Photos: Snow Goose Madness in South Dakota

After a 24-hour drive from Maryland to Aberdeen, S.D., we didn't mind spending a few days stretching our legs. That said, we did so quite literally—flat on our backs, in layout blinds. As per the norm, we had to chase snow geese across the prairie with our outfitter, Goosehog Outdoors. That meant layout blinds.

For the 2017 conservation season, I opted for the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3. Beyond coming from reliable roots, I liked the idea of having an inertia-driven action. A good spring snow goose shoot can potentially end in triple digits. That's a lot of shooting—it's awfully handy to have a clean-shooting gun on hand. It acquitted itself quite well.

Another shotgun that made the trip—it's never a bad idea to have a backup on a high-volume snow goose shoot—was the TriStar Viper Max. Keep an eye out for further coverage of that down the road. Ammunition wise, we settled on Hevi-Steel by Hevi-Shot.