There is No Crying in Goose Hunting

I never expected to hunt anything, let alone a goose. But, when I did not draw the big game tags that I wanted, my husband and I switched gears. We bought shot guns and started teaching ourselves to bird hunt.

We started with goose. I thought it would be a simple task. Just walk around the lake, look for birds, and shoot them. Sounds easy, right? That is 100% not what happened. We started in full force when early goose season began in September. It was a short season – only 9 days. But, those 9 days felt really long; we were hunting for hours every day.

The weather was unseasonably warm. It was 90 degrees on most of our goose hunts. When I considered bird hunting, I envisioned tweed jackets and the leaves changing. Instead, I had 90 degrees, no water, sun burns, and absolute exhaustion. There were no knee-high brown leather boots and martinis after the hunt.

I learned that there are a few ways to hunt geese. Many people use a blind and sit quietly for hours. They use decoys and calls to lure the birds to them. After our Texas boar hunt in a blind, we decided to try a different method. We decided to “jump shoot.” Essentially, we hid in the bushes behind chamisas, or in the reeds, and would creep up on the birds. Once they started to fly, we would shoot them.
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During one hunt, we implemented a plan to launch a canoe onto a lake, tie our guns around our waists, paddle over to the birds, and shoot from the canoe. We got to the lake and saw a huge flock of geese. We hopped out of the truck and got our guns ready. It felt like our plan was fool proof.

My husband pulled out paracord that he had cut so that we could tie the guns to our waists in case the canoe capsizes. Well, I wore shorts without belt loops. Unimpressed, my husband found a small eyelet in my shorts and ran the paracord through the hole to secure my gun to my shorts.

We then carried the canoe, paddles, life vests, and guns down a really steep boat ramp. By the time we got to the bottom of the ramp, I already had blisters on my hands.

We launched the canoe and started paddling toward the geese. We paddled for a really, really long time. The lake was completely massive and we were exhausted. I did not pack any water or snacks, which is pretty much my main job while hunting.

Once we got near the geese, we realized that they were finicky and going to fly away from us before we could get into range. We then re-evaluated our plan. It was decided that I would get out and hike behind the geese and my husband would take the canoe around to the other side of the flock.

With this new plan, we were able to take a few shots at the geese, but did not hit any. By the end of the hike, I was completely exhausted, dehydrated, and a bit deflated. Also, we were on the opposite side of the lake from our truck. I started to walk out into the lake toward the canoe (and my husband) and immediately started sinking in the mud.

I was wearing shorts with boots and sinking fast in the thick mud. I was up to my knees in water and could not get my boots free from the mud. I fell over a few times into the water, but luckily held my shotgun over my head (remember, it was tied to my shorts). As I was struggling in the mud, I started to panic. I felt like I was not going to be able to get my feet free or that I was going to lose my boot. My husband was standing 15 feet away from me with the canoe watching this debacle. My eyes started to fill with tears and I declared that I was about to cry.
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He calmed me down quickly, talking me through how to free my boot from the thick lake mud. I was able to break free from the mud and get back into the canoe. We paddled across the larger-than-expected lake, carried all of our gear back up the steep boat ramp, and left goose-less. 

As we debriefed about our goose hunting adventure, I thought about how extremely difficult the hunt was for me. I was exhausted, sun burned, and embarrassed that I had nearly cried because I was stuck in the mud. Reflecting on the experience, I know that I would have lost all composure if I was presented with that situation ten years ago. But, I am a little older, calmer, and more determined than I once was and I am ready for the next goose season.

I also firmly believe that there is no crying in goose hunting.