Shotgunning: Snow Goose Guns

After more than two decades of spring snow goose conservation seasons, a trend seems to be emerging: fewer hunters are shooting more geese. This data point suggests that those who have stuck with chasing spring snows are the hard-core hunters—those who are willing to spend the time and money it takes to get underneath massive tornadoes of these arctic-born migrators. The gun industry has taken notice, and several manufacturers are now offering shotguns with the reliability, extra magazine capacity, camo, and recoil reduction that avid snow goose hunters want. Here we take a look at three options ready-made for the spring goose fields, as well as tips for turning your existing shotgun into a snow specialist.

1. Mossberg 940 Pro Waterfowl

Mossberg offers its 3-inch 12-gauge 940 Pro Waterfowl with white Cerakote (Mossberg calls it “battleship gray”) and True Timber Viper Snow camo. An extended magazine tube that’s longer than the 28-inch barrel gives the gun a 12+1 shell capacity. It also has an enlarged loading port for fast reloads. The 940 Pro series guns all feature adjustable length of pull, a self-draining stock, an improved gas system, and rust-resistant and stainless internal parts. The gun is drilled and tapped for optics and has a receiver cut for an RMSc Shield-style red dot. It also has enlarged controls, including an easy-to-use top safety. Weighing in at more than 8 pounds, this gas gun won’t beat you up when it comes time to empty the magazine.

2. Beretta A300 Ultima Snow Goose

The A300 Ultima Snow Goose comes in Realtree Arctic Fox camo, with a 28-inch barrel and an almost equally long mag tube that gives it a 10+1 shell capacity. Along with the shotgun’s enlarged controls, the receiver is cut for a red dot sight, this one in the RMR footprint. It also has a rail on the forearm where you can mount a camera to capture those epic hunts. In addition to the recoil reduction of its gas operation, this shotgun comes with a version of Beretta’s Kick-Off recoil reducer.

3. Stoeger M3500 Snow Goose

Stoeger’s 3 1/2-inch 12-gauge gets a distressed-white Cerakote finish and a magazine extension to bring its capacity up to 10+1. As an inertia gun, the M3500 makes up for its lack of a recoil-softening gas system with pure weight, at more than 8 pounds. In addition, the stock accommodates an optional recoil reducer to soak up even more kick. The M3500 comes with a 28-inch barrel, a fiber-optic dot, five chokes, and a paracord sling. It has enlarged controls as well as a milled-out loading port for fast reloads.

Making Your Own Snow Goose Gun

If you’d prefer to use a gun you already own, remember that the most important feature of a snow goose gun is reliability. Spring snow goose hunting means either mud or blowing dirt, both of which can stop a gun from working. By and large, inertia or pump guns hold up best under spring conditions, although many hunters prefer the recoil reduction of a gas gun for days when they might run through multiple boxes of shells.

Unplugged guns are legal during the conservation order hunts, and you can remove the plug in your gun to increase its capacity from three shells to five. In truth, you’ll have a hard time getting off five good shots as geese flare out of the hole. A couple of extra shots come in handy, though, for those singles and pairs that seem to materialize over the spread when everyone else’s guns are empty. Nordic Components makes a range of extension tubes, holding from one to nine extra rounds, that can be added to a variety of 12- and 20-gauge guns.

Other extras that can help, if your gun doesn’t already have them, include larger bolt handles and closer buttons. And finally, your gun doesn’t have to be white for shooting white geese, but it’s easy enough to have it dipped in white camo or Cerakoted in white or distressed white if you are so hooked on spring snows that you want a dedicated gun for chasing them.