Hunting Snow Geese: A Thrilling Adventure in Alberta

Frank Stephenson from GunsOnPegs heads to Alberta, Canada to take part in some snow geese hunting.

Alberta

Back in July at the Game Fair at Blenheim Palace, I sat down with a group of Canadians who represented the Alberta Professional Outfitters Society (APOS), including the Minister of Tourism who were visiting the UK to scope out whether or not it was a viable market to promote wing and rifle shooting to.

Shortly after our meeting, APOS invited me over to Alberta to hunt snow geese, so in October, I packed up my kit and jumped on a flight from Heathrow to Edmonton (via Calgary) not really knowing what to expect.

*Flat agricultural land as far as the eye can see*

One of thirteen Canadian provinces, Alberta is located in the west with British Columbia to its west and Saskatchewan to its east. After landing in Edmonton, we headed two and a half hours east to an area near the city of Lloydminster.

*The sunsets in Alberta can be jaw-dropping: this photo doesn't do it justice*

The terrain around here is big! Huge horizons, with hundreds of square miles of mainly flat agricultural land where crops like canola and barley are grown, a vast number of cattle are reared and there is water everywhere; from small ponds to very large bodies of water.

Wildfowl Paradise

Plenty of food and water make it a paradise for wildfowl and it is obvious why the snow geese stop here on their winter migration from the northern Tundra as they head south to warmer climes.

There is an estimated five million snow geese in North America, with the population having considerably increased over the past fifty years and it is getting to the point where they are doing real damage to the vegetation at their nesting sites and having a negative impact on a number of other bird species.

They can flock up in their many thousands and so it is no wonder that the farmers are not their biggest fan.

*A photo taken by one of the guides spotting for us one afternoon - thousands of snow geese*

Snow goose season opens in the beginning of September to mid-December and then a spring season from mid-March to mid-July. In Alberta the bag limit was 50 per hunter per day, with most duck species (mallard and pintail are the most prevalent that come onto the stubbles) are 10 total a day and 'grey geese' which in that area are mainly speckled bellies (what we call greater whitefronts in the UK) and Canada geese (cacklers, lesser and greater) having a limit of 8 a day so as a team of between 4-8 you have an exciting bag potential.

Take 'em

You head out for morning hunt (my personal favourite as the sunrises in Alberta can be absolutely beautiful) and an afternoon hunt and the method is incredibly exciting. Each hunter gets allocated a coffin blind with the guide/s usually interspersed amongst the hunters.

A vast number and different types of quality decoys are used from sillosocks, whole body and flappers and placed in a spread aiming to pull the birds in from long distances.

*The guides put out of hundreds of decoys to try and bring the birds into the spread*

The guides use their callers and when it works the birds come into the spread and the famous call of "take 'em" is shouted by the lead guide at which point the hunters pop up from their blinds and take their shots.

The hunters are all allocated Benelli or Beretta 3-shot semi-autos which you can rent for a very modest fee so you regularly have the chance to take 3 shots (or more if you are quick to reload) before covering up in your blinds again.

*Photo from inside my coffin blind - getting ready to cover up again*

Having shot in a number of places around the world, I do not think I have experienced many things more exhilarating than 5,000 snow geese decoying from a couple of miles away coming in in waves: the noise is quite something and can be difficult to get out of your head when you go to bed at night.

*We had a good Canada goose hunt with some snows mixed in on the third morning*

A fantastic team

After picking up from a morning hunt, guns and guides head back to the lodge for a much-needed cooked Canadian-style breakfast and hot coffee (it can get quite cold at that time of year, especially with a heavy wind and so layering up appropriately is essential). The lodge at Great White Holdings is not luxurious but it is homely and I understand they are going to be making some improvements in time.

After breakfast there is time to relax, take a nap (if required) and in my case get to know the other hunters (who were great guys from the US). Each day I chose to help the guides clean the birds (as I enjoy the process) and get to know them a bit more.

*Author with a snow goose and blue goose (a snow goose morph)*

The guides were a group of young, keen, friendly, hard-working and knowledgeable lads from the US and Canada and were a good laugh. All of the guides (Ayden, Kelvin and Tyson) were incredibly helpful and what head guides Keagan and Lloyd don't know about hunting in Alberta isn't worth knowing.

All of the goose meat is taken to a friend of the business and created into the most delicious jerky that I have ever tasted and was often the catalyst for arguments between the guides about who got to get the next pack.

*All of the goose is turned into jerky: minced, seasoned and brined in a variety of secret recipes and cooked in Bradley Smokers*

The cost?

I am sure you are wondering what the cost is and think it offers real value for money. Between Sept 1 - Oct 31, 2025: for 6 days (11 shoots) the cost is $6,000 (currently £3,300) and for 3 days (5 shoots) it is $3,500 (currently £1,900) which I think is real 'bang for your buck'. That includes your transfers and food and as I mentioned previously guns can be rented at a modest cost.

I was incredibly sad to leave Alberta and I hope that someday in the near future I can get myself back over there to do it all again.

For more information on hunting in Alberta, please visit the Alberta Professional Outfitters Society website here.