10 Days until Early Goose.....

[line052]

Nuff said

[finsfurfeathers]

Damm need to get myself together. Still need to lock down a spot as with this heat haven't been motivated to check out the old haunts figure neither has the birds. Need to get the decoys out of storage, organized and onto the trailer. So much to do so little time.

[Mateo]

Oh man. This still seems like such a difficult hunt to approach and do. I hope I can find a mentor soon to be able to get going.

[bowj]

this year is going to be a slow one for me in the hunting department. my wife is due for a c section september 20, but showing signs of going early, plus we have a toddler running around. if she holds until than i may get an early season goose hunt on the thursday and/ or saturday, but if she goes now my early season is shot. was out yesterday doing some fishing and touching up a blind, in case we dont find any fields to hunt, but there was very little sign of geese in the area, but i saw the same last year and still killed a few from this blind early season.
late season i might get out a bit, plus have put in the December controlled hunt for the first time, since that will be a better time for me to get out!
my wife really wants the baby out now, but i need her to hold off so i can kill a few honkers.... to do my part for conservation!!

[bowj]

Oh man. This still seems like such a difficult hunt to approach and do. I hope I can find a mentor soon to be able to get going.

im sure youve been trying, but your cutting it a bit close to find a mentor at this time of year. as i mentioned above i will be mostly out of commission for the season.
my suggestions is to get out and knock on some doors now to lock down some productive land. it will possibly give you something to exchange for mentorship, and worse case if you have a few decoys (or not) and a gun, you might be able to kill a few on your own. you post up "can someone take me hunting" and you might not get much response, but you post "i have geese in a field, i need decoys and another gunner to show me the ropes" and i am sure you will get a way better response. some guys on here are hardened by internet meetings gone sour, or just don't have enough time to take someone under their wing. my first productive field goose hunt went down like this, on this very forum, and it was a great boost to my skills and confidence.

not sure your situation, but i was a rookie once not long ago and i started it all without a mentor. of course it would have been much easier, and better to have one, but it wasnt possible at the time, so slowly i learned the ropes on my own. i didnt kill any geese my first two seasons, but killed a few ducks and had a blast with my buddy also learning with me.

good luck and play safe!

[Mateo]

im sure youve been trying, but your cutting it a bit close to find a mentor at this time of year. as i mentioned above i will be mostly out of commission for the season.
my suggestions is to get out and knock on some doors now to lock down some productive land. it will possibly give you something to exchange for mentorship, and worse case if you have a few decoys (or not) and a gun, you might be able to kill a few on your own. you post up "can someone take me hunting" and you might not get much response, but you post "i have geese in a field, i need decoys and another gunner to show me the ropes" and i am sure you will get a way better response. some guys on here are hardened by internet meetings gone sour, or just don't have enough time to take someone under their wing. my first productive field goose hunt went down like this, on this very forum, and it was a great boost to my skills and confidence.

not sure your situation, but i was a rookie once not long ago and i started it all without a mentor. of course it would have been much easier, and better to have one, but it wasnt possible at the time, so slowly i learned the ropes on my own. i didnt kill any geese my first two seasons, but killed a few ducks and had a blast with my buddy also learning with me.

good luck and play safe!

Thank you for your recommendations Bowj. I really do apprecaite it. I agree that I'm cutting it way too close this time so I will try to learn what I can this year to hopefully have a full waterfowl season next year.

When you do get out there I hope you get a productive season. Congrats on the baby!!

Stay safe!

[finsfurfeathers]

Oh man. This still seems like such a difficult hunt to approach and do. I hope I can find a mentor soon to be able to get going.

No disrespect intended but you need to ask yourself do you want a mentor or a guide. Hardest part of field hunting waterfowl is locating birds and securing permission. Neither of which requires much skill or equipment. If your looking for a mentor than get out fill up the car with gas and start trolling the back roads. Look for cut wheat at this time of year and hopefully if this weather breaks (Friday morning looks good) birds should be flying out to those fields. Once you locate a field and better yet birds using that field get permission. Once you secured that a simple post will get you a mentor faster than you could type.
If you can't invest your sweat equity than a guide is your best option as you'll get ready made hunts that you can easily learn all you want.
My plan is Friday leaving home heading up to Essa, looping up towards Markdale, than down south west past Orangeville and than home to secure a couple of spots than sunday out again east side of Simcoe up to Orillia and than loop back by Lake Dalrymple and home to lock up a spot or two for a sunday hunt. So a lot of driving for little time shooting you can understand why unless your a blood relative mentorship is hard to come by.

[line052]

If you make your way back up here I will take you out. I was not at the last breakfast but will be at next one 17 Sept here in Ottawa.

Oh man. This still seems like such a difficult hunt to approach and do. I hope I can find a mentor soon to be able to get going.

[Mateo]

No disrespect intended but you need to ask yourself do you want a mentor or a guide. Hardest part of field hunting waterfowl is locating birds and securing permission. Neither of which requires much skill or equipment. If your looking for a mentor than get out fill up the car with gas and start trolling the back roads. Look for cut wheat at this time of year and hopefully if this weather breaks (Friday morning looks good) birds should be flying out to those fields. Once you locate a field and better yet birds using that field get permission. Once you secured that a simple post will get you a mentor faster than you could type.
If you can't invest your sweat equity than a guide is your best option as you'll get ready made hunts that you can easily learn all you want.
My plan is Friday leaving home heading up to Essa, looping up towards Markdale, than down south west past Orangeville and than home to secure a couple of spots than sunday out again east side of Simcoe up to Orillia and than loop back by Lake Dalrymple and home to lock up a spot or two for a sunday hunt. So a lot of driving for little time shooting you can understand why unless your a blood relative mentorship is hard to come by.

Absolutely good points. Thank you. I do agree that I should do more "home work" prior to everything else. Definitely need to put the feet to the ground and explore different places and get permissions. Thank you for the advise

[Mateo]

If you make your way back up here I will take you out. I was not at the last breakfast but will be at next one 17 Sept here in Ottawa.

Thank you very much for the offer Line052. I'll definitely try my best to make my way over there. I'll keep you posted. Hope to see you at that Breakfast or earlier