New York was hot for the boys from Top Pin Outdoors, who opened the 2018 resident goose hunting season with six banded geese.
Hunting resident geese in New York is one of the best times for those who like to get out and take down some geese. From a conservation stand point, this is nearly a requirement. With a liberal bag limit of 15 birds per day, extended shooting hours, magazine extensions and permitting the use of electronic calls, hunters can greatly increase their success rate in the early season opener.
When we found this video, we reached out to Top Pin Outdoors' Joe Sparacino, who's also a local waterfowl hunting guide, and asked him about his hunt.
"Resident geese tend to damage property, agriculture and natural resources," Joe said. "These geese occupy both urban and suburban areas including golf courses, private residencies and swimming facilities. Resident geese also can effect human health and safety, from traffic hazards, to the possibility of transmitting diseases to humans."
Joe then explained and shared with me that, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 99 percent of geese neck-banded in the mid-Atlantic region (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) during the early 1990s remained in that region. Because of this, the Atlantic flyaway council adopted the Resident Population Canadian Goose Management Plan.
As you may have heard, the guys showed up at 2:30 a.m.in the morning to a field they planned to hunt only to find someone had beat them there. He shared the story on their Instagram page, explaining to their followers that situations like this can happen and that you should never get discouraged.
Then they moved to "Plan B," and things got really exciting as soon as the first set of geese came in to the decoys. A day's total of seven banded geese and 24 total birds was a lot better than these guys expected to do!
With five total hunters, they each took a band home, tossed some shotgun shells in a hat and drew. Two of the guys went home with an extra band, but they all went home with a heck of a memory.
Like what you see here? You can read more articles by Dustin Prievo here. Follow him and his hunting team, Top Pin Outdoors, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
NEXT: THIS CRAZY BLOOD TRAIL WILL GET YOU EXCITED FOR HUNTING SEASON
