Duck, Geese, sand hill cranes.

Hey yall quick question ive hunted ducks, but never geese or crane, on a recent hunt i saw a bunch of snow geese and Canadian geese, but i didn't shoot.
my question is can i hunt for ducks and geese at the same time? like could i shoot 6 ducks and 5 geese in one hunt or you cant mix bags like that?

Also i like my 3 inch 3 shot, but is that enough for geese to, or do i need larger shot?

I appreciate the help, also im still learning geese identification, is there anything to look out for or if yall have tips its much appreciated!

Yes you can hunt them all at the same time, bag limits are independent. I have dropped Canadas dead as a door nail with standard 3 inch #4 shot. Watched my friend shoot a Canada once and it would not die, he had to pull out his knife and cut it’s throat to finally kill it, blood squirting everywhere..

Sandhill you can also use lead, and you need a permit.

You can shoot ducks and geese together. They have their own bag limits. You cannot shoot Cranes and Waterfowl if you are using lead shot. You can use lead shot for cranes only. You have to purchase a sandhill crane permit for crane hunting in Texas.

I think 3 inch 3s are fine for geese. I'm sure others will chip in with their opinions.

As far as id, just watch out for whooping cranes and white pelicans. They can look sort of similar to snow geese (see id on TPWD website). Different gees have different bag limits (or sub limits). They are separated into dark geese and light geese and dark geese are separated into another category of white fronted geese. In general, light geese have white heads. Dark geese are everything that isn't a light goose. Some light geese have dark bodies but white heads. They're are several websites that differentiate.

Blue geese are snow geese so they identify as ight geese(I'm pretty sure, although I've never really asked one) except they're blue...sort of.

Guy beat me to it. Another side effect of being long winded...

no purchase on the sandhill crane permit, it's free from the feds...but you get it from the TPW...if that makes any sense...and about a quarter of permitees get to participate in bag/hunting surveys

I have the permit for sand hill, thank you for confirming my shot size should be good, ill prolly grab a box of 2 shot just to have in a pinch. I appreciate all the help.

3/5 Boss and 6s heavy shot 1.25 OZ 20gauge all day long!!

The BOSS 3/5 blend in 20g. is the deal. That's all we shoot now.

If it is during a time when the seasons overlap, you can hunt them all simultaneously with nontoxic shot. Ducks, light geese, dark geese, and sandhills all have their own seasons. Read the published regulations and learn to identity them to avoid expensive mistakes. Steel #3’s will work for all you mentioned if you are shooting decoying birds. 2’s are better for the bigger stuff. The premium shot (bismuth, hevi, tungsten) will definitely extend your effective range. I don’t shoot it much because of the darn price and don’t have problems with crippling.