Early Goose Hunting in North Dakota

Sometimes you have to swallow hard and accept what you can’t change, especially when it comes to goose hunting.

As I turned the pickup truck onto a grassy two-track that bordered a wheat stubble field we had scouted the night before, the meteorologist on the local radio station was announcing a scorching high of 92 degrees F. It was August 15, and the pre-dawn sky was still salted with stars, yet it was already a muggy 75. My buddies and I set up our layout blinds and three dozen full-body goose decoys in our shorts and t-shirt. When the sun began to peek over the horizon, painting the landscape with fiery oranges and deep purples, we quickly changed into our camo clothing and climbed into our layout blinds. Then we waited, and waited, and waited.

There had been a breeze earlier, but now the air sat still and heavy. My back and neck were drenched in sweat and sticking to the pad underneath me in the layout blind. The mid-morning sun was resting on the tops of the trees along the edge of the field when the geese finally started flying. 

Local birds usually fly the same routes each morning, and we knew we were on the X based on where the geese were feeding the night before. My friends are excellent callers and immediately started throwing out a mixture of clucks and moans. I am not so talented. However, I have mastered a decent moan by pushing air through the call from my diaphragm using various amounts of back pressure.

The first group of birds we saw were immediately committed, and it didn’t take long for them to set their wings and quickly descend upon us. We let the birds get within 20 yards before I finally yelled, “Take ‘em!” 

My eyes looked down the barrel and rested on the white patch located on the cheek of the far-right goose. I pulled the trigger to release a shower of BBs, watched it crumble, then turned and repeated the process on two more birds. After a few more small flocks came in, we counted up a total of 20 honkers. We all agreed to pack it up and call it a day before the extreme heat of the afternoon enveloped us. 

My longing for goose hunting had slumbered in the depths of my soul for almost a year, but it emerged from the den and was hungry and ready to devour a new goose recipe and moments like this. Hunting is less about man versus nature and more of an opportunity to reconnect with friends and to get outside – even if it is a 90-degree day in August. 

Early Goose season in North Dakota will once again start on August 15. A generous daily limit of 15 birds, and a possession limit of 45 birds, means the early season is a perfect time to stack up some meat and restock the dwindling supply of wild game in your freezer. With the help of my Renegauge Waterfowl shotgun, I’ve become extremely proficient at knocking down a whole bunch of birds by mid-morning before the hot sun makes it too unbearable to roast in the confines of a layout blind.