I have been wanting to hunt almost 'anything' for quite a while, being 31 I feel a little late to the game compared to many many others. Since I am new, I felt like hog or deer was too big to start with, and I felt like starting with some birds. I was able to head out with Coastal Prairie Outdoors LLC last weekend for a guided goose hunt. And after it is all said and done, the only words I can really come up with for the experience is 'holy' and sh!t'.


(I'm the a$$hole all the way to the left)

I was a bit rusty, not having shot a shotgun in quite a while and not having practiced prior(stupid on my part.) But I was able to hit three-four (I know...terrible) out of the 41 that the group took home. It was mostly day hunters (including me) and three lease hunters.

I do have to say, the entire experience of it all was truly amazing. When we got to the location, probably around 620 or so, someone in a car seemed to have spooked one of the biggest flocks of geese I have ever seen. It was about a minute or so, of what had to be a 200+ yard wide flock passing over. Thousands and thousands. Even with that big morning spook, the guides were calling them in, even close enough for a rusty shooter like me to hit a few.

I didn't take my phone out until about 1030 or later out of fear of making too many movements and spooking anything up-coming. Only took it out when birds were clearly too high for us. But you can still assume the numbers that were coming in on our group.


My whole goal with hunting has been to fill up the deep freezer, and keep it full with various kinds of meat. Even though I was only able to hit 3-4 myself, some in the group did not want to take home their share, and I was able to head home with 8.


All-in-all, I had so much fun that I'm going Sandhill Crane hunting with the same guides in Dec. Of course, I'm going to practice more than I did the first time!

Congrats on a good hunt. Geese can be addicting / infuriating.

That was so generous of one of the guys to let the new guy take his geese

Thanks for the post. Scott and his guys are good folks. Let us know how them snow geese taste!

Wow that sounds like you had a blast! Some good tasting meat right there!

Sandhill hunting is an awesome experience. Its like a modern day pterodactyl hunt.

Welcome

Good start buddy. Keep it up.

Where was your hunt?

Thanks everyone! Haha, yeah I definitely got lucky being gifted the extra geese. We hunted in Eagle Lake, and there had to be 3-5 other hunting groups meeting up where we were. Its apparently a popular place for geese!

Yes, now comes the fun part of cooking! This weekend I'm going fishing, hopefully with come back with crab (got a trap) and going to try to make a 'goose and crab' gumbo. No idea if it'll work...but I think it should. Found a goose recipe here https://www.cajuncookingrecipes.com/cookingrecipes/2005/03/cajun-goose-gumbo-recipe.html will probably have to tweak it a bit.

And of course, who can forget the Christmas Goose! Found this recipe for that
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2428/gordons-christmas-roast-goose-

And this recipe just looks good...
foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-goose-with-crispy-skin


Can't wait till dec 16th, hopefully I will come home with my limit of crane. Have been hearing that it's 'ribeye of the sky'

Chicken fry the crane and make gravy.

Or season like a steak and grill nothing past medium rare. If you overcook it, just trash it or feed it to your dog.

Goose, crab, and sausage gumbo is complete! It was basically perfect, one of the best tasting gumbo the wife and I have ever made.






And of course the end result

Next time you make it, let the gumbo cool down in your pot and most of the oil/grease will rise to the top and you can then skim it off.

That is good to know! We will definitely have to try that next time

There is nothing better than being set up in a field the geese really want to be in......come in low, bust them....they circle around and come in low, bust them.....they circle around and come in low, bust them....all morning long!

Was only able to do it once.....it was awesome!

Welcome! I bet that was some good tasting gumbo. Another Idea. I was in N.O. visiting my son two Christmases ago. We were looking for a place to eat Mexican food and his usual haunt was closed. We ended up at El Gato Negro down at the end of Decatur street in the quarter (in the market). I had duck burritos which were the best burritos I've ever tasted. I bet goose would be good as well if you tweek the spices. Unfortunately, they don't have duck on the menu anymore...but I do. Glad you had a good hunt.

Thats a damn good idea! I will have to try that with one of the geese.