EQUIPMENT
Harris pointed out that the group's kill rates went up the day they learned about -- and immediately invested in -- ground blinds.

"We were having some success and killing a few geese just laying on the ground in camo clothes with painted faces," he recalled, "but then when we saw a TV show about those comfortable, pillowed blinds, we ordered them that day. And it was amazing -- adds hours to how long you can lay in a field comfortably. And our kill rates went up. We've all got at least one or two of them now."

Most of the group stuck with 12-gauge shotguns, but those who didn't have one already upgraded to guns with 3 1/2-inch chambers. They all shoot Ts.

"We did have one guy who bought a 10-gauge auto, but that lasted one morning -- actually only one volley," Thompson said. "He fired three shots, got up, walked to the truck and retrieved his 12. His shoulder still turned purple."

OTHER OPTIONS
Canada goose hunting is concentrated on the state's lakes and reservoirs, including Barnett, Grenada, Enid, Sardis, Eagle, the Tenn-Tom pools and a few other big waters.

A lot of the Canadas shot there are non-migrating resident geese that were put here after trades with other states to obtain nuisance geese. They can be hunted during that early Sept. 1-15 season, and then, during the open goose season.

Public-land goose opportunities are limited and are mostly to be found in the Delta. Most geese taken at those properties are by duck hunters.

"We get all the major types of geese in Mississippi: Canada, snow, blue, white-fronted" said Baker. "But the great numbers are those huge flocks of snows and blues that go to the Delta each winter. That's where there's room for growth in the sport of goose hunting in Mississippi."