Small Game Hunting in NC

Currently under construction - scheduled completion Mar 2009

Starting in the late 1980's there was a both a private and a state agency effort to stock Canadian Geese in North Carolina. Since that time the population has exploded to over 100,000 becoming a nuisance in many areas. Year round geese are often reviled for messing up golf courses and parks, spreading disease to other wild and farm animals, and consume seeds and crop carefully put out. NC has plentiful ponds, crops, lawns, and golf courses and is ideal to foster Canadian Geese populations.

North Carolina has plenty of Canada Goose to hunt. There is typically two seasons, an early and a regular season; get the exact dates at "NC Regulations Digest Migratory Birds". Also, note that there are specific regulations for shooting resident geese and there is a banding program.

But with all the geese they are still not as easy to hunt as one might expect. Geese, like other migrating birds, very quickly learn shooting patterns and will avoid them. Decoys will definitely help attract geese as will calls.

Remember that non-toxic shells, see page for comparisons, must be used and the newer alloy shot generally perform better than steel shot. BB's, or equivalent to BB size in lead, are the smallest shot that should be used. Sizes larger are up to the hunters personal preference and the choke which they use. Many will use modified choke and some will use more open chokes with the heavy loads.

There are many good writeups on the web including the Ducks Unlimited site.