Pennsylvania Game News - February 2012 - 22

Suddenly, we hear a crack, and I know that in a nearby field, hunters are getting shooting. Years ago, I hunted Canada geese in a Middle Creek blind before a single snow goose arrived. Now, snow goose hunting is considered one of the most challenging of all types of hunting. I spoke with Andy Dively, a snow goose hunting guide who explained that one of the reasons is because they have a one-to-one response to decoy ratio. A flock of 100 likes to see a field of 100 decoys before joining the dinner table. A flock of 3,000 (not uncommon) feels more comfortable with 3,000 comrades. We’re talking serious decoy numbers. And they are incredibly skittish. The juveniles often come in first, as the older wary ones hang back and scope out the situation. If only one is uncomfortable, that bird will make an announcement and the show is over, not to return. Dively explains that snow goose hunting is a field hunt. He places his hunters in layout or coffin blinds — metal frame with camo material over it that is like a sleeping bag. You lie on your back with a headrest, close the doors around you, put the mesh flap over your face. Your buddies lie on either side in a row, about five feet apart. They chatter, play an adult version of “whisper down the lane,” nap, wait. Wind direction dictates everything. When setting up, the wind is placed at your back, for the geese like to land into the wind, helping them slow down. The thousands of decoys are arranged in a triangular fashion getting wider and thinner as they span out. The geese want to land where it is thickest, where more geese appear to be eating, where there is more food, which is around the blinds. The geese can be seen about a mile away, but can’t be heard until they’re maybe 400 yards away. They circle two
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or three times to get a good look, and come in at the hunter’s feet. Two electronic callers are working, run on two systems with four speakers, using two different voices. (Electronic callers are authorized only in the Special Conservation Season.) At the top of the triangle are aggressive feeding sounds, and where the decoys thin out, they bark and gabble, sounding content and hanging out. Snow goose hunting has turned into an unbelievable science. The draw for Andy is the challenge. Every single hunt is different. Hunting 100 birds can be easier than 5,000. One hunter — usually in the middle of the line — is designated as the person who calls the shot. “Take aim,” he announces and the “dead” rise up and shoot. The hunter on the far right can aim to “2 o’clock,” and the far left to “10 o’clock.” The one in the middle aims up and front. Only the very best of trusting hunting buddies need apply to this type of hunt. Most of the guys have been hunting together for more than 10 years. “When a big flock comes in, it is like a wall of white. You have the sensation of hearing and seeing, but it is so overwhelming, even the odor is so strong for the birds have spent the last few months crapping like crazy and walking in it. It is so hard to differentiate 15 feet from 15 yards, so everyone’s first shot is a flock shoot. Maybe each hunter kills one. Then they realize what they’ve done and begin to pick out individual birds. “The guys want a show. They want to lose their minds. It can happen. I’ve seen 65-year-old men who have traveled the world big game hunting, begin shaking their hands so violently when the geese come in that they can’t shoot. This is what keeps me going, and coming back day after day. The success and the joy of my hunters makes it worthwhile.” Because this type of hunt is so challenging, Andy’s services are in high demand. He guides six out of seven days a week and handles up to 60 hunts a year.
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Pennsylvania Game News - February 2012

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