@elitehuntingusa.com and I will give you an estimate on cost. Iceland is one of the most friendliest countries in the world, most everyone speaks English and it is a short flight both from USA as well as from mainland Europe. The scenery is breathtaking and Goose hunting is just phenomenal. Also, you can take your spouse with you on this trip, she can stay in Reykjavik and enjoy the thermal spas during the day while you hunt. Iceland is just a great great destination for high volume goose hunting.

Here is a Greylag Goose


A beautiful Pink-footed Goose (they are a bit smaller)


This was only half a morning's hunt




Argentina still is by far the best option, TRUE high volume wing shooting for Geese. I hope the Goose Outfitters can iron out their political issues. Duck hunting is still very good in Argentina but they have started to enforce limits there now as well.

Express,
Romania it is a very good destinations for high volume geese hunt but now is the end of the season, not a good period for geese hunt in Romania. The best time is mid-November. This year I can not help you because I left my former company and started my own company and I am very busy but I can help with advice about the best places to hunt geese in Romania.

Collector I've been wanting to visit Iceland for years now. This just might be the way.
I've love to hunt arctic fox and caribou there too. Any chance the seasons match up for that?

Cheers, I'll be in touch.

What about the Febuary Unplugged and no Limit season for snow Geese in Maryland and Delaware.

@EXPRESS
OK sounds good. Caribou should be ok in September but paperwork needs to be started way ahead of time to apply for the hunting permit. Greenland is also an option if for some reason Iceland for Caribou does not pan out, it is a short flight from Iceland. You can do both of them on the same trip.

If you are looking for a pure white fox then maybe later in the season would be better. Here is a pure white holding a Ptarmigan.




@blaser93
Any of the spring no limit snow goose hunts in the States will match the volume EXPRESS is looking for. Problem is that if the birds are not in the area where you booked the outfitter then you are out of luck. He is coming over from Europe so definitely no one can guarantee that for the week he is going to be in DE or MD that birds will be there. Same issue in Dakotas during Spring...they pile them up sky high but the timing is extremely iffy. If you get lucky, then you will have a good shoot, if not then all you are going to look at is empty sky. On top of that GOD FORBID you end up shooting a non-white Goose (Canada Goose or Specklebelly) by mistake during the Conservation Snow Goose hunt then all hell break loose with the Game Department...fines up to the wazoo. EXPRESS definitely does not need to experience that. Also, guides want a minimum of 4 guns in some and 8 guns in other cases.

In Texas you are expected to put out 2,000 to 3,000 rags and decoys out. In MD/DE they put 500 to 1,000 full body shells out. That is a lot of work, usually you need a big trailer to haul the decoys out. Birds are smart and only give you a few chances before they start avoiding the field. So in that case more guns are actually better than say one or two guns (assuming the client has bought the minimum i.e. paid for 4 guns).

Some pics from Eastern Shore area so guys know what blaser93 and I are talking about.



Juvenile birds coming in to land first. Mature birds stay high up to see what happens next before committing to come down. You can see couple of hundred full body shells....that is a lot of work, putting them down and then picking them up after the hunt.









Argentina and Iceland are very different. Cheap manpower allows them to book single hunters. Barely use any decoys (few decoys). Flock after flock of non-stop Geese so the hunt is quite different....hence the large bags per person in those countries.

The only other option would be mexico in january february, however i would not recomend anyone go to the northern mexican states right now or in the forseable future...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by collector:
@Express

Had a look at your website. Nice. When does a bird hunt become a Trophy Bird Hunt?

@Greywing

Thank you, glad you enjoyed the website. That is a great question you asked....

Trophy Bird Collection in its purest forum is similar to trophy animal hunting but with trophy birds. You basically go after a single species of bird which is very hard to get. Many of our Bird Collecting clients have taken the Big-5 in Africa in the past and now they are avid Bird Collectors.

In addition to the planning phase of the hunt, hunt execution thereafter...and in the end you end up with a trophy that one could be proud of.

Last but not least, Big game trophy rooms can be accentuated with birds...birds that are a challenge to hunt.

Here are some what I consider Trophy Birds.

Ocellated Turkey from the Jungles of Yucatan. I can send you on one of the most exciting jungle hunts of your life.



King Eider...the Marco Polo Sheep of the waterfowl world. One of the hardest hunts near the Arctic Circle. Not cheap (about the same as an african planisgame safari) but you will join the very very exclusive King Eider club.

bird collecting is likey ones of those dangerous things to go near. With so much more variety than mammals, you are never likely to finish.

@EXPRESS

Please check you email. Package is on its way to you.

A couple of years ago I read that on the island of Tasmania off of the Australian coast they were having a big problem with Giant Canada geese and were trying to reduce or eliminate the introduced population. Don't know if those hunts are still available.

465H&H