Elkgunner
New member
Hey all, I don't seem to get around here to post much, but thought I would share my youngest daughter's hunt from yesterday with you all.... 
My youngest started hunting last year, went to Hunter Safety by herself, studied, and then got ready for her first hunting season. She started her first year out with a memorable deer hunt in that she looked at more than 40 deer before finally feeling confident to shoot one. I was almost wondering if she didn't want to kill one. One shot at 150 yards and she had her first deer. She was very excited when she got it, giving high-fives and such. I think her hesitation was the recoil of the gun, but never was sure. In any event, she turned down all the rest of the invitations last year to go bird hunting of any kind. Goose, duck, quail, didn't matter, she would politely turn them down.
Fast forward a year, and I wondered if anything had changed. When we went out to shoot holes in paper and check the rifles, she was reluctant to shoot anything more than .22's. I was worried.
We went out last week deer hunting after school one night for mule deer and she looked at more than 100 deer without pulling the trigger. We had mule deer bucks at 75 yards that she let walk. Her tag was either sex, and she had does at 50 yards without shooting.
We then went up whitetail hunting over the weekend, and more to that story, but, the result was she took another deer and was way excited. While up North hunting for deer, the landowner of the place we goose hunt was sending me texts asking when I would come shoot the geese as they were tired of hunters asking for permission as I was not hunting the geese.
We got back from deer hunting and made plans to goose hunt Wednesday night after school. I had to do a bit of work on the decoy trailer and replace a tire. Just about lost the fingers on my right hand when the jack slipped and the fender fell on my fingers on the tire. I got everything ready and then picked her up after school. She told me she did not have homework and was excited to go hunt. I invited my dad to go along and he already was setting up decoys when we got in the field.
Since it was an afternoon hunt in a field with geese landing each evening, I kept the spread a bit small, putting only 30-40 decoys out.
Since I was still not sure of her tolerance for recoil, I found a couple of 2 3/4" dove loads and had her cycle the gun a couple of times, and then shoot the light loads at a dirt clod tossed in the air. She flinched on the empty magazine a couple of times before I put live loads in. She shot it and was pleasantly surprised by the lack of pain from the recoil. I didn't have her shoot the 20ga 3" Mag loads because she would only shoot those at a live goose and I figured nobody remembers recoil when aiming at an animal.
We had geese flying pretty good.......
It wasn't long before we got settled in and the geese started flying.
One of the first flocks came in and my daughter got a shot off with the little 20ga. One shot and one goose hit the dirt!
She was real excited to have dropped the goose, she set down her gun and got up to chase it. I told her to come back and get her gun as the goose was on his feet with his head up. I have been in too many footraces with geese to know that sometimes a little "reach out and touch them" is required.
The goose was easily the other side of 80 yards out, and we took off after it.... The goose laid down and tried to hide, but the stalk was already happening.....
Finally, the Goose decided to get up and make a break for it, but, that was not a good idea on the goose's part.... (I am amazed at this picture!!! You can see the birdshot/pellets in the dust cloud behind the goose)
So, the happy hunter claims her first goose of her career, brought down on the first shot ever at a live bird in the air.
We got back into the blind and hunted some more. We soon had some geese landing to talk with the decoys. When I goose hunt, one of the coolest things is to have geese land in the decoys. That is more fun than shooting them.
She got another goose and my dad was able to get his first goose in 3 years. He had not been able to hunt the last couple of seasons due to a couple of surgeries, including knee replacements. But, he got one while my daughter got two and they were both happy.
My Dad had so much fun that he wanted to go again this morning, so we did a quick hunt this morning. Here I am with today's geese and a rooster that was at the wrong place at the wrong time....
My youngest started hunting last year, went to Hunter Safety by herself, studied, and then got ready for her first hunting season. She started her first year out with a memorable deer hunt in that she looked at more than 40 deer before finally feeling confident to shoot one. I was almost wondering if she didn't want to kill one. One shot at 150 yards and she had her first deer. She was very excited when she got it, giving high-fives and such. I think her hesitation was the recoil of the gun, but never was sure. In any event, she turned down all the rest of the invitations last year to go bird hunting of any kind. Goose, duck, quail, didn't matter, she would politely turn them down.
Fast forward a year, and I wondered if anything had changed. When we went out to shoot holes in paper and check the rifles, she was reluctant to shoot anything more than .22's. I was worried.
We went out last week deer hunting after school one night for mule deer and she looked at more than 100 deer without pulling the trigger. We had mule deer bucks at 75 yards that she let walk. Her tag was either sex, and she had does at 50 yards without shooting.
We then went up whitetail hunting over the weekend, and more to that story, but, the result was she took another deer and was way excited. While up North hunting for deer, the landowner of the place we goose hunt was sending me texts asking when I would come shoot the geese as they were tired of hunters asking for permission as I was not hunting the geese.
We got back from deer hunting and made plans to goose hunt Wednesday night after school. I had to do a bit of work on the decoy trailer and replace a tire. Just about lost the fingers on my right hand when the jack slipped and the fender fell on my fingers on the tire. I got everything ready and then picked her up after school. She told me she did not have homework and was excited to go hunt. I invited my dad to go along and he already was setting up decoys when we got in the field.
Since it was an afternoon hunt in a field with geese landing each evening, I kept the spread a bit small, putting only 30-40 decoys out.
Since I was still not sure of her tolerance for recoil, I found a couple of 2 3/4" dove loads and had her cycle the gun a couple of times, and then shoot the light loads at a dirt clod tossed in the air. She flinched on the empty magazine a couple of times before I put live loads in. She shot it and was pleasantly surprised by the lack of pain from the recoil. I didn't have her shoot the 20ga 3" Mag loads because she would only shoot those at a live goose and I figured nobody remembers recoil when aiming at an animal.
We had geese flying pretty good.......
It wasn't long before we got settled in and the geese started flying.
One of the first flocks came in and my daughter got a shot off with the little 20ga. One shot and one goose hit the dirt!
She was real excited to have dropped the goose, she set down her gun and got up to chase it. I told her to come back and get her gun as the goose was on his feet with his head up. I have been in too many footraces with geese to know that sometimes a little "reach out and touch them" is required.
The goose was easily the other side of 80 yards out, and we took off after it.... The goose laid down and tried to hide, but the stalk was already happening.....
Finally, the Goose decided to get up and make a break for it, but, that was not a good idea on the goose's part.... (I am amazed at this picture!!! You can see the birdshot/pellets in the dust cloud behind the goose)
So, the happy hunter claims her first goose of her career, brought down on the first shot ever at a live bird in the air.
We got back into the blind and hunted some more. We soon had some geese landing to talk with the decoys. When I goose hunt, one of the coolest things is to have geese land in the decoys. That is more fun than shooting them.
She got another goose and my dad was able to get his first goose in 3 years. He had not been able to hunt the last couple of seasons due to a couple of surgeries, including knee replacements. But, he got one while my daughter got two and they were both happy.
My Dad had so much fun that he wanted to go again this morning, so we did a quick hunt this morning. Here I am with today's geese and a rooster that was at the wrong place at the wrong time....
