Good question, and a hard one to answer since we are dealing with so many unknowns.
It sounds like Dickie had his heart set specifically on hunting geese. That is what he told a number of people, including his parents. In fact, he was actively seeking others to hunt geese with him early Friday evening.
He did have previous experience hunting pheasants, and possibly other small game like squirrels and rabbits, but this was said to be his first goose hunt. He had made arrangements with at least two of the three other boys to meet and hunt geese.
It has been stated that Dickie awoke late and missed going with the other boys, that he was upset about this, and that he set out on his own on a bicycle to hunt.
What were his intentions at that point? It is possible that he was simply going to where he had hunted previously to hunt pheasants (and possibly geese), all on his own. But it is also quite possible that he was headed out to a pre-arranged place to catch up with the other boys for that planned goose hunt.
If we knew what type of shotgun shells were found with the bicycle, we would have a good idea of what he intended to hunt. Pheasant/squirrel/rabbit shells are usually loaded with size 6 shot. Shells for geese are usually loaded with a larger size 2 or 4 shot.
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