With regular waterfowl season and dark goose season being closed, that means that our light goose conservation order season is in full swing.
During the conservation order season, hunters can use unplugged shotguns, electronic callers and there is no daily limit on snow geese, blue geese and Ross's geese.
One question us as agents get asked a lot is what permits someone needs to participate in the conservation order. The answer is found in the waterfowl regulations book. Residents and nonresidents only need a conservation order permit for this season if they are 16 or older.
There are several different ways to hunt these geese this time of year, but one of the most common is jump shooting them from along field edges.
Another frequently asked question is how far from a public roadway does one need to be to legally shoot and hunt. According to the Wildlife Code 3 CSR 10-20.805 (46), it defines a public roadway as "the right of way which is either owned in fee or by easement by the state of Missouri or any county or municipal entity, or which is used by the general public for travel and is also regularly maintained by the Department of Transportation, federal, county, or municipal funds or labor."
With that being said, hunters should be off of maintained areas to be off the public roadway.
When hunting geese in fields, it is also important to remember to first gain permission from the landowner to hunt there.