Conservation Snow Goose Season

Do any of y'all ever hunt during the conservation season? I never see very many posts about it.

I'm going to try my luck this weekend.

Man the birds aren't here like they use to be! I remember going on goose hunts growing up and a 20 bird goose hunt was an OK day, now days you shoot twenty snows that is an awesome day. A lot of people travel up north to hunt them just because we do not get the numbers down here any more this time of year they are already headed back up north

Loaded in Missouri and Nebraska now

I have never goose hunted in Texas but went to Arkansas last year during conservation season shot a bunch of birds and had a good time and its a lot cheaper up there than anything I could find it Texas

This^^^

We are headed to Arkansas the week of the 26th. This will be the first time I've ever gone on a conservation hunt. So, we will see how it goes.

I hunt SD every year and from 5 years ago to this year it gets nearly a week sooner each year. I am packed and ready to hit the road as soon as my buddy up there sees the first push of birds. I know that birds are now in south NE staging

I saw a field with a crap ton of snow geese out near Winnie and Anahuac on the way back from Crystal beach earlier this week. That's what has me itching...

^^^^^^ I saw that Drake Plantation had a good hunt this morning and last weekend and i know they are in that area!

They will after this cold snap up north.
Start driving monday

Well, I went and ended up getting skunked. Seems to be a theme for me this season.

There were about 3 other groups on the refuge. I know one guy got 2 geese. Don't know how the others did. I didn't even get any to fly over my field. Probably not a big enough spread or they just didn't want to be on that field. Either way, I saw birds and I now know a couple spots to try next year... I doubt I'll make it out anymore this season...

I was in Arkansas last weekend, man there are a lot of geese, 10,000's
We got about 60 geese (last year was about 200) but they are getting wise to decoys and calls. They would part the sky as they approached us or just turn away. It was tough shooting stragglers. Groups would come in, but seldom.

Where did you go in Arkansas? Was it guided or unguided?

Near Stuttgart, it was guided. It was great with them having decoys, electric calls, and scouted locations.
Putting out 2000 decoys sucks, even with half a dozen guys.

First push of birds hit SD today. As soon as the leading edge birds move by I'm headed up there, probably late next week. I completely understand your comment about setting decoys. We set 4200 with 7 rotaries and other fliers....takes us about 4-6 hours but we've done it for so long we kinda have it down. I can't wait to point the truck north!

While driving from Texas to Nebraska yesterday, we saw a ton of geese around Harlon County Lake (North of Hays, Kansas on the Kansas/Nebraska border. They were in Alma, NE up to I-80.

We hunted near Rockwall Wednesday, watched about 10-15k or so get off the roost and split up into the fields. Kinda hard to get a pattern on them though, theyre not hitting the same spot twice.

Went on a conservation hunt once years ago on the coast. No limit, mechanical calls, no plug in the gun, lead shot, all legal. Wore my shoulder out dropping birds and I'm a so so wing shot. It was almost work rather than hunting.

can you say goose burgers

If you shot 60 you beat the average day of spring snow goose hunting by double. Spring hunts are all about the migration. If you left a spread out for weeks at a time in Texas you'd be lucky to shoot 10

Pretty sure if you used lead you can take the word LEGAL to of the story

Yep. Lead and legal do not go hand in hand for snow geese...

He did say years ago......