Photo by Marc Murrell.

I couldn't believe my eyes: The huge Western Oklahoma wheat field bulged with a flock of several thousand geese, all honking incessantly as each competed with the others for the scant remnants of the refuge's once-flourishing greenfield.

Soon, I knew, these geese would be leaving the confines of their secure barbed-wire boundaries, winging their way in small groups toward neighboring feed fields to fuel themselves in an effort to fend off the bitter January weather. Nearby, hunters shivered within the pit blinds they occupied, awaiting a crack at any marauding black-and-gray honkers that invaded the air space within shotgun range.

Some incredible goose hunts take place statewide this month, as maximum numbers of geese inhabit the state en route to their southern wintering destinations. If you're a goose hunter, now's the time to head into the field and experience Oklahoma goose hunting at its finest.

LATE-SEASON CANADAS ARE DIFFERENT
Early-season geese behave much differently than do their late-migrating counterparts that arrive in January and February. Early in the season, many of the first arrivals are young geese that readily decoy, as they lack the wariness necessary for survival. Goose hunters can easily dupe these youngsters with as little as 24 decoys.

Later in the season, however, things change radically for Oklahoma's goose chasers. Geese arriving in Oklahoma late have been shot at all the way down the Central Flyway and are very cautious about decoy spreads and overzealous goose callers.

Expert goose hunter Paul Newsom said it most aptly: The late season is tough at best, but rewarding. Newsom loves to hunt geese, having done so for over 35 years, but he doesn't usually begin hunting the tough ones until after deer season ends in December. In his view, Oklahoma's goose action peaks during late season, and success depends on the ability to adapt to various hunting situations.

The savvy veteran varies the number of decoys he uses with regard to the size of birds he's hunting. "Late season, if I am hunting big geese, I can get by with using 24 big full-bodied decoys," said Newsom a former state goose calling champion. "If I am hunting lesser Canadas, I will use more decoys -- generally 75 to 100 dekes will do the job. I always set my decoys up into two family groups, and leave a space in the middle for the geese to land in. I refer to the area between the two groups of decoys as the 'gauntlet.'"

Newsom's goose hunts (as well as a host of other hunts) can be seen on his locally syndicated television show, Paul Newsom's Great Outdoors.

Early-season goose callers can call until they're blue in the face, and geese will readily come to their decoy spreads. Later in the season, though, hunters have to exercise caution when calling, because too much calling can actually repel geese.

Shane and Brandon Risley are two of the best goose hunters I've hunted with -- and they call less than most goose hunters do. "I usually only call a few times to get the geese's attention, to look at my decoy spread," said the former, "and then I stop and let them work the spread on their own terms."