Let's Start the Fire

by
posted on March 24, 2015
snow_goose_group.jpg

“I’m not doing this to smell the smoke; I wanna start the fire.”

Our travel companion George Kolodi uttered those words during our 24-hour trek out to South Dakota earlier this week. He said them in regards to the region’s spring snow goose harvest—we’d heard some good things, and excitement was building. But he wasn’t interested in just hearing about piles of light geese … he wanted to start making them.

And on Tuesday, that’s what we did.

I’ll grant you that 42 birds isn’t a huge number by conservation season standards, but it was a heck of a lot of fun, regardless. Five hunters and one dog picked away at small groups of birds throughout a windy, wet day on the South Dakota prairie, and we left happy with our harvest. The skunk was out of the box within minutes of our settling into the pit, and action never slowed for long.

Some Day 2 Highlights:

  • My NRA companion, Assistant Editor Jon Draper, narrowly avoided getting brained by a falling blue goose on one of the last volleys of the day. It got stonewalled by steel shot some 50 yards straight above the pit, and came tumbling down at us. I sought cover immediately—largely because I’ve seen this kind of thing happen before—but Jon tried to ride it out. He had to dodge late.
  • Our 42-bird total was a healthy mix of snows, blue geese and Ross’ geese. Monday was Ross heavy, but things swung back to a more normal distribution on Tuesday.
  • Nearly getting himself knocked unconscious aside, Draper had an excellent day. He knocked down more than his fair share of birds, all with the Benelli Ethos. If he’s not the first hunter to purposely turn the Ethos loose on snow geese, I know he’s got to be at least among the first two or three. We really should ask.
  • For the record, our hunting party (pictured below with Monday’s trophy shot) consists of (from left to right): Rick DeWitt, George Kolodi, Web Managing Editor Shawn Skipper, Garrett (our guide), Assistant Editor Jon Draper, Pat Skipper and Tank the golden retriever.

 undefined

Stay tuned for more coverage as the week rolls on, folks.

Latest

LEDE Marlin Dark
LEDE Marlin Dark

Hardware Review: Marlin Model 1895 Dark

If you think lever-action rifles should only have walnut stocks and a blued-metal finish, then the new Marlin Dark series with its polymer buttstock and aluminum AR-esque handguard probably won’t be your thing. That’s a shame, because this recent offering in Marlin’s line of modernized, capable lever-action rifles has a lot going for it in terms of performance, functionality and fun.

ATN Shipping TICO LTV Thermal Clip-On

This thermal clip-on device is a huge night-time gear multiplier for hunters and observers, transforming any daytime scope into a thermal sight.

MidwayUSA Named Official Sponsor of the 2025 NRA Annual Meetings

Glock, Inc. is the Presenting Sponsor of the Freedom Experience on Saturday, April 26th

First Look: Montana Rifle Company Marshall Hunting Rifle

Montana Rifle Company (MRC) has announced its Marshall Hunting Rifle—a rifle the company bills as being 10,000 rounds in the making.

Spring Gobbler Gear Roundup

Mike Roux lays out his winter's turkey gear discoveries, just in time for spring gobbler season.

National 4-H Shooting Sports Signs on as Official +ONE Partner

The National 4-H Shooting Sports program has joined the +ONE Movement, a national mentorship initiative led by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) that encourages peer-to-peer mentorship in the hunting and shooting sports.

Interests



Get the best of American Hunter delivered to your inbox.