Status of Mid-Continent White-fronted Geese

White-fronted Geese (aka Speckled bellies, bar bellies, or specks) are some of the most fun species of waterfowl to hunt in the United States. Being highly responsive to hand calls, these birds often provide quite the decoying show. Unlike snow geese which tend to winter in large groups exclusively, white-fronted geese tend to prefer to remain in smaller family groups as the season progresses. Because of this, they are extremely hard to count during the winter survey. Biologist instead focus on fall surveys in Alberta and Saskatchewan to perform counts before the birds break up and head south.

Below is a chart outlining the results of this survey. Regulatory agencies in the U.S. us the three year running average to determine bag limits on white-fronted geese. If the 3 year average is 800,000 or more birds, a liberal bag is available for that year.

TSS Pellet Count Per Ounce

This table compares the pellet counts per ounce of 11g/cc Lead, 12g/cc Hevishot, 15g/cc Heavyweight, and 18g/cc Tungsten Supershot (TSS).

Steel, Lead, Hevishot - Shotshell Pellet Count Table

These charts show the comparison of pellet counts between lead, steel and Rem HD (aka hevishot). Shotshells, pellet count. Hevishot, Steel, Lead.

For more ballistic info, check out this page.

2016 USFWS Waterfowl Population Status Report Released

The 2016 USFWS Waterfowl Population Status Report was released this year on August 10th. This is around 3 weeks later than it has been released in previous years. The full report can be found here: Link to Report

A brief summary of the findings includes 48.4 million breeding pairs of ducks, down from 49.5 million estimated last year. Pond estimated were 5 million which is 21% below last years estimate of 6.3 million. Conditions in most areas were poorer than last year, but still should provide a good flight south this winter.

Status of Light Geese
The 2016 snow goose hatch was estimated to be average for the Mid Continental Populations with colonies on SouthHampton Island doing particularly well. The total midwinter index last year was reported to be 3.4 million snow geese. This is a 5% increase over 2015. Ross Geese in the Queen Maud Gulf Region nested 3 days earlier than normal and it's expected the fall flight will be average to above average.

Mid-Continent White-fronted Geese
977,000 White-fronted geese were counted last year during the fall staging survey. Conditions were average to above average for nesting white-fronted geese and with the staging count over 800,000 average should allow for liberal bag limits to continue.

2016 Texas Midwinter Index - Annual Waterfowl Survey - Texas Goose Counts

Texas is no longer the snow goose capital of the world. It has been this way for at least the last decade. It remains a shadow of it’s former self due to a host of reasons including loss of habitat, decline in rice production, water shortages, hunting pressure, and warmer winters. Snow geese have shifted their main migration to places like Arkansas and Missouri which now winter millions of snow geese each year.

Coastal Mid-Winter Index

The Mid-winter index is an aerial survey conducted around December 13^th or 14^th in Texas every year in order to count waterfowl species and observe population trends over time.  Pilots and trained observers have been flying the same predetermined transects in key wintering areas of the Texas Coast since at least the early 1980’s. Details of the 2016 survey and past surveys can be found on the TPWD website or by following this link:  http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/game_management/waterfowl/

The survey consists of the following 4 zones in SE Texas.

Zone 1 is the upper coast southeast of Houston

Zone 2 is the mid-coast north of 59

Zone 3 is the mid-coast south of 59

Zone 4 is the lower coast south of Guadalupe River.

The Numbers (1982-2016) - Light Geese

 

Light Geese

Year	MWI Count
1982	807,000
1983	821,000
1984	921,000
1985	672,000
1986	795,000
1987	621,000
1988	548,000
1989	602,000
1990	674,000
1991	831,000
1992	693,000
1993	903,000
1994	986,000
1995	721,000
1996	1,093,000
1997	826,000
1998	1,010,000
1999	NR
2000	964,000
2001	652,000
2002	535,000
2003	363,000
2004	469,000
2005	404,000
2006	399,000
2007	558,000
2008	299,000
2009	362,000
2010	431,000
2011	631,000
2012	253,000
2013	395,000
2014	196,000
2015	442,000
2016	254,000

Best Snow Goose Ammo

The ammo market is often overwhelming when it comes to choosing which snow goose loads to use these days. Federal Black Cloud even has a "Snow Goose shell" that they claim is specifically designed for snow geese. While it and other higher priced loads will harvest snow geese cleanly, there are better options available that are far cheaper and perform as well or better.

Hunting Situations

Ammunition is only as good as the situation you're hunting in. Decoy shooting up close vs. long distance pass shooting are two different hunting methods requiring different approaches. Hunting in a strong wind where shot drift occurs is a problem and usually happens with lighter density loads like steel. Hevishot and other tungsten loads are less affected.

Your hunting situation will define what load is ideal. However, they only way to know if a load is ideal for your situation is to pattern it. Each gun is different. One load patterning great in your Benelli will not necessarily give good patterns in your Remington. Patterning is one of the most important aspects with finding a great load for a given situation.

Typical Snow Goose Loads

Typical steel shot sizes for geese range from #2 all the way up to F-shot. The best all-around load in my opinion is BBB steel shot. It allows for a good pattern density (62 pellets/oz.) and the knock down power for shots past 50 yards. If a situation arises, like e-caller season in a hot field, then you could drop down in shot size to #1 for added pattern density up close. Likewise, if you are going to be pass shooting, a well patterning load of T-shot is hard to beat.

The most optimal load of steel shot currently is a 1 ½ oz. load traveling at 1600 fps. This load is a great combination of payload and speed. Federal offers Speed shok and Ultra shok steel loads that you can find at Rogers Sporting Goods for great prices with free shipping. They do sell out quickly at times though.

The alternative to steel is Hevishot and other tungsten based ammo. The following is a list of shot types currently available and their densities.

Steel........................7.3 (g/cc)
HeviSteel..................9.2
Hevi Duck... ..............9.7
Bismuth.......................9.8
Nice Shot.....................10.2
Lead...........................11.3
Winchester Ext. Range...12
Remington HD...............12
Hevi Goose..................12
Hevi 13.................... .13
Federal Heavyweight....15
TSS..........................18

When it comes to goose hunting, shot that is denser than steel is preferred. There’s no arguing this. Will steel do the job? Of course, but Hevi-shot will do it 10 times better and reduce cripples. This means more birds in the bag, less time chasing cripples, and the ability to fold up birds at longer ranges. If you have shot tungsten based ammo at geese, you know what I’m talking about.

Tungsten loads also allow you to reduce your shot size to increase you pattern density. This makes even Hevishot #4 a viable load for decoying geese due to the energy retained. Steel loads just can’t match it. 

I realize cost is a big factor is determining which loads most people choose. Very few want to spend $20-30 for 10 shells. The off season is the perfect time to look for discounted ammo deals on websites to pick these kinds of shells up more affordably. Additionally, learning to load your own shells can also reduce the cost by ordering your loose hevishot in bulk. 

Roll Crimped 10ga TSS Loads

One of the best hevishot goose loads ever created is the 10 ga Hevishot load of  1 3/4oz #2’s @ 1300fps.

Top 3 Snow Goose Hunting Tips

So you want to start hunting snow geese or maybe you've been hunting them for years with little success. Maybe you've been killing them for years and now all of sudden things aren't going well anymore. This write up is designed more for the Texas Gulf Coast hunter, but can apply to other parts of the country as well. Lets face it, these are smart birds (unlike ducks...j/k, but not really!) that can reach 20+ years of age and have been shot at for at least 6 months out of the year. The bread and butter years are during great hatches when an abundant amount of juvenile birds are mixed in the with the adults. These are the years almost anyone can go from a zero to hero, and the years you should be out in the field the most. But it's all about the sunrises, right? (I didn't think so).

So what are the In's and Out's of Snow goose and hunting and maybe some Tips and Tricks that can help you bag more snow geese?

1) Location

Seems logical, right? Hunt where the birds are. We've all heard it a thousand times. But what does it really mean? Unless you are an outfitter, it is impossible for most hunters to be where the birds want to be the majority of the time. This all comes down to cost, since access to property in Texas is mostly private and without an inside connection to someones land for free, you must pay up. This is usually done through a gate fee or lease fee.  The former meaning you pay a standard fee after each hunt and the latter means you pay a lump sum amount to have the sole hunting rights to a tract of land for a season. The average snow goose hunter probably spends around $1,000-2,500 on goose leases each year. This may get you 1 to 4 tract leases or it may get you a membership to a hunting club with 20+ fields (and 10x's the amount of hunters). This doesn't even count towards costs associated with decoys, ammo, transportation, and other equipment. It can add up fast.

So lets break down the typical types of leases.

Tract Leases, Sub leases, and Private Leases

These types of leases are usually either purchased from an outfitter, farmer, or hunting club for you or your group to hunt on exclusively. These are the most ideal types of leases because you make your own rules as far as when to hunt, who will show up, and how the hunt will go down. You purchased the hunting rights to the field and no one else will be hunting it. You will not have anyone show up unannounced and potentially ruin your hunt or force you to hunt around someone that you do not know which could be unsafe.

Outfitter Season Leases and Club Memberships

These are the leases you will likely see in the newspaper offering 30,000 acres of land with fields all over the place. It sounds good in theory and you get to hunt in many counties and chase the birds right? Not really. Unless you become friends with the outfitter or club manager, you will not be able to hunt when and where you want all the time or necessarily get to choose with who. The reason they have so much land is 1) They have a lot of lease members to pay for it; 2) the Outfitter is usually running guided hunts on the same land the lease members are hunting. They will be catered more toward duck hunters and scout the fields each day. The best you can hope for most days is to tag along with the outfitter as he takes day hunters in on a lease field the birds are using.

Obviously this will vary from place to place, but the main takeaway is that it's usually a large operation trying to satisfy a bunch of people and that usually comes with some headaches. Club leases are usually better than outfitter leases if you have to choose. Some of the best hunting can still be found on club leases.

What's Next?

You'll have to decide which type of lease fits your style and budget. The ideal type of situation for most snow goose hunters doing this in their spare time is to find fields in key wintering areas of the gulf coast so that you can move around with the birds. The birds may not be in your field every day or hardly at all, but you have a better chance of being close to them somewhere if you leases are spread out. A lot of times just being relatively close to where the geese want to be is good enough.

One of the most important things to remember when leasing land is that something will always be available for lease. That's also the problem because the vast majority of available land is not worth leasing. You'll have to determine through experience or word of mouth what is worth leasing and what is not. This usually comes with years of experience seeing certain areas during good and bad years, crop rotations, roost pond locations (or lack thereof), and even bird migration shifts overtime.

2) Weather

Weather is ranked only slightly behind Location, but not by much. This is assuming that the objective is to kill as many decoying geese as possible on any given outing. Now,  being successful at goose hunting means different things to different people. Are you happy with not being at work and enjoying a morning outdoors killing a few birds, or is your goal to kill a bunch of geese? If it's the latter, then factoring in weather is a must.

What is the best weather? WIND! And lots of it. If you're objective is to kill geese every time you go out, then you should not even be entertaining wasting your time in the field until there is a good wind forecasted. Before I go any further, I'm not insinuating geese can't be killed on a clear calm day or good hunts don't happen with no wind present, they do, but they are few and far between. This also goes back to what defines a good hunt for each individual person. Is it a handful in the bag per hunter, around 10 per hunter, or even a limit? If you asked a group a hunters you would probably get a lot of different answers. If you want 10-20 snow geese per hunter, then weather is a must. Monitoring sites like Wunderground and www.weather.com for the best time to be out in the field should be a top priority.

Fog is another situation that can present good hunting opportunities. The issue with fog, especially a thick one, is that birds will not fly much and in some circumstances even walk off the roost. Most people having good hunts in the fog are right next to a roost where the birds can just hop over and not fly far. More often than not you will find snow geese using plowed ground during a fog. Most likely so they can better see predators. If you are not near a roost and it's a thick foggy morning, it will likely be extremely slow until the fog lifts and the birds finally expand out a little.

Weather and other factors that are a must during regular season, can mean very little when conservation season starts and e-callers are allowed.

3) Shooting Ability

There are other factors that can easily be listed at #3 (like decoys or concealment), but to have a good hunt (10-20 snow geese per hunter) you have to be able to shoot good. There are just not enough opportunities on a typical regular season snow goose hunt to miss a bunch of shots and still have a large bag of birds. Because of this you have to make your shots count. Letting birds get in range and taking a shot you are comfortable with can only be perfected with experience. Your first shot is usually the best shot before the birds flare off, so it must be a good one. If you are hunting with a large group of people, this can be difficult because once people start shooting you'll see it become a mad house or spray and pray type atmosphere (one of the downsides to hunting with a large group).

The more you shoot, the more proficient you will become at being successful with your first shot and following up with your second and third.