Ultimate Goose Gear Guide

Goose hunters are a unique sect of the waterfowling world—passionate, determined, and slightly gear-obsessed. Whether it’s micromanaging the decoy spread, keeping up with the newest guns, or rotating calls for specific scenarios, the devil is in the details. Combine all these factors just right, and you’ll be rewarded with honkers landing feet down in the spread. If you’re new to goose hunting or simply looking for any advantage you can get, we put together this ultimate goose gear guide. These are the pieces of gear we won’t leave home without. From guns to gear and everything in between, this list will elevate your presentation and, in turn, your success.

How We Made Our Picks

Over the years of goose hunting, we’ve refined our gear list. Depending on the conditions, the setup, and the birds, we know what to grab and when. This certainly comes with experience, but in an effort to cut down on the learning curve, we’ve compiled all our essential gear. From guns to calls and everything in between, the following goose gear guide has every basis covered for every condition (including dry field and water hunts).

Gear

Laying flat in a field of decoys and watching birds work overhead keeps goose hunters coming back. Oftentimes, the fields birds want in are far from dry. This is where a good pair of bibs comes in handy, like the Sitka Hudson Bibs. Constructed out of Gore-tex material, they are designed to keep you dry and warm. When dry fields turn to mud, you can sit on the ground knowing you’ll be comfortable. Add to that the addition of knee pads, and no matter the conditions, you can comfortably hunt dry fields.

Hunters can be particular about wearing gloves, especially when working a call or mounting their gun. The best solution we’ve found is a handwarmer muff like this one from Action Heat. Similar to the style you see NFL players wearing, these battery-powered hand warmers keep your hands warm and dry. When birds show up and it is time to call, simply pull your hands out, and you are ready to work even in single-digit temperatures.

A lot goes into goose hunting preparation—setting decoys, grassing blinds, and prepping gear. To keep your hands protected, a simple pair of leather work gloves should always make it into the blind bag. The Kinco driver glove is a staple for Western work and is just at home in the goose fields. They are durable and comfortable, so you can tackle all prep work without destroying your hands.

A strong morning goose flight keeps waterfowlers coming back year after year. Yet to hit it right requires setting big spreads, sometimes hours before shooting light. A good headlamp like the Fenix HM70R is a must to get to work. This particular headlamp offers seven white light modes and two red light modes. Its max output is 1600 lumens, more than enough to see everything you are doing. What really stands out to us is the battery capacity. On low mode you can expect an impressive 100 hours of run time and at max output a full 2 hours. This setup is fully rechargeable, so you can always be sure your headlamp is ready to go.

Shooting a pile of honkers is fun, but the real work starts after the hunt. Cleaning a lot of birds takes time, and a good knife certainly lessens the load. Montana Knife Company’s newest specialty knife, the Freezeout, is designed to do just that. It resembles a traditional bird and trout knife. The Freezeout features a roughly 3-inch blade for making precise cuts. Best of all, this knife features Magnacut blae steel. Known for its corrosion resistance and edge retention, you’ll have this knife for thousands of birds and generations to come.

A good multi-tool can save a hunt in a pinch. The Leatherman Wave+ has been in our kit for several seasons, and for good reason. It comes ready with 18 different tools, including pliers, a saw, a screwdriver, and a knife blade, to name a few. Whether it’s a broken layout blind or gun malfunction, the Wave+ can tackle just about anything we throw at it. When a single issue can make or break a hunt, having the tools ready in one place when needed is a must.

When it comes time to find new birds, a spotting scope is your best friend. The right spotter allows you to find birds and get an idea of how many and what species you will be targeting. Spotting scopes can get expensive quickly, but luckily, there are great scopes that don’t break the bank. The Vortex Diamondback HD features premium glass and crisp images at a budget-friendly price. We prefer the 20-60X angle version. It offers more than adequate zoom and comfortable eye relief for long glassing sessions. Pair it with a window mount, and you can glass up honkers from the truck with ease.

Like a spotting scope, a good pair of binoculars goes a long way when scouting. You can keep them in the truck and they are great for run and gun scouting styles. The Viper HD binos from Vortex offer exceptional glass and eye relief in a lightweight package. The standard 10×42 binos work in 90% of scouting scenarios. If you do find yourself often scouting long, open distance, opt for the 10x50s. Binos are also a great blind bag essential. They can help identify birds that land away from your spread and check for bands. Plus, this particular pair is down to just $300 at Cabelas.

Shotguns

Gas guns like the Browning Maxus II are great for heavy-hitting goose loads. The gas system works to mitigate recoil, keeping you on target for repeated shots. The Maxus II has proven to be a reliable companion for the blind over the last few seasons. It handles every load we throw at it and every condition. From the early-season dusty hunts to late-season freezing temps, it has worked without issue. If you’re looking for a versatile and good-looking gun, look no further.

If you’re someone who views guns more as a tool than a prized possession, consider the Benelli Ethos Cordoba. Like all Benellis, the Ethos Cordoba features an inertia system. This system, time and time again, has gone off without failure. Don’t believe me, on opening a friend dropped his underwater, proceeded to dump the water out of it and shoot a limit of ducks. Reliability is key for a long waterfowl season, and these guns require little to no maintenance throughout the season. In addition, they aim and point well. For a foolproof system, consider the BE.S.T coating. It is a propriety metal treatment that will not rust even in the worst conditions.

Conservation snow goose season means extended mags and giant volleys at wads of snows. If you’re not one to want to modify your existing goose gun, then Stoeger has a solution for you. Its Snow Goose gun features a 14-round magazine tube and a slick white cerakote. Stoeger, a sister company of Benelli, uses similar inertia actions. This means you get the same reliability at a fraction of the cost.

Calls

The BBG Honker from Pacific Calls has been a staple on our call lanyard. Made in Spokane, Washington, Pacific Calls has built a reputation for crafting exceptional duck and goose calls. The BBG stands for Big Bore Goose Call, and it lives up to its name. The large bore creates loud and deep sounds for imitating the raspy notes of Canada geese. It turns over easily and, thanks to the Broke-In-Gut system, is ready to blow out of the box. For a versatile call with incredible sounds, be sure to add the BBG to your lanyard.

The MG Rush is a bit of a hybrid short reed goose call. It features a short upper barrel to get a shorter response time as air quickly comes in touch with the reed. The bottom half of the call features a longer and wider lower barrel. This still allows callers to get the deep, raspy goose sounds needed in the field. Overall this call is fairly easy to blow, great to learn on, and incredibly versatile. Several members of the Split Reed team are running this call, and for the price point, it’s hard to beat.

If you’re looking for the best of the best, Bay Country Calls is a good place to start. Founded by John Taylor, World Goose Calling Champion of Champions, every call is meticulously crafted to the highest standards. While you can’t go wrong with any call they make, the Kill Gene is our preference. It’s fairly easy to turn over and is tuned in the mid to high-end range. It’s a versatile call that, in the hands of the right caller, can do just about anything. Don’t believe us, just ask John Walls (three-peat World Goose Calling champion) what he uses.

Premium goose calls are all made from acrylic. Unfortunately, these calls also come with a premium price tag. In an effort to give budget hunters a premium-sounding call, Molt Gear has come up with its Delrin Series. These calls mimic the same sound profiles as their acrylics but at a fraction of the cost. Whether you’re looking to “try before you buy” or simply want a budget option that will get the job done, definitely consider the MG Delrin Series.

Blinds

Field goose hunting requires a good hide. While A-frames and panel blinds do the job, there’s nothing quite like laying on the ground watching birds work overhead. Of all the layouts we’ve used over the years, the Tanglfree Flight Series is our favorite. Available in a number of camo patterns, this blind is easy to hide and comfortable. It features a comfortable back pad, internal storage pocket, and ample space. With 30 minutes of work or less,s you can effectively grass this blind in and virtually disappear from honkers.

Setting up on an edge hide in an A-frame is a staple amongst waterfowl hunters. Good A-frames are easy to set up, spacious, and, most importantly, hide well. The Divebomb Industries Hyvert checks all these boxes. This blind has ample space at 10 1/2 feet long to hide several hunters and dogs. In addition, it features dog doors for easy access in and out of the blind. What really stands out about this blind is the ability to separate it into two separate blinds. This essentially, makes the Hyvert into large panel blinds to double the size when you have a back cover. Other great features are the ability to connect multiple blinds and magnetic gun rests to keep your shotgun in place.

Decoys

Dave Smith has built a reputation for creating the most realistic decoys on the market. The Honker full-body set is no exception. While they will set you back a fair bit, this four-pack features incredibly realistic poses. The sizing perfectly matches the size of honkers, as does the paint scheme and flat color. In addition, folding legs make these full bodies easy to store and organize.

The price of running a big spread will quickly add up if you’re only using full bodies. The Divebomb S3Fi Flocked Canada Socks is an excellent solution for those looking to add realism and size without breaking the bank. These decoys combine the best aspects of full bodies and silhouettes into one decoy. Positioned on a single stake, they also move and turn with wind adding an extra level over realism. Best of all, they won’t break the bank.

Silos are another great addition to add size to your spread without raising costs. These from Divebomb are incredibly realistic thanks to their fully flocked design and variety of poses. From a distance, birds see the outline or silhouette, steering them your way. Up close, the flocking mutes any unnatural shine other silos may have, resulting in more birds finishing.

Heyday decoys are constructed entirely out of foam. For the walk-in hunter, this cuts weight and noise. With the sheer size, it’s a no-brainer when hauling 12 or more big honkers. In addition, the foam construction makes these decoys much more durable than standard plastic decoys. If they catch a stray pellet, no worries, Heyday dekes keep floating.