Canada geese are big birds. Taking a shot when the geese are still too far away won't put whitecheeks on the ground. One way to ensure this doesn't happen is to pace off 40 yards in all directions from your spot of concealment and mark the distance with a stick. If you can see the goose's feet when it flies over this reference point, the target is both low enough and close enough to knock down.

Some geese fly away because the hunter forgets to keep his cheek down on the butt stock, figuring a target that big is impossible to miss. Another problem -- especially when pass-shooting -- is failure to take enough lead before pulling the trigger. Take this advice to heart: Get what you think is a proper lead, and then double it, and then add another foot. You'll knock down every one of 'em.

For generations, the great Horicon Marsh has been a destination for Wisconsin goose hunters. Many farmers surrounding the refuge rent out blinds for public use, with Department of Natural Resources statistics indicating over one-half of hunters holding Horicon tags hunting private lands. If you paid attention to previous advice, the odds for success when hunting around Horicon are so good that you might as well tell Grandma to dust off the big roasting pan before you grab the old tan coat and head out the door. A 2004 DNR survey indicated 93.7 percent of Horicon hunters have visited this quota zone more than once, thus making this destination an annual event.

Similar numbers are posted in Manitowoc County's Collins Zone. Although this zone is small in size, the concentration of Canada geese and hunter success is quite high here.

Both the Collins and Horicon zones have seen a steady decrease in the number of permit applications over the past 17 years. However, DNR reports indicate numbers have stabilized over the past two seasons.

At Collins, the most popular -- and productive -- hunting period is period 2. Hunting periods 2 and 3 are most popular with Horicon Zone hunters. The number of tags issued in these zones is determined after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service sets state quotas. Quotas for the Mississippi Valley Population of Canada geese are driven to a great extent by goose production north of Wisconsin.

During the 2003 season, Wisconsin's quota was 85,500 honkers. Last year, the quota was cut to 49,200 due to the poor nesting conditions. At press time for this article, the 2006 quota was not yet established.

In recent years, many hunters have opted to hunt geese in the Exterior Zone because harvest guidelines are more liberal and the fact that resident populations of geese have become established in countless areas across our state. Over the past two seasons, 63 percent and 67 percent, respectively, of Canada geese harvested in Wisconsin were taken in the Exterior Zone. Brown County is the perpetual goose harvest leader in the Exterior Zone, followed by Polk, Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Barron counties. But the top five counties for hunters applying for Exterior Zone tags are Waukesha, Dane, Milwaukee, Outagamie and Winnebago. The probable reason permit applications are higher from these counties is due to higher human populations there.