Duck, Duck, Goose! Saskatchewan, Canada

Morning Flock

Until three years ago, I would go bird hunting once a year or so and usually to a game farm where you pay them to “plant” the birds in the field and you go after them. I also thought it wasn’t much of sport, but since my options were limited and it gave me a chance to shoot my shotgun, a gun I very seldom got to shoot, I took it.

I have been a hunter and have enjoyed the outdoors since I was 12 years old. Most of experience has been deer hunting in WI and MN. This past year, I had the opportunity to join some friends on a waterfowl hunting trip to Saskatchewan, Canada. I jumped at the chance, since I had heard their stories over the last couple of years. My experience with any type of hunting has always been that most hunters are like little families. They are not very willing to let new people into the group, but it you are asked to join – take it and do your part to contribute and carry your weight. I am also the type of hunter that eats what he shoots – if your going to take something from Mother Nature, you better make the most of it.

Now I have nothing against hunting ducks and geese in MN, but with the limit you can shoot being so small, it doesn’t seem worth it to me for all the work that goes into it. When you get to go to Canada – your daily limits and possession of birds are MUCH higher.

If you are new or relatively new to waterfowl hunting as I was, there is some gear that is absolutely essential.

Firearm

First thing is a good shotgun.  Everyone has their own personal choice and bias with shotguns, whether it was what your dad used or what you like – there are a lot of good shotguns out there. I have a Benelli Super Black Eagle II with composite and comfort stock and I LOVE this gun. I have been using this gun for 5 years putting hundreds of rounds a year through it and never have been disappointed. Whatever shotgun you bring, make sure that you aren’t going to be afraid to get dirty or banged up. I was hunting in fields with all sorts of different weather – rain, snow, etc. I would also recommend bring a couple of spare parts for your shotgun (firing pin and or spring) or an extra shotgun. You don’t want to get all the way up there and have a gun mishap!

Ammunition

After 1 hour of shooting

The next most important item is shotgun shells. When hunting geese, in my opinion, you need to have 3 ½ inch shells and at least BB. Last year I used a mix of BBB and BB. The BBB where Winchester Supreme’s,which really would reach out and kill geese that were at the max shooting distance. Since I was having such a great time last year, I shot all my Winchester Supreme’s and ended up buying some Kent 3 ½ BB in Canada. I can tell you I was impressed with their ability to kill geese and would definitely buy again. When hunting for ducks (which sometimes happens while hunting geese, so you cant be too selective with shells) I used Winchester Supreme 2-Shot. You are allowed to bring 200 rounds (8 boxes) of ammo to Saskatchewan without paying a Duty. Consider buying more shells in Canada if you need them, they weren’t that much more that the US.

Blinds

We mostly use lay down or coffin blinds when hunting waterfowl. I have a Final Approach blind which I really like – easy to break down and move around. The only drawback is mine doesn’t fold in half like some others. My advice would be to go to your local sporting good store (I am partial to Cabela’s) and try them out. You can lie in them and see how it works for you. Remember to get yourself an extra butt pad – you will be in this blind for hours and you want to be comfortable. I would also recommend doing sit-ups before going – you will be doing that all day long!

Final Approach Blind, Benelli and Sillosocks

Decoys

Now – how do you get the geese and ducks to decoy so you get some shooting in? There are tons of different decoys out there and like shotguns, everyone has their personal choice. After trying several different decoys for snow geese, I think the silosocks are the best choice. They are easy to set up and pick up each day, provide good movement and don’t take up a lot of storage space. We put out about 400-500 decoys EACH day, so you want something that is easy to manage. When hunting for dark geese (Canadian Geese) we use full body decoys and shells – they are great decoys but take up a lot of space. When setting up for ducks, we use full body decoys and spinners. Spinners where bringing in the ducks like crazy – I almost had one land in my blind!

There are lot of other items needed, which can vary depending on the type of hunting (over water or land) that you will need. Since we leave the hotel early in the morning, eat lunch in the field, and don’t come back to the hotel until late in the evening – Here are some little items that made a big difference:
• Camo field bag for blind (to hold lunch, coffee, etc)
• Tupperwear sandwich box (your sandwich doesn’t get crushed in bag)
• Headlamp flashlight
• Camp chair
• Thermos for hot beverages in the field
• Extra pair of boots (Gore-Tex)
• Camera
• Heavy or lighter clothes depending on the weather forecast
• Portable propane grill
• Snack food

By all means have a great time, take lots of pictures, respect the farmer’s fields and TAKE ‘EM!

Morning Shoot

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Tags: Canada, Goose Hunting, Hunting, Saskatchewan

This entry was posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 4:07 AM and is filed under Canada, Hunting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.