Double Banded Snow

[singleshot12]

Here's a couple pics of a snow goose I shot last year and mounted myself. He was banded on Wrangle Island as a yearling in 1993 so he was somewhere around seventeen years old when I harvested him. He had what looked like a broken wing at one time that had healed on it's own and had numerous old shot pellets throughout his body. Definately an old veteran gander and kind of a shame to end his life after all he had been through.

[jordano]

WOW! that is pretty sweet though! congrats!

[D-Rock425]

Any info on the second band?

[C-Money]

Nice job on the mount! Sounds like that old bird had quite a life!

[400out]

very cool 

[White Tornado]

Excellent job mounting this old timer. That is so awesome!!!!   

Amazing that these birds can reach that age with everything they encounter. Hunters, eagles, weather and the many sky busting dike shooters that they have to pass over daily. Very likely that at that age all of us who hunt snow geese had, at one time or another, tried to call him within range of our spreads only to be disappointed. Congrats to you for being the lucky one to harvest this nice bird!!!!

[carpsniperg2]

Thats great!

[Smalma]

Nice!

Yes some of those birds are pretty old (I think band returns indicate that some birds are as old as the mid-20s) which is what makes them so tough to fool.

Curt

[singleshot12]

Any info on the second band?

Thanks guys, that bird really does mean alot to me, kinda like my best trophy out of 35 yrs of hunting waterfowl.

The second band which is a plastic locating band was so worn down it was almost ready to fall off and only half the numbers were readable.

[singleshot12]

Nice!

Yes some of those birds are pretty old (I think band returns indicate that some birds are as old as the mid-20s) which is what makes them so tough to fool.

Curt

25 years in the wild is amazing. I guess geese in captivity will live to 35 yrs or so.

[h2ofowlr]

Good deal.  I haven't scene any double banded ones on Fir Island.  Two neck collars of recent and numerous leg bands.  Pretty cool.  I have shot many snow geese with pellets in them.  They form a hard cell of sorts around the pellet.  Must have been a veteran dike bird.

[JakeM]

That is really cool!

[boots]

awesome bird

[singleshot12]

 I have shot many snow geese with pellets in them.  They form a hard cell of sorts around the pellet.  Must have been a veteran dike bird.

I forgot to mention that half the pellets were lead 2's and 4's, most were in the breast meat and one in the liver. All the pellets were black and encrusted with what looked like corrosion .