Everything you need to know about hunting specklebellies (aka the greater white-fronted goose)

BLINDS

Specks are renowned for being cautious and easily spooked, so hunters need to be well-concealed. Wherever possible, set your blind next to or within natural cover; along field edges is the best option if the birds are feeding close enough you can pull them in. A-frame blinds are popular, especially with large groups of hunters. When properly camouflaged, they can be effective in any situation, even in the middle of bald fields.

These days, more and more hunters, especially when they’re in groups of four or less, hunt from willow blinds. These blinds were common in the 1980s and ’90s, but lost favour when goose chairs, then layout blinds followed by A-frames each took their turn as the preferred option. Hunters are once again discovering how effective willow blinds can be, however, especially when the blinds are clad in camo netting under a dense layer of cut willow. Both A-frames and willow blinds have the added advantage of allowing hunters to sit while waiting for geese. Then it’s simply a matter of standing to shoot once the birds arrive.

When you’re shooting from scrubby cover, layout blinds are an effective option, but they’re the most difficult blinds to shoot from, especially for older hunters. That’s because you must open the doors from a nearly horizontal position, then do a sit-up to get into shooting position. That extra second or two means you’ll occasionally be a little late on the birds. You’re also somewhat restricted in how far you can swing to shoot, especially to your gun side. Still, there’s no denying how effective the low profile can be when it comes to fooling approaching geese.

Specks are renowned for being cautious and easily spooked, so hunters need to be well-concealed

When specklebellies are feeding in a field where snow geese are also present, another option is to dress in white and lay down among snow decoys (see next section). This tactic isn’t much fun on wet days or in muddy fields, but it’s not as confining as layout blinds, and you’ll all but disappear among the sea of white.

Aside from the first and last hour of the day, specks can be very difficult to fool if your blind is at the upwind end of your decoys and you’re expecting the birds to fly straight toward you. The answer is to set your blind—whether it’s an A-frame, willow blind or layout blind—downwind and to one side of your spread, where you can side-shoot landing birds as they fly past.