After 2 years up north living I decided this year to totally ignore geese and ducks.  I am not well versed in or set up to hunt them.  So just before 9/1 a couple dozen geese arrive in my yard (on the south fork of flambeau).  Ok fine, I will ignore them.  Now they are all over the river.  Not uncommon to have 50-70 out there now.  A dozen woodies too.

Unlike the past two years, this year the river is normal.  So warmer water, lower levels and tons of grass beds I had never seen before.  The geese love these beds and the wood ducks let the geese do the work for them, plowing it up.  The mergansers hang just down stream catching stirred up fish.

I have figured out their routine and the 4 or 5 spots they are rotating through.  Yesterday while fishing a couple dozen flew in over me, turned and landed by the spot I set up a blind the past two years.  I can no longer ignore these geese.  Of course hundreds are in the local fields.

Exterior Zone goose season is open now, opened on 9/16/2015. 2 per day limit, exterior zone tag is $3... must also have small game, state duck stamp, federal duck stamp... go get some.

Northern zone duck season opens this coming Saturday, 9/26, at 30 minutes before sunrise (9am start on opening day has been eliminated).

Normally I would've been out hunting geese numerous times by this time of year, but I've been busy with bear hunting this year. I went out for early goose & teal just once, on Sept. 1st, and it was just way too hot & humid for good hunting... as soon as the sun started burning off the fog about 8:30am, the dog started panting and I started sweating in my waders, and I called it a day. I don't have any fields to hunt, all my hunting is done on water. I saw 1 flock of geese leave the lake and head to a nearby Frito Lay owned (no hunting allowed) potato field to feed... and that's when I left. Thought about coming back to hunt afternoon when the geese returned for the night, but it was in the mid 80s and very humid, screw that.

I agree on the heat, it helped me ignore them until now.  Sunday they flew around me all day while in the garden.  After that I went to a pond to fish and had the flock on the pond and another behind me on the river.  I have noticed the ducks are way more skittish then the geese.  They jump at any sight or sound.

My concern is shooting geese now will scatter ducks but then again Geese may head out soon too.

What is the smallest shot size to use for Geese inside 40 yards?

#2 would be the smallest I'd use. BB is better, geese are tough.

For geese, I prefer Hevi Shot #2s. Yes, it's as expensive as shooting gold nuggets, but it works better than the old lead shot did. I don't get that many shots at geese, so I like to make them count. If you don't want to spend $3 per trigger pull, there's some good steel alternatives. Black Cloud BBs hold the tightest pattern, and averages $20 per box of 25. Winchester Super X steel BBs aren't bad either, they're traveling at 1550 fps, and are only about $12-15 per box of 25 (I use these as "finisher" shots at birds down in the water).

That's what I thought.  Have to go in town and get some.

Don't overlook Kent Faststeel. Never used them myself, but others swear by them.

Winchester's "Blind Side" has heavier than average shot charges because the pellets are actually little hexagons (like dice) and they can pack more into the same space than round pellets. Supposedly the squared edges do more damage than round pellets do. Instead of 1-1/4 ozs, you get 1-3/8 in a 3" shell. I've used them on ducks and they work well. They cost about $20-22 for 25.

But my favorite duck load is Hevi-Shot's "Heavy Metal". They have half steel and half Hevi-Shot pellets. A #2 shell will have half of the load as #2 steel, and the other half will be #4 Hevi Shot. #3 will be half steel #3s, half Hevi Shot #5s. Hevi Shot is about 110% the density of lead, so those #4s or #5s in Hevi Shot hit just as hard, if not harder than, #2 or #3 steel, but you get more pellets in a shell at not too bad of a cost. Their cost is about the same as Black Cloud or Blind Side, $20-22 per 25, depends on when & where you buy them.

Best bargains usually come at end of season, when I'll stock up for the following year. The cost of premium steel loads like Black Cloud, Blind Side, Hevi Metal goes down sometimes to as low as $15 per box in December or January, if you shop around. I didn't buy any last year. Last season was a bust, due to high water scattering the local birds far & wide in little ponds, and an early winter freeze up made most migrators just fly right through my area without stopping... so I've got plenty ammo left from the year before. In the entire season last year, I didn't use a box of shells.

The geese have just started to show up around my part of SE WI. Most of the fields still are full of crops (all the spots I hunt) and the geese are sticking to the waterways or various baseball/football fields yet. They sit in the bay about 400 yds from the house and fly overhead every morning and evening. So low that I have thought about setting up on my roof (not really). I have been seeing some mallards and woodies on the local ponds and rivers but I assume they are the locals.