Snow Goose failures.

[Jack Schitt]

I'm obviously not doing anything right in my attempts to hunt Snow Geese. I see videos and have received advice that they're easy and the best rewards in the game. That advice is opposite of what I'm finding.

Can someone please show me the tricks? Chances are I'm hosting a game right now trying to figure it out.

[Slowsilver]

I try it too. Didn't have coins to get proper setup but 12 decoys should get some kind of hunt on.

[Jack Schitt]

Maybe that's my problem. I only have 5 decoys.

[**********]

I've done it with first 2, then 4, 6, 12 and 18. The only thing that more decoys changes is the probability of geese breaking off from the flock. Even 6 seems fine to me. I've doubted whether the flag waving works at times. Long range caller works fine, short range caller definitely brings them overhead.

The biggest problem is the waiting game. 17-38 (max I noted) game minutes from 5am before the first flocks show up. Then they come in waves of 1-3 flocks close to each other, with a waiting time between waves. The waiting makes for a dull game. I found letting them land (they split into groups), then spotting the biggest and picking it off with the 17 HMR is more fun, especially if I pick off any close ones with the Python. It gives me something to do. Spot, figure out what I can pick off before the 17 HMR makes them break or they spook. Getting out and collecting birds and tracks adds activity, and variety if some flocks break off if I'm out of the hide.

Is this a massive money spinner? No, but it's not a dull waiting game either. I don't recommend any of the waterfowl options as a money investment unless you're particularly into waterfowl hunting. Snow geese pay 40-60+ for males and anything from 4-15 for females. I can make as much from ptarmigans, at an average of 30-35 per bird, even females, although I've ground that enough in the past, and money isn't really a problem at the moment. A tree stand, a tent 300m+ North of the Golden Treestand spot and a turkey box caller is a cheaper investment and very lucrative for turkeys, coyotes, blacktails and Roosevelts. A 100+ paying turkey is fairly common. You can rinse and repeat that often, until it gets really boring, even tho the spawns bring a variety of each of the animals, so no spawn is the same.

So I wouldn't say more decoys is the answer. Yes you will get a bigger probability of geese breaking off, so avoiding disappointment there, but you wouldn't get any more flocks appearing. The spawn gods determine that.

[Slowsilver]

I think what people mean when they say easy is compared to ducks witch are harder to shoot. It takes some practice to get feel for shooting them. I started with ducks and struggled with them so geese are not so hard now. Seems about 1/3 are males. I don't know if it's possible to see gender from flying birds. I have 4 decoys on my Canada geese set up and I think it works surprisingly well. I don't think I will buy more decoys for this one anytime soon. 12 seems to be working quite well.

This mission could be rather hard tho. I couldn't hit any fleeing birds even I wasted plenty of .22 ammo on them.

[**********]

Certainly geese are easier than ducks. Your Mallard decoys only have half the effect on the other 3 species, and the Mallard caller doesn't call Pintails. With mixed flocks you either have a large setup or expect more disappointment. They're harder to shoot and pay less (~20 for a drake). I've done ducks with just a caller then adding 2+ decoys as I went, but that was just for daily missions or grubbing some starter missions for a change. Canadas are relatively easy and if you use lower noise weapons you can still take out nearby deer etc, then if you wandered off to the next field another group came down with just the 2, 4 or 6 decoys and you can snipe the best males from the embankments at the edge of the field. This is not really an option with Magpie or Snow geese.

[MAGs☢uilleᵗʷᶦᵗᶜʰ]

From easy to worst (my opinion with all decoys)
-Magpie-Snow Goose-Ducks-Canada Goose

*Magpie: Less waiting, many money for male (like snow goose), many groups, easy to kill = best species for the money
*Snow Goose: The wait can be long but it picks up pretty well like the magpie (similar money for the males but I find the magpie has more upside, especially thanks to the map because it does not have an exaggerated light like Whiterime)
*Ducks: The amount of decoy is technical, some species are harder to unhook than others + less money but more quantity
* Canada Goose: We fall asleep even more than the snow goose and it can be painful to unhook them from the group (i dont like the map too).

8 decoys is a very good compromise to unhook them (6, I think it's a bit limited)

For the position of snow goose, the ''Frozen lake'' in the southwest is the spot most used by players. Personally, I'm further west (buffalo area).

Starting at 5 a.m. is perfect to avoid suffering from daylight. Now, it can take a few minutes to get a band but it can also be almost instantaneous (9 minutes on my live of yesterday).

Now it's all about fun. If you prefer a particular species, invest your money in the one that you will do the most without getting bored. Otherwise, the magpie is the best species for the money

[Jack Schitt]

The mixed responses aren't of any help.

[MAGs☢uilleᵗʷᶦᵗᶜʰ]

The problem is that you hope for a miracle option but there is none.

Now you can improve your chances by having a friend own this https://www.thehunter.com/#store/item/1024.

* It increases your chances of attracting them. One uses the long range call and the second uses this caller (imitation)

Afterwards, simply find an area where there is passage, put your decoys, stay lying down or use a blind adapted for the map and as soon as a group passes, use the long range call and then the short range when they go out of the group to attract them on your position

[Elijah32]

Location is the first thing to cover. There is several that I've seen people have success with but not myself. I put mine in the hot springs location. Where have you setup?

[Jack Schitt]

Originally posted by Elijah32:

Location is the first thing to cover. There is several that I've seen people have success with but not myself. I put mine in the hot springs location. Where have you setup?

Tatanka Hot Springs. Right in the middle where I've seen a lot of others put theirs. At first I had 5 decoys and it wasn't going well at all. I played last night with a friend after increasing to 12 decoys and it was better but not as good as people claim it is.
It's still horrible, sucks, if I attempt it on my own without 2 people luring.

[MAGs☢uilleᵗʷᶦᵗᶜʰ]

If you thought you were going to attract all the bands that pass in this game, you got the wrong game

We're not in Call of the Wild here, game takes patience and luck

[Elijah32]

Originally posted by Jack Schitt:

Originally posted by Elijah32:

Location is the first thing to cover. There is several that I've seen people have success with but not myself. I put mine in the hot springs location. Where have you setup?

Tatanka Hot Springs. Right in the middle where I've seen a lot of others put theirs. At first I had 5 decoys and it wasn't going well at all. I played last night with a friend after increasing to 12 decoys and it was better but not as good as people claim it is.
It's still horrible, sucks, if I attempt it on my own without 2 people luring.

If you are getting a good number of flocks to fly over then that is a good start. No, you won't get a lot of birds to break with the limited number of decoys, and I'd recommend working your way up to 24 if you plan on hunting them regularly. Test starting times too. I found 11:00 to be productive but is painful on the eyes so test 5:00 - 7:00.

Originally posted by ⓂAGs☢uilleᵗʷᶦᵗᶜʰ:

If you thought you were going to attract all the bands that pass in this game, you got the wrong game

We're not in Call of the Wild here, game takes patience and luck

Who thought that was the case? Who said we were in CoTW? Jack is simply asking for tips on how to hunt snow geese more effectively, so what is the need for repeated statements about how it isn't gonna be perfect when nobody said it was?

[MAGs☢uilleᵗʷᶦᵗᶜʰ]

Originally posted by Elijah32:

We gave him indications and comparisons and the guy, the only thing that can tell us is ''The mixed responses aren't of any help.''

And he's still complaining today as we try to help the guy.
''I played last night with a friend after increasing to 12 decoys and it was better but not as good as people claim it is''.

The only thing that knows how to do ito complain about what is offered as advice. what is this mentality. Let him fend for himself with his contempt

[Slowsilver]

I think the main complain is that they don't seem to make much money and I think it's kind of justified since some people have been saying it. I thought males would give more too. Maybe they are better and faster way compared to hunting some random animals in the wild but maybe expectations rise too high based on some of the recommendations.

About bird hunting I just spam the long range caller when I hear geese and short range caller few times after I see some are separating from flock. Then check if I forgot to reload my shotgun again. Then wait until they are close enough and shoot maybe 2 birds, try finding the third one from air and usually fail. Sometimes more lucky and sometimes less.

Sorry if I gave wrong impression about 12 decoys. It's all about expectations. Maybe mine were lower and Jack had higher expectations.

[Elijah32]

Originally posted by ⓂAGs☢uilleᵗʷᶦᵗᶜʰ:

Originally posted by Elijah32:

We gave him indications and comparisons and the guy, the only thing that can tell us is ''The mixed responses aren't of any help.''

And he's still complaining today as we try to help the guy.
''I played last night with a friend after increasing to 12 decoys and it was better but not as good as people claim it is''.

The only thing that knows how to do ito complain about what is offered as advice. what is this mentality. Let him fend for himself with his contempt

Looking at his statistics, "*it was better but not as good as people claim it is*" seems to be true in his case.

If they aren't helpful, they aren't helpful. After seeing the hodgepodge of on and off topic information (in good intention it may be), I can understand why they may not be the best answer to his problem. I've hunted snow geese since they came out (over 4,000 harvests now), and I'm glad to provide some help for someone who can use it. If you are so offended by his two sentences, I suggest it is you who moves on. Dwelling on what he "thinks" the hunting should be like and his contemptuousness doesn't help anybody