Kitchrat's report from the prairies!

[kitchrat]

 

OK Guys, here's my report on the prairie hunt....

 

My mate Brian and I drove the 1050kms from BC to Viking, Alberta, super drive through the Rockies, with the 1st snow of winter on them, stopping overnight in Camrose.

The weather on the prairies was too good, warm and sunny, no wind. Many wildfowl had not bothered to leave "up North" yet, many of those who had left had moved on further south. There were lots of ducks, mainly mallard and pintail as there are hundreds and hundreds of little ponds out there, each pond has a dozen or two ducks on it. It turned out there were quite a few Canadas, in big flocks, both great and lesser but only a few small flocks of Snow geese, not the 1000's I had seen in 2012. Very few Speckled.

Arrived at hunt camp 3.00pm Wednesday and met our 2 fellow hunters, a typical pair of "Good Ole Farm Boys" from Winsconsin, USA. They wore denim bib & brace overalls, and were straight out of a cartoon. Really unfit, drank a lot of beer, didn't care if they shot much etc.

At this time, the guides are out "spotting" for the am shoot. It seems the geese overnight on a roost lake, and come into the fields to eat soon after dawn, eat for a few hours then back to the lake to rest/digest breakfast, before repeating the cycle late afternoon. They can be expected to return to the field they just used, and in the same part of the field. So the guides drive 100's of kms until they find a decent flock feeding, wait until they leave at dark (if you scare them off they don't come back), then go out to where the flock was feeding and place a reflector on a pole at that location. Then they have to check with the farmer is it's OK. The reflector marks the part of the field, it's worth noting that the fields are HUGE, typically 1 mile x 1/2 mile. All rectangular with N-S roads at 1 mile intervals, E-W at 2 miles. You can get a range map, which shows each field and who owns it, so you can contact them.

Back at camp (a luxury mobile home), it's a superb dinner, beers and off to bed.

Up at 5.00am, cornflakes and coffee, then off with one guide and dog at 5.30.

Arrive at the chosen field, find the reflector, the guide checks it's OK by looking for fresh droppings, ie still moist. When he's happy we're in the rights spot, we build the fold-up hides (blinds), cover them with willows, put out about 140 decoys of various sorts in the dark and wait.

We get some decent shooting, ducks and geese but they are very wary, circling and circling, most groups seeing the blinds and fading off. Some give us a shot but no "gimmies" like you see on the DVDs!! We are still settling down but get a decent mixed bag, about 18. All action stops so we clear the kit up into the trailer.

Back to camp, huge breakfast and a kip.

Meantime, the other guide is spotting for the pm hunt. He finds a flock, waits till they leave, gets permission etc (no need for a reflector).

We leave with him about 6.00pm, out to the field, he feels the droppings, we set up the stuff and shoot another OK bag. Pack up in the dark, back to camp for a huge dinner and a few beers.

 

Meantime, the other guide is spotting for the next am hunt. The boss is out cutting new willows.

 

Day 2, much the same as day 1, smaller bags.

Day 3, Good Old Boys leave early on their 1700-mile drive home, Brian and I have a reasonable am hunt, no pm hunt.

 

Next day, day off. There is a large, (40 acre?) piece of grassy waste ground next door with a pond, so we head out hoping for a bonus duck. No luck, but I do spot the roots of an old stump deep in the grass, about 25 yards away . The roots move and are in fact attached to a young (3 1/2 yr old?) bull moose, just the age when they act like ruffian teenagers and we are in the middle of the rut.... Moose wakes up when he hears us whispering and spots us. He starts to get up and up and up, he's quite a big chap! He doesn't know whether he should mate with us or charge us. We are loaded for ducks but you could hear click-click as the safety catches came off!!

Moosey decides he doesn't fancy us and he can't be bothered to stomp on us so he wanders off. We leave in the opposite direction!!

Meantime, the other guide is spotting for the next am hunt

 

Later our new shooting companions arrive and again they are straight out of the cliché box - this time loud, brash, over confident young Americans. Always on the iPad6.

 

Day 4 starts much as the other day, but this time we are in the right place for ducks (on a huge pea field 2 miles x 1 mile) and they come flooding in, just like the DVD. We shoot our limit (8 each) in 14 minutes. Actually no real fun, too easy, then spend some time on geese but most of them know the game too well. We only got a few.

So the afternoon is geese only, the guide spots for geese and we shoot, maybe a 18 between us.

Some of these were really high and I was pleased to knock down a couple of really high doubles, using "Hypersonic" ammo - 3 1/2 inch, 1 3/8oz of BB steel at 1700 fps. Kick like a mule but they dropped them. The Yanks were blazing away with their 3-shot semi autos and were heard to say "I can't believe how well we are shooting". Well Boys, you weren't, a little later the guide was out of the hide, so I unloaded. 3 snows came over, quite high, 6 shots ring out from the Yanks and the geese don't even swerve - "can't believe we missed them, we were nailing them before"

 

Meantime, the other guide is spotting for the next am hunt. The boss is out cutting new willows.

 

Day 5, am, off to a nice little duck pond in a huge field, many signs of ducks but no ducks come and we blank!!

No matter, pm hunt, another pea field, ducks abound!! This time they were much less easy and we take 2 hours to "Limit out", good sporting shooting, and also get a few geese.

After a particularly large bunch of ducks came in, 1 of the Yanks called over to us asking if we picked on a particular duck in the mix. We said Yes. His reply was, " Oh well, I just shot into the flock at random and 2 dropped" , he couldn't conceive that those were the 2 Brian and I had picked out.......!!

Day 6, am hunt only, another pea field, reasonable mixed bag, say 15 between us, them off homeward bound.

 

A great week, much learnt! Big black flags to attract goose flocks from far away, all sorts of calls, the dogs won't retrieve magpies.. etc etc

They say the "coffin-type" lie-down blinds are no good because the geese know what they are, well, they also know the sit-up, willow camouflaged blind too, they circle and circle and can look in from 60 yds up.

So, it's just like pigeon shooting on a bigger scale, larger birds, larger flocks, larger fields, same problems, but with bag limits when you do get it right. (Snows are 50/day but we only saw a few small flocks)

 

Sorry it's such a long posting but lots to say.

 

It's POSSIBLE there are some pictures to see by following the links below.

 

 

 

Kitchrat

 

[marsh man]

Interesting and detailed report ( Kitchrat ) sounds as if your guides put in the effort to try and give you all some shooting , glad you had a good time and thanks for sharing

 

 

PS.......Are we going to see some giant pigeon decoys and a nice hide like that on the rape fields when you get back home Mr Kitchrat ?

[Fisheruk]

Interesting and detailed report ( Kitchrat ) sounds as if your guides put in the effort to try and give you all some shooting , glad you had a good time and thanks for sharing

 

 

PS.......Are we going to see some giant pigeon decoys and a nice hide like that on the rape fields when you get back home Mr Kitchrat ?

double post

Edited October 18, 2014 by Fisheruk

[Fisheruk]

Interesting and detailed report ( Kitchrat ) sounds as if your guides put in the effort to try and give you all some shooting , glad you had a good time and thanks for sharing

 

 

PS.......Are we going to see some giant pigeon decoys and a nice hide like that on the rape fields when you get back home Mr Kitchrat ?

Not sure I would come back with that type of shooting.

[kitchrat]

Interesting and detailed report ( Kitchrat ) sounds as if your guides put in the effort to try and give you all some shooting , glad you had a good time and thanks for sharing

 

 

PS.......Are we going to see some giant pigeon decoys and a nice hide like that on the rape fields when you get back home Mr Kitchrat ?

Funny you should say that, if you go to http://www.fieldsportschannel.tv/index.php this week there's a film with oversized pigeon decoys. so I might try some. My hides would have to be much smaller and better hidden to have a chance, Essex birds are not as silly as we are led to believe!!!

Edited October 18, 2014 by kitchrat

[mudpatten]

Excellent write up.

 

Could we please have some paragraphs next time as it became very hard to read.

[kitchrat]

Excellent write up.

 

Could we please have some paragraphs next time as it became very hard to read.

Sorry, there were paragraphs when I wrote it in Word, they got lost in translation.

Kitchrat

[Terry P]

Cheers for taking the effort to do the write up, a good factual report with photos. Excellent. Were the geese you shot just Canada.

[kitchrat]

Cheers for taking the effort to do the write up, a good factual report with photos. Excellent. Were the geese you shot just Canada.

Mainly greater and lesser Canadas, a few Snows and 1 speckled. That's a rough parallel to the numbers of each species in the area. We didn't hit "rush hour" but it was quite OK!!

Loads of ducks about though, daily bag limit of 8, possesion limit 24. Mainly mallard, a few pintails.

[Terry P]

A nice mix then, as I said in a previous post it is something I'm looking at doing in a couple of years time. So very interested in your write up and experiences. Pleased that you enjoyed yourselves, would you consider the trip value for money. I would like to get a snow and white front so pleasing to see there are areas where this is possible. You got any more photos.

[marsh man]

I agree with ( Terry P ) , it was a good report and a photo can tell us a lot more than words can . I am not into decoying geese but you have to give credit to the people out that way who do , the effort and expertise are 100% . I would have thought you would have to be a very observant Goose not to be fooled by that set up in the photo .......Certainly looks good to me.

[Grandalf]

Excellent report - Thanks for the effort to enlighten us about our 'Colonial' cousins activities.

I'm envious.

[Penelope]

Great write up Kitchrat. One thing I would like to experience.

 

Not sure I could have handled the later septics, they bug me on the videos with their 'whooping an a' ollering', let alone upfront and personal.

[kitchrat]

Sorry, not many more photos (it's just one more thing to carry/lose in the dark), but this is one from my 2012, unguided attempt at gooose shooting (Very unsuccessfull!)

It is of about 10% of a flock of snow geese, I'd have needed one of those cameras for school photos to catch them all!!

As to value for money, not really good, partly because weather conditions meant there were not a lot of birds (by prairie standards) about. It's more of an experience thing. For the whole week, inc gourmet food and lodging, bird cleaning etc, hotels travelling there and fuel, it must have cost me about $5000 CAD, say £2750. For that we went on 10 "hunts" and had a real learning curve. £275/ hunt. I guess that's a bit less than a 100-bird pheasant shoot and way less than a day on grouse - when you might shoot almost nothing. All food and lodging included so not so bad.

I doubt I'll do it again but do still want to get into the snow goose "vortex"!!

[kitchrat]

I agree with ( Terry P ) , it was a good report and a photo can tell us a lot more than words can . I am not into decoying geese but you have to give credit to the people out that way who do , the effort and expertise are 100% . I would have thought you would have to be a very observant Goose not to be fooled by that set up in the photo .......Certainly looks good to me.

No Marsh Man, the geese were not really fooled. They have been shot at before. Those "blinds" stand out in the middle of a 1 mile x 1/2 mile stubble field and although they look like a bunch of willows the geese circle at about 200ft and try to look into the hide. Only about 10% of the flocks we attracted, by waving the black flag pretend to be a landing bird, then by skilled calling (the calls change as they get nearer) would actually give us a shot. That's part of the excitement as an encounter with a flock can last for several minutes, as you attract their attention, call them in and they circle, lower and lower (you hope!) before you get a chance to shoot (or not).

There are other (natural) bunches of willows but the geese don't like to land near them either. They will land short and walk into a bunch of birds feeding near willows, but not straight in. In the decoy pattern you have a pair of walking birds in the landing/killing zone to give that impression.

The other way is "coffin" blinds, where you lie on your back, covered with camo sacking but the guides said the geese are wise to them and won't come near.

[Terry P]

Cheers for your honest reply but like you said its a once in a life time thing for most, and the £275 a hunt would include cost of lodgings and food not something you get on a driven game day. At the end of the day the numbers of birds in the area are out of anyones control. I guess its a case of pay your money and pray for the right weather and numbers. I would be happy with your bird numbers shot but would only want a 3 day hunt.

[la bala]

Very interesting read and pics it would have taken me 6 months to type that post

[SuperGoose75]

It all Sounds and looks familiar. Ive spent 3 weeks out there on an action packed holiday. We spent some time on Vancouver island before driving through the Rockies to Calgary "Cow Town" as the Canadians call it. Absolutely stunning scenery. We stopped off in Stettler Alberta and had a couple of days on the Geese and ducks.

 

The ponds you refer to are actually called sloughs.It was a great experience and although I have an open invitation to return anytime I Wish' I am in no great hurry to do so.

It is all to comfortable for my liking and not really what Wildfowling means to me.

 

Sounds like you had a Good time' pity you didnt get your Snowgoose.

[kitchrat]

It all Sounds and looks familiar. Ive spent 3 weeks out there on an action packed holiday. We spent some time on Vancouver island before driving through the Rockies to Calgary "Cow Town" as the Canadians call it. Absolutely stunning scenery. We stopped off in Stettler Alberta and had a couple of days on the Geese and ducks.

 

The ponds you refer to are actually called sloughs.It was a great experience and although I have an open invitation to return anytime I Wish' I am in no great hurry to do so.

It is all to comfortable for my liking and not really what Wildfowling means to me.

 

Sounds like you had a Good time' pity you didnt get your Snowgoose.

I did get a couple of snows that were just passing too close, just odd 3s and 4s around plus the odd 20-strong flock. They never decoyed, I just got lucky.

You are right, it could be too comfortable, at least with my "outfitter" we helped put out/take in the hides and decoys. When it DID work on the ducks it was too easy, otherwise quite frustrating, like wildfolwing seems to be...

So can pigeon shooting be too!!

[SuperGoose75]

I did get a couple of snows that were just passing too close, just odd 3s and 4s around plus the odd 20-strong flock. They never decoyed, I just got lucky.

You are right, it could be too comfortable, at least with my "outfitter" we helped put out/take in the hides and decoys. When it DID work on the ducks it was too easy, otherwise quite frustrating, like wildfolwing seems to be...

So can pigeon shooting be too!!

 

I Took you up wrong' I didnt realize you had bagged a couple of Snow's.

The Canadians seem to look at the Specks and snows as lesser Fowl and the big Honkers seem to be there ultimate prize.

i was lucky' in the sense that i got my Shooting basically free of charge' friend of a friend type of thing.

I also seen some snows and specks but never shot any' only Canadas Funny that as i dont shoot them here' but will say they showed much more wariness in there true wild state.

 

I also helped as much as i could and would have done so even if i had to pay for it. We used layout blinds for the geese which we packed with loose straw and chipped in with everything really.I even offered to help do some plucking but the guys wouldnt here of it. As i say a great experience' but give me a hard earned goose or brace of Duck on a wintry dawn or dusk this side of the pond anyday.

 

If you are mad to get at the Snowgeese' possibly try nearer the central flyway or Atlantic flywway such as Quebec .