Do you ever wonder why the old timers seem to constantly kill birds with their resonant cavity goose calls and their calling vocabulary of a single honk? It is because they can read the birds and react with the specific call the geese want to hear. Knowing how to read the birds is an essential part of any goose hunters bag of tricks. There is no teacher than experience in the field, but hopefully I can speed up your learning curve on the subject of reading geese. 

Reading Geese - When I am goose hunting and first see a flock of geese I try to determine if they are callable or not. If the geese are flying low, breaking up in formation, gaining and then quickly losing altitude, flying one direction and then changing direction, flying with a slow wing beet, or simply toward my location, I consider them callable and start trying to decoy them in. If the geese are coming at you it's my opinion to simply give them a cluck or two to get their attention and let the decoys do the work. 

Getting their attention -  If the geese are callable but not coming towards your decoys it is time to start getting their attention by doing loud rapid power clucks and hail calls. At this moment your are looking for any sign from a goose that it is interested. The instant you see a goose respond to you by turning towards your location, breaking away from the flock, or settings its wings you need to keep that birds attention. Most of the time it will be a younger bird within the flock. Hammer away at this bird to keep it's attention because more often than not he will lead his fellow flock mates right into your trap.

Keeping the attention of geese - As the geese approach keep hitting the goose you are calling at with the note he has been responding to until you shoot them or he starts to slide off. When he starts to slide off pick up the tempo of your calling and pick up the volume. If that does not work try something else. Call more aggressive or less aggressive but realize that the bird you were calling at is no longer responding and you need to try something new to get them back. Same old same old will result in pictures of your hunting party with no geese in them. If you try something new and any bird responds, that now becomes your target bird and the one you are calling at. 

Reading geese and calling to individual birds instead of the whole flock will make your goose calling success skyrocket. Combine this knowledge with decoy placement, a large goose calling vocabulary, and a good location and success will soon follow. For more goose and duck hunting tips please read other articles located at duck and goose hunting tips. 

Making you a better caller! 
Chris Holste
Performance Calls

Copyright (c) 2004 Chris Holste

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