Give them a fair chance. If you land them, then smoke them one the ground you didn't give that bird a fair shot. At least in the air they can try to get away. If you land them great, but let them make it to the air before shooting. It just isn't sportsman like. We need to represent ourselves in a positive light. I lump ground pounders in with the sky busters.
Goose Hunting Ethics
Could you guys please explain to me why it is now "unethicle" to arkensaw the geese?(shoot em on the ground)
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I had to watch guys water swat geese half the season. It definitely ate me up. If your close enough to hit em on the ground your close enough to hit em in the air.
Doesn't bother me one way or the other. They may have young kids with them or older gents with bad eyesight or other diffultities. If they're not breaking any laws you shouldn't Judge them. They may not be competant wingshots like yourselves. They're trying to enjoy the same sport as you. Or maybe they are fooling and decoying more geese and your just Jealous?? hhhhhmmmmm 
I prefer shooting them on the wing, but if some birds land 1st while we're busting the incoming, they usually do not leave if we have the kids with us! :wink:
I prefer shooting them on the wing, but if some birds land 1st while we're busting the incoming, they usually do not leave if we have the kids with us! :wink:I don't have any problems with older hunters or kids or even new hunters shooting them off the ground. It is like skybusting in a way. It is just unsportsman like. There is no reason why most hunters couldn't shoot them right before they land instead of on the ground.
I think the reason for why ground or water swatting may have gotten lost with all of the tv and video hype about how cool it is to wing shoot. Sky busting and pass shooting is also looked down on by many. Those programs rairly, if ever talk about ethics.
Bottom line is if the method doesn't cleanly dispatch the birds, it shouldn't be looked on as ethical. Shooting geese when they don't have their wings spread makes kill shots difficult. Instead of shooting through one layer of feathers and one of down, now you have to penetrate those plus the heavy layers made by folded wings. Virtually impossible without placing pellets in the head or neck.
Bottom line is if the method doesn't cleanly dispatch the birds, it shouldn't be looked on as ethical. Shooting geese when they don't have their wings spread makes kill shots difficult. Instead of shooting through one layer of feathers and one of down, now you have to penetrate those plus the heavy layers made by folded wings. Virtually impossible without placing pellets in the head or neck.
How is it unsportsman like though. I don't know how many of you out there are big game hunters but for you that are, you never here sanything like "shoot them while they are running." When you shoot the bird while it's flying you definatly waste more meat than a head shot on the ground and "in a sportsmans ethicle sense" arnt you goose hunting for the meat anyway. You can't accept everything that you are told about ethics or anything else for that matter.
I am a big game hunter and I see your point. I guess you could get cleaner kills by shooting them on the ground if you hit them in the head. I would like to say again that I don't have much of a problem with people shooting them off the ground. I do not shoot them off the ground and I don't see why most people couldn't just shoot them in the air, but if shooting them is off the ground is what you want to do then do it. I am not going to hold anything against you. You decoyed the geese, so you can shoot them how you want to. I try to shoot them in the head in the air and the ones that I do get, the chest will sometimes have a few stray pellets, so the meat is never really ruined. I hope that this doesn't get to out of hand. :lol: :roll:
im with Mpeitsmeyer on this one. i have no problem shooting them on the ground. i have snuck up on geese before and shot them. its just another way of hunting. i dont think there is anything unethical of shooting a grounded bird. you shoot turkeys when they come into your decoy and you dont give them a chance to fly they dont even know your there. same with deer elk moose. i think skybusting is bad because thats what makes decoy shy birds. but if you have birds land into you i belive that there is nothing wrong with shooting them on the ground. when you have geese flying just 10 feet out from you about to land and you shoot them thats pretty much the same thing as shooting them on the ground. my oppinion there is nothing wrong with shooting birds on the ground. i find it funner when i shoot them out of the air but in the end its all the same you get a goose. i would love to hear how it is so terrible to shoot a goose that is landed. you called and decoyed them in if you dont shoot um on the ground you are going to shoot them on the approach so its no worse off for the goose. and if i was a goose i would much rather be shot in the head and die quick instead of having someone blow my wing out and then have the fear of them walking up to me and then twisting me around untill my neck broke. its putting the goose out quicker this way. well thats about all i can say about this subject.
Who said it is.. ?
If that is the case, then why don't we only shoot at running big game?
The reason is simple, % of kills.
I like to see em drop from the sky, but if you land em, why not?
SJ
If that is the case, then why don't we only shoot at running big game?
The reason is simple, % of kills.
I like to see em drop from the sky, but if you land em, why not?
SJ
give the birds a fair chance, if you cant shoot them in the sky then practice your shooting before you go out again. Plus what is the fun in seeing a duck or goose just got plastered while there sittin on the ground, its not!!!!!! One of the greatest things to waterfowling is seeing the ducks/geese fly and thats the way you shoot them. Thats the ways its been and thats the way it should stay, it takes the sport out of the hunt. Even with kids you should start them out shooting trap and skeet to teach them the right way to waterfowl. Im not trying to be offensive but shooting birds on the ground is unsportsman-like. Also, you cant compare big game to waterfowl, its two totally different ways of hunting, its like comparing ice skating to football, sure they may have a few small similarities but the history behind them is what seperates them. Just my 2 cents on the subject.
well whatever you all wanna think.......... then lets compare bird to bird you shoot turkeys on the ground. there is nothing unethical about it. i agree its funner to shoot them out of the air. i have shot 20 geese this year and only one that was landed. i dont do it often but there is nothing wrong with it. how is it not giving them a fair chance? how is it more fair if they are coming in and just about to land when they are hardly moving and then you shoot them? if you land them in your decoys shoot um on the ground and then shoot the ones that fly. so when you get them to land you pop out to get them to fly and then the second they are airborn you shoot them? how is that any different? anywase i think you al know were i stand on this its fine to shoot geese if they land in your decoys. cuz your only going to get 1 on the ground and then your going to get the others that pick up in the air 1 foot off the ground not moving practically........
In response to what pagooser said I would like to say this; if you look back at the "history of goose hunting" you will find that it was never done for sport. I can see some peoples perspective that goose hunting in general is unethical. I mean who really likes goose meat anyway??? Back in the day goose was eatin for christmas dinner. I know that some of you out there just throw the goose away or burry it for fertilizer. Me personally, I like goose as much as any other meat. SO what I'm trying to say is that goose hunting was not use to be a sport, but a way of life. So saying that shooting them on the ground takes the "sport" out of it, in my openion, is just about as unethicle as it gets.
I'll eat a ground swatted goose before a flyer every time! Saves on the trip to the Dentist! hahahaha Same as eating a head shot deer and a Gut shot one!
goose and duck hunting were a way of life back in the early and mid 1900's, market hunting is what my relatives did from 1920's to the early 1950's. I also agree with mpeitsmeyer goose meat is awesome to eat if cooked the right way. Plus, my concern with shooting geese on the ground is a personal way of hunting, no man who i have ever hunted with ever even thought about shooting geese/ducks on the ground/water, so its the way i was raised, i wouldnt have gotten to hunt in some of the places i have if i shot a bird while it was on the ground. I, again, just dont find it to be fun, and yes it is a sport nowadays, none of the people i hunt with primarily eat goose or any of the animals they hunt, it is an added bonus though :lol: .
I love goose meat and won't shoot anything I don't intend on eating and using--otherwise it's wasteful and shows a disrespect for life IMO.
Not to sound "out there," but I believe in hunting ethics like the American Indians that hunted this land before us. I only take what I'll use and I regard life and don't kill for sport.
However, I won't shoot a goose/duck on the ground or in the water, and I have had the opportunity to do so on several occasions.
In a similar vein, I like to track animals when hunting whether it's bear or deer. Sitting in a tree stand waiting for animals to walk by doesn't appeal to me.
Not to sound "out there," but I believe in hunting ethics like the American Indians that hunted this land before us. I only take what I'll use and I regard life and don't kill for sport.
However, I won't shoot a goose/duck on the ground or in the water, and I have had the opportunity to do so on several occasions.
In a similar vein, I like to track animals when hunting whether it's bear or deer. Sitting in a tree stand waiting for animals to walk by doesn't appeal to me.
Yesterday my brother just bought 4 dozen Hard Cores, There will be NO MORE GROUND SWATTING!! new Motto; If ya can't hit'em flying...Go Home! or Pay up.... BBWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA
new Motto; If ya can't hit'em flying...Go Home! or Pay up.... BBWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAIn a way, wanting to shoot geese on the ground makes you a better hunter. If you are only one minded into shooting them in the air then there is a high wounded rate. I beleive that even the best shooters are only going to kill a goose 50 yrds up about 50% of their shots. Anyone who has patterned a shotgun at 50 plus yards knows exactly what I'm talking about. When the BBs get out that far they are spreading fast, there are huge pockets where there are no BBs. This means that even if your aim is dead on, you might not kill it, as most of you already know. "Wing Only" shooters to often sky blast thinking that the goose is withen killing didtance. Those greenies(environmentalists) would really get off our asses if there were not so many one legged birds hobbeling arround in their backyard parks. Shootinthem on the ground basicly prevents any injury possibilities 100%, that is unless you really have a problem keeping a gun steady.
I would like to ask this question, How is hunting turkeys ethical when it is said to be unethical to shoot a goose in the same way?
because turkeys are to smart for their own good. :lol: :roll:
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