When you know you should pull the trigger...

D. Moreau

D. Moreau

Active member
Yesterday me, my cuz, and our friend were out in our boat hunting in a swamp. We were listening to some guys calling behind us, so we looked in that direction - nothing coming our way. We turned around to see 4 geese 80 yards out flying towards us, maybe 40 yards above the water. Our friend said not to shoot as they passed over us, i wanted to pull the trigger (40 yards above us - it was a perfect shot) and my cuz was ready to pull the trigger too. We let them pass and tried to call them back in, but they didnt wanna come back...

Sometimes, I think you should trust your gut and shoot rather then calling and calling... what do you guys think?
 
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Wellllllllll, if you're right and they were 40 yards up, you had no chance in hell to bring one down.
Just think about it, 40 yards out front is far, 40 yds up is a lot farther considering you got maximum
gravity fighting you from the second you pull the trigger.
I'm sure others will chime in also
 
you have a point... still, i think we should hav shot at them - we had full chokes in and i was just about to switch my shell to a bb....
 
40 yds... There would three shots in the air every time. But that's just me, with a 12ga. shooting 3-1/2"

Next time you'll know.
 
*When you know you should pull the trigger...*

When their feet down over the decoys!

Otherwise why bother putting putting out decoys, cause your just skybusting!
 
For me, and most of the guys I hunt with, it's about fooling the birds. We're perfectly fine letting them go by if they were simply flying over where we happen to be (well, if they are 20 feet up, we will probably shoot, but 30 yds up and cruising by we typically let them pass). I like seeing them curl back and set into the dekes, and if they don't then something wasn't right (location, setup, calling, hiding, competition, divine intervention). It's just what I prefer. a 40 yd crossing shot is out there a ways. When I started hunting a lot on a couple of areas that had a lot of snow geese, I bought a floater snow goose and I'd always set it out 30 yds from the boat. I found out that I NEVER shot at ducks that were out that far.

In fact, there are a couple of guys I won't hunt with anymore because they would shoot at anything that was close to being in "range". I don't find that kind of hunt enjoyable. To their credit, they were pretty good shots and killed ducks at that range, so I couldn't say much about not shooting. They weren't doing anything wrong whatsoever, it just wasn't my cup of tea. It's up to you to decide what is fun about hunting.

Scott
 
I'm with you Scott. For me there is 10 times more frustration with knocking down and loosing a long shot as there is satisfaction with
a kill at that same distance. I qualify as an old fart but Ionly take shots I am confident in making and retrieving.
Any bird I knock down counts toward my limit if I recover it or not. John
 
Ionly take shots I am confident in making and retrieving.
Click to expand...
I really felt I could make this shot - but I have not yet shot a goose so... might have been a good idea to let them go instead of trying to knock one down at that height
 
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Could you see their eyes? What size shot and choke?

I passed on some 40 yard , or maybe a little less, last week. And they were flying on the water.
I passed because I was shooting #4 steel,and I have chased cripple geese before. Worse I have chased cripple geese a mile, and not quite been able to catch up and finish them.........

I hunted with a guy that is brand new to waterfowl a couple weeks ago. He was upset that I wouldnt let him shoot at 50 yard geese. He absolutely refused to believe that he couldnt kill geese at 60-70 yards.
 
40 yards straight over the top, you could probably kill them if you can shoot at all well.

40 yards out and 40 yards up, not likely, although you probably couldnt have seen their eyes.....
 
If I don't shoot and think they will work and come in... but don't... I think I should have shot.... If I shoot and miss... I always think I should have waited....
 
40 yds is a shot you could have made. I notoriously let birds sail by without shooting especially if Im by myself, as I would rather shoot them decoying. At 40 yds I would be at least 10 feet in front of them,,those big birds are going faster than they seem
 
David,
it may add a bit to the wait for the first goose but I would wager that you would have a higher degree of satisfaction shooting one that you knew you plain old fooled right in front.
I am not preaching as I have taken that shot and downed birds. But the ones I remember most are the ones that set in hard to the decoys and verified that all my work getting ready for the hunt was right on.

Bob
 
I hunt with a friend of my Dad's who can make these shots all day long - as long as they are stright overhead. He has tried to teach me the method but I'm just not good at it. Here is what he does. As the birds approach, he puts the gun to his shoulder and starts out way behind the bird. He swings through the bird and gets to the point where he has the correct amount of lead (this must be where I mess up). He pulls the tigger when the birds are just about 80 degrees or so from the plane of the water. He always follows through big time. Drops those birds everytime. Problem with this is you have to be certain that you can get to the birds where they drop as they land a significant distance behind you.

My preference, wings cupped and feet down heading right for the dekes. I also love hitting fast moving right to left shots. 40 yards on those are doable for me.

Mark W
 
If you can see the line between their nose and face, they're close enough to kill. Look at that line, not the goose. If you look at the goose, you'll body shoot it or shoot behind it. Shoot for the head, its about the same size as a clay target so if you can hit a clay at that speed, size, angle, you can kill that goose dead. A big honker at 40 yards body shot with bbb's can fly 5 miles before it bleeds out.... shoot em in the snot box (forget the body) and they'll fold up like a cheap card table. travis
 
I had a flock of redheads come in yesterday and I did the same sorta thing: They were in range, about 25 yards out, but not feet down & cupped. So I waited thinking they would swing around. They didnt, and I watched them fly off and and about 200 yards away. Should I have shot? Probably. But oh well, I'll get them next time.
We all have those moments, it makes for good stories and its a lot better than chasing a crip for a mile across the bay.
 
My Grand-Father always told me "unless your SURE you can kill 'em, DON'T shoot. Otherwise you only make the weiry of decoys."
 
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