Geography has been kind to Kansas City's geese in another way. Tens of thousands of acres of land devoted either to row crops or to winter wheat lie within a few minutes flying time to the east and south, and smaller, more disconnected acreages devoted to crops lie to the north and west. These fields provide the best and, certainly, the easiest places for finding goose hunters and geese at the same place at the same time.

While a permission-seeking goose hunter won't be welcome at every farmhouse, Graber noted that an ever-growing number of farmers have decided that the number of geese using their property "has gone over the top." What's more, unlike their here-today-gone-tomorrow light-goose cousins, giant Canadas usually return to the same feeding or loafing areas until they're either driven off by excessive hunting pressure or a lack of additional food. I join Graber in assuring responsible hunters that they'll almost certainly find places to hunt.

Missouri's very best goose hunting always has and always will take place on private land. That said, the Missouri River -- which, by the way, is by far the state's largest body of public water -- provides decent to good goose hunting in the early and middle portions of the season. Later in the season, goose hunting on the Big Muddy can be the stuff dreams are made of.

From Kansas City north to several miles south of the U.S. 159 bridge, the Missouri River forms the boundary between Missouri and Kansas; farther north, Missouri and Nebraska share the river. Goose hunters on this stretch of the river need to be aware of some important things. First of all, Kansas and Nebraska are in the Central Flyway, and Missouri is in the Mississippi Flyway. This means that season dates, season lengths, and daily bag limits can vary from one side of the river to the other. MDC Northwest Fisheries Division supervisor and expert goose hunter Harold Kerns strongly advises river hunters to purchase licenses for the states on both banks of the section of river they intend to hunt.

Kerns told me that, as a matter of policy, goose hunters may launch from the Missouri side, hunt on the Kansas side and then cross the river back to Missouri even if the Missouri goose season is closed. However, Missouri conservation agents will check returning hunters for compliance with Kansas or Nebraska licensing requirements and bag limits. Be forewarned that serious and/or repeated violations of either state's laws can result in the revocation of hunting privileges in both states.

Multistate regulations cease to be a problem from Kansas City east to St. Louis. In addition, thousands of acres of land adjacent to the river were purchased by the federal government after the 1993 flood. Access to the river across this land ranges from difficult to impossible, but all of it is open to hunting under statewide regulations. Conversely, boat access to the river is available in virtually every town along its banks.

Kerns noted that giant Canada geese use the river for roosting, loafing, and ingesting gravel. That's good news for goose hunters, because it means the birds are likely to be on the river during legal shooting hours, including the middle of the day when field shooting slows down.

It's also good news for hunters, because it means it's possible to find geese virtually anywhere along the river where the birds can get out of the current.