red banded brant

[glass_eye]

An outfitter from Mexico that I've done alot of work for was just in my shop and he was telling me of a bird photographer that went on his Baja hunts for brant. The guy spent most of the time shooting pics and once in a while he would pick up the shotgun and shoot holes in the sky. He had never shot waterfowl before, this was his first hunt. When he finally connected on a bird, he killed a red banded brant. His first bird ever.
Brant with red bands come from, where else but Russia.

 

[eelgrass]

glass_eye, a guy shot a red banded Brant on Humboldt Bay last year too. He was the envy of us all. He had the story with a photo but I can't find it now. His website is down.

I was down looking at the Aleutians yesterday and spotted one with a blue neck band. It was on private property but too many houses and roads around to hunt.

The late season has been a big bust so far IMO. There is getting to be more and more "no hunting" areas and the birds are figuring it out. Even city property on the outskirts of town has been planted in grass to attract the geese. That's BS as far as I'm concerned. I took a drive through Loleta bottoms and never saw any Aleutians period. That place was crawling with them a couple years ago.

The Fish & Game call it a hunt but in reality it's only to educate the birds. It drives Fish & Game crazy if you actually kill one.

The ranch I hunt hasn't had a goose on it all year. Good for the ranchers, but lousy for us hunters. I'll go down and check the proprty almost every day now until the 10th. but I'm not too hopeful.

Eel

Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

 

[Simo42]

hi eel,
we hunted the little birds as well. didnt do that good but havent given up yet.im done for the year but will b back. how do most guys get em pass shoot,small spreads,huge spreads?? we have had success with darker decoys but watched a guy last sat. pull birds off us with light ones.
still trying to figure these things out
simo

 

[eelgrass]

Simo, I can only report what I've observed or heard from friends who hunt them. All of the decoy spreads I've used or seen (both large and small) will draw the birds for a high fly over but not really pull the birds down, with one exception. I watched a guy who had 8 mounted Aleutian geese that he used for decoys pull the birds right down. He was hiding next to an old water trough. No doubt he was in a field that the birds were wanting to use, but it sure worked.

I had one good shoot last year with a dozen decoys. I painted the white neck collar on them. It was real windy and I was the only one on the place that day. Even then they weren't really setting their wings to land. The wind just brought them down lower.

I was hoping to get enough birds this year to preserve some for decoys. You know they are the right color and size.

One thing that does not work, from what I've seen, is the layout blinds. The geese avoid those like the plague. A fence line, or existing structure of some kind is a lot better place to hide.

There are a few ranchers who see the value of hunting and actually manage for it. They will let the birds use the property and only hunt on a limited basis to keep the birds around. Most ranchers will immediatly run birds off as soon as they see them. The birds will leave and not come back which makes for lousy hunting. I can't blame the ranchers though for running them off as they will reek havoc on the grass.

The funny thing is, about three days after the season closes the birds know it and land where ever they want. The ranchers really take a beating until they head north, about the 1st to the 15th of April.

I've actually gone out to the ranch I hunt and had birds sitting down when I got there. The rancher wasn't home at the time otherwise he would have stepped out the door and shot to spook them away. A couple times the birds were close enough to good cover and I was able to sneak on them. That's always fun.

Eel

 

[Simo42]

Eel ,
thanks for the reply we have killed some birds out of the layout blinds but matched the surrounding grass pretty well to start and then took the time to weave in natural grass as well. working on a few (what we feel are upgrades)but looking forward to gettin after them again next year. hope they keep the season
simo