A goose for Christmas

[Assynt3]

Hello everyone,

I’ve just joined the forum to ask a question which might seem a bit whimsical or naive. Feel free to say so!

It’s been a reasonably tough year (as for many of us!) and an idea which has been living in my mind for a little while has risen to the surface. It’s to get cold, wet and tired but with a chance of shooting a goose for Christmas.

I can take Thursday and Friday (21/22) off this week and wondered if anyone has any advice about going wildfowling in preferably a coastal setting at short notice like this. I don’t have a dog, I own a 12G over and under with multi chokes (a silver pigeon) not a semi-auto, so ideally would need a guide with a dog.

As noted on the forum this is a topic of some sensitivity and I understand there are people who disagree with the sport. I have contacted a couple of commercial outfits on the internet and had an option in Orkney which sadly I can’t take up as the forecast is so bad I might get stranded if the ferry back is cancelled! Others said they can’t accommodate a single gun. 

Please do feel free to point out this is all a bit too late, which I certainly would agree with, but just wanted to try see if I can find a way. From what I understand if you do have any specific advice about guides or places please direct message me instead of posting on the open thread. I’m based in Edinburgh but happy to drive distance (car is fingers crossed working after some repeated repairs!), will be able to leave the night before. 

Thank you for any suggestions and also please let me know if I’m not on top of any forum etiquette - it’s my first post. 

[derbyduck]

Can I ask if you have ever eaten a wild goose ? if the answer is no ,then you need to know that wild goose taste nothing like farmed geese !

You may find your best option is to spend £40 to£50 on a fresh farmed goose , 

all the best and good luck with your quest .

[islandgun]

8 minutes ago, derbyduck said:

Can I ask if you have ever eaten a wild goose ? if the answer is no ,then you need to know that wild goose taste nothing like farmed geese !

You may find your best option is to spend £40 to£50 on a fresh farmed goose , 

all the best and good luck with your quest .

Its highly likely that a farm goose would work out a lot cheaper than a trip to Orkney, not as much fun though

[London Best]

Well, I’ve eaten my share of wild geese and some of them have been “alright”, but I’m not sure I would want to eat one for my Christmas dinner!

[harrycatcat1]

If you are in basc have a look here

 

https://basc.org.uk/wildfowling/wildfowling-permit-scheme/

[Dave at kelton]

You could certainly get a ticket to come out on the Solway but getting a goose on the coast first or second time out is a rarity. Best bet is find a guide who will fit you in over decoys but it will cost you. Many Wildfowlers will happily give you a goose if you are desperate.

[Assynt3]

Thank you - that’s certainly a good point about edibility! I will bear that in mind. 

Noting the odds are against me, if anyone might know someone who might be able to guide me (I’m happy to pay) for either foreshore or decoy please direct message me. 

Thank you for the quick and helpful replies - yes it definitively would be better to get one from the shops, but it is of course about more than just that!

[flippermaj]

Your location may help get a response?

 

[Assynt3]

Thanks - it’s Edinburgh but happy to drive a fair way!

[Weihrauch17]

9 hours ago, Assynt3 said:

Hello everyone,

I’ve just joined the forum to ask a question which might seem a bit whimsical or naive. Feel free to say so!

It’s been a reasonably tough year (as for many of us!) and an idea which has been living in my mind for a little while has risen to the surface. It’s to get cold, wet and tired but with a chance of shooting a goose for Christmas.

I can take Thursday and Friday (21/22) off this week and wondered if anyone has any advice about going wildfowling in preferably a coastal setting at short notice like this. I don’t have a dog, I own a 12G over and under with multi chokes (a silver pigeon) not a semi-auto, so ideally would need a guide with a dog.

As noted on the forum this is a topic of some sensitivity and I understand there are people who disagree with the sport. I have contacted a couple of commercial outfits on the internet and had an option in Orkney which sadly I can’t take up as the forecast is so bad I might get stranded if the ferry back is cancelled! Others said they can’t accommodate a single gun. 

Please do feel free to point out this is all a bit too late, which I certainly would agree with, but just wanted to try see if I can find a way. From what I understand if you do have any specific advice about guides or places please direct message me instead of posting on the open thread. I’m based in Edinburgh but happy to drive distance (car is fingers crossed working after some repeated repairs!), will be able to leave the night before. 

Thank you for any suggestions and also please let me know if I’m not on top of any forum etiquette - it’s my first post. 

If you want a Goose for Xmas get a Domestic one,  I have eaten Canada's, Pinks and a Whitefront and they are not a patch taste wise on a Domestically raised Goose.  I find Ducks much the same.

[Assynt3]

Thank you. 

The message is clear - I will revise plans to buying a domestic bird! 

But as these opportunities (a couple of days off with domestic approval!) are so scarce, I would still dearly love to get out and have a go if I can.

Thanks to everyone for your replies and if anyone does have time to fit this in for some extra funds before Christmas please let me know. The odds are long I know.
 

All the best for the festive weekend ahead. 

[marsh man]

First of all , a very nice and polite post from a new member , I am afraid from the eating point of view, the above posts are correct , yes you will get some members say it is how they are cooked , or roasted , perfectly true , but the bulk of us haven't got a degree in cooking and there is no way they can compare with the tame variety , I like many others have eaten my fair share and even others fair share of wild geese , yes there are some better than others but age , feed and the time of the year would all make a difference , my choice would be first a White Front ( preferably young ) followed by a youngish Pink , and nowadays I would have to be dying from starvation to eat a Canada , I would sooner plead poverty and q up a food bank than tackle a big ole honker.    MM.

P S     I often wander what do these top wild geese fanatics do with a heavy bag  ?, as an example I knew one local bloke saying he shot over 60 geese in a short season and he gave some to a pest control bloke I know for Fox bait 

[Aled]

Marsh man, i can't answer for all goose people, but a pal of mine claimed you should breast a Canada goose and slow cook with veg and red wine to make a tasty meal. This is second hand information so no idea if true!

[London Best]

I have eaten Pinkfoot, Greylag and Canada and have to say that the best wild goose I ever ate was actually a Canada stuffed with apple/sausage meat/brandy stuffing.

[Krico woodcock]

I've eaten pinks, greylag, and many a canada. They all good enough if cooked properly.  But I'd prefer a couple of fat mallard, or a half dozen fat teal,to a goose,  coming out of oven. Canada geese make very good burgers,  if shot in big quantity,  great way of making use of them.

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, London Best said:

I have eaten Pinkfoot, Greylag and Canada and have to say that the best wild goose I ever ate was actually a Canada stuffed with apple/sausage meat/brandy stuffing.

That is what I said L B , A lot of it could be down to how it is cooked , age and what the goose had been feeding on , one of the best Pinkfoot I had was when a mate of mine went to Scotland with some of his mates on a weeks goose shooting holiday , they shot around 60 and shared them out between themselves , my mate brought home about a dozen and got a local butcher to dress them out , mine was oven ready and mine are normally done in gravy , it was very nice both hot and cold , this could have had the right number of days to be hung in whatever the weather conditions were at the time , possibly a young one and been brought up on grazing fresh grass .

I dare say there are more goose breasts eaten than the whole goose , plucking two or three geese is a messy ole job and quite time consuming , and with no outlets for a wild goose you seemed obliged to eat the goose you shot weather you like them or you don't  

[Diabolo]

Some years ago I was lucky enough to win the BASC recipe competition with this tale of my first goose and the eating of it. But, as mentioned above, the best goose I have eaten was a Canada, shot inland, and cooked in the same way. I lost my faithful "skinny 14 month old springer" at the age of 15 two years ago, which dates the article. We had many further adventures, they say you get one "dog of a lifetime", and although my other dogs have been good, he was most definitely it. His last ever retrieve was also a greylag, involving a good swim, at the age of 13. I count myself lucky to have had him, now laid to rest in a quiet corner of the garden.

Steve

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Diabolo

[London Best]

That is some Greylag at 12 lbs! I don’t think I’ve ever had any over about 10. 
Thanks for the recipe, sounds great.

[ditchman]

15 hours ago, marsh man said:

First of all , a very nice and polite post from a new member , I am afraid from the eating point of view, the above posts are correct , yes you will get some members say it is how they are cooked , or roasted , perfectly true , but the bulk of us haven't got a degree in cooking and there is no way they can compare with the tame variety , I like many others have eaten my fair share and even others fair share of wild geese , yes there are some better than others but age , feed and the time of the year would all make a difference , my choice would be first a White Front ( preferably young ) followed by a youngish Pink , and nowadays I would have to be dying from starvation to eat a Canada , I would sooner plead poverty and q up a food bank than tackle a big ole honker.    MM.

P S     I often wander what do these top wild geese fanatics do with a heavy bag  ?, as an example I knew one local bloke saying he shot over 60 geese in a short season and he gave some to a pest control bloke I know for Fox bait 

well said and in total agreement...........

[Penelope]

On 16/12/2023 at 21:35, Assynt3 said:

Thanks - it’s Edinburgh but happy to drive a fair way!

Enquire with the Lomond Country Inn or the Well Inn, both adjacent to Loch Leven, just over the bridge. They will be providing accommodation to guns up with local guides, so may be able to provide a name or two.

[marsh man]

3 hours ago, ditchman said:

well said and in total agreement...........

Hi Simon    I didn't mention Greylags as most of them around our way are semi domesticated with getting most of there grub off the holiday cruisers , I well remember many years ago where certain people were allowed to either remove Swan eggs , or add to there clutch with Greylag eggs , this was around the Halvergate Island area , now the Greylag goose population is nearly , or is out of control with very large numbers around the Broads , more so than Canada geese I would had thought .

By the way , on one of those photos you put on the forum in your picking up days , I recognised Ole Tom Henwood filling his belly 

[greenshank1]

On 16/12/2023 at 12:15, Assynt3 said:

Hello everyone,

I’ve just joined the forum to ask a question which might seem a bit whimsical or naive. Feel free to say so!

It’s been a reasonably tough year (as for many of us!) and an idea which has been living in my mind for a little while has risen to the surface. It’s to get cold, wet and tired but with a chance of shooting a goose for Christmas.

I can take Thursday and Friday (21/22) off this week and wondered if anyone has any advice about going wildfowling in preferably a coastal setting at short notice like this. I don’t have a dog, I own a 12G over and under with multi chokes (a silver pigeon) not a semi-auto, so ideally would need a guide with a dog.

As noted on the forum this is a topic of some sensitivity and I understand there are people who disagree with the sport. I have contacted a couple of commercial outfits on the internet and had an option in Orkney which sadly I can’t take up as the forecast is so bad I might get stranded if the ferry back is cancelled! Others said they can’t accommodate a single gun. 

Please do feel free to point out this is all a bit too late, which I certainly would agree with, but just wanted to try see if I can find a way. From what I understand if you do have any specific advice about guides or places please direct message me instead of posting on the open thread. I’m based in Edinburgh but happy to drive distance (car is fingers crossed working after some repeated repairs!), will be able to leave the night before. 

Thank you for any suggestions and also please let me know if I’m not on top of any forum etiquette - it’s my first post. 

Good luck 👍

I would sort out a back up for Christmas dinner just in case you don’t pull it off. 
If your near Edinburgh your near the Forth so plenty geese about on foreshore and coming into fields so with a bit of scouting on the shore and watching fields you’ll be sorted. Scouting and getting out there is the best way . 
Good luck 👍

[ditchman]

1 hour ago, marsh man said:

Hi Simon    I didn't mention Greylags as most of them around our way are semi domesticated with getting most of there grub off the holiday cruisers , I well remember many years ago where certain people were allowed to either remove Swan eggs , or add to there clutch with Greylag eggs , this was around the Halvergate Island area , now the Greylag goose population is nearly , or is out of control with very large numbers around the Broads , more so than Canada geese I would had thought .

By the way , on one of those photos you put on the forum in your picking up days , I recognised Ole Tom Henwood filling his belly 

Think i have some pics with Jack Randleson...and Tom Flatt  on them somewhere........just tryin to remember that black dogs name that Jack had...the one that used to dissapear at the beginnig of the drive.....ahhhahhhh....was it "Rocky"..HHhhahhahhhaaa ?

[Dave at kelton]

3 hours ago, Penelope said:

Enquire with the Lomond Country Inn or the Well Inn, both adjacent to Loch Leven, just over the bridge. They will be providing accommodation to guns up with local guides, so may be able to provide a name or two.

A good call as I used to stay there when decoying with a guide.

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, ditchman said:

Think i have some pics with Jack Randleson...and Tom Flatt  on them somewhere........just tryin to remember that black dogs name that Jack had...the one that used to dissapear at the beginnig of the drive.....ahhhahhhh....was it "Rocky"..HHhhahhahhhaaa ?

Your memory is still pretty good Simon , yes it was Rocky , Jacks ole dog was certainly a bag filla , one day when we were doing Partridges his dog must have cost the guns a small fortune as it kept pegging the Redlegs after they had worn themselves with being pushed about and the heat as the keeper very rarely let one go once it have been pegged.

Both Jack and Tom Henwood were very good company throughout the day , Capt Flatt was alright as long as there wasn't many women about as his ole nose would be working overtime sniffing them out ,