Looking to hunt sandhill cranes

[crunchy]

Since fire season interrupted deer and elk season for me, I want to plan a hunt for sandhill cranes. Thinking 3 or 4 days. And three people if anyone has connections or knows a good outfitter I'm all ears.

 

[JWP58]

If it were me I'd be looking towards North West Texas. North of Abilene is a major migration route. Used to see them by the hundreds in harvest fields.

 

[woodmoose]

bucket list bird for me,,,,,soon,,,soon

good luck,,,concur with north of Abilene from my research,,,,or canada,,,

 

[crunchy]

Awesome, will do

 

[Trogon]

You could try Waterfowl Haven Outfitters in Kersey, CO. I looked into going out with them last year in late October when the birds were coming through our area. I couldn't make that trip due to work travel, but I plan on going out this year. When the birds are in, they are in, and they nail them pretty good.

 

[LongWayAround]

The guy from Waterfowl Haven got himself into some shit. Probably not going with him. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...ijATAF&usg=AFQjCNEIef-FRIhPAqhaN0U7C7sOG0n06Q

Besides, anyone with that many Craigslist ads should be a no-go...

I was going to agree that there's a bunch that come through eastern Colorado in October.

I had one on a beaver pond in the mountains last weekend actually.

 

[Trogon]

The guy from Waterfowl Haven got himself into some shit. Probably not going with him. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...ijATAF&usg=AFQjCNEIef-FRIhPAqhaN0U7C7sOG0n06Q

Besides, anyone with that many Craigslist ads should be a no-go...

I was going to agree that there's a bunch that come through eastern Colorado in October.

I had one on a beaver pond in the mountains last weekend actually.

HMF - that's pretty crazy. I've actually had some pretty good luck with the semi-sketchy CL hunt ads, but I'm glad you cued me in on that. Now that they are out, Im looking for an outfitter as well....

 

[DougP]

It’s my understanding that Saskatchewan is a good option. I’m going in a couple weeks. It’s a duck/goose/crane hunt. I’m not organizing the trip, so I don’t have all the details.


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[crunchy]

So the going rate seems to be 300-350. I've seen some combos at decent prices, which i might have to go for. Im thinking three days should be good especially to limit out

 

[boom]

i JUUSSST booked a hunt. same deal. elk hunt fell thru dramatically. whatever.

we are going out of Lubbock. however, i did find better deals out of oklahoma. we opted for a help and hunt operation (much cheaper). we have to help set up decoys and pick them up. no problem since we may learn a thing or two about the birds. we are also going early november. apparently the birds are fewer, but way dumber. i have a soft spot for dumb birds. the later season are the mega flocks you see on TV.

we are doing two days..we have to rush back to meet the NM deer opener..we have a buddy with a ranch and a decent herd of deer. my poor truck is gonna have a long haul.

 

[Osprey]

I haven't done a lot of research however if you hunt them in a migration state you might want to be flexible with dates similar to snow goose hunting if your in more of a wintering area or hold over area were they stage up for a while then you can pretty much set a calendar to it from what I've seen.

I've yet to hunt them but we have a lot that come through Indiana but no season always same places and pretty much around the same weeks reguardless of weather they actually hold here for a few weeks in big numbers then trickle off but there are decent numbers for 2 months. Now I've hunted waterfowl a few times in North Dakota and those things seem to rip through there much quicker. So thats a few things I would ask when looking for places get an understanding if the birds just pass through quickly, hold over for a few weeks, or actually winter at the location.

A lot of it factors into where you are in relation to the wintering area, roost options and hunting pressure, availble feed, etc. The further down from the freeze line, with good shallow roosts with no pressure and good ag fields to feed in the longer they seem to stick around. They seem to be in a much bigger panic to get south the further north you get. Not saying you can't do good North they hammer em when they are around in N Dakota you just have to be around when they are coming through. Overall I think being closer to wintering grounds will give you bigger concentrations, more predictability, and ablility to set dates long in advance with a good hunt just my two cents. I've been in ND in early Oct and had a blizzard come through or it could be 80 that huge swing makes it tougher to predict long term the further north.

 

[crunchy]

Thanks for all the feedback. I was only planning on using an outfitter because of my lack of decoys and property yo hunt. I wouldn't mind setting up at all, great way to learn something.

 

[boom]

TX is pretty economical. They have that five day license.

 

[woodmoose]

,,,,,,,,,,,,. apparently the birds are fewer, but way dumber. i have a soft spot for dumb birds,,,,,,,,,,,,,

oh man,,,I love dumb birds (and deer, etc),,,I'd never kill anything if it wasn't for the dumb ones!!

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Went on a snow goose hunt in Downs, Kansas two years ago in the spring. Tons of cranes migrating through there that time of year. Not sure on an outfitter, but we saw thousands in two days.

 

[wyosteve]

I hunted spring snow geese 2 yrs. ago in Kansas with Arnold/Waterfowl Haven and it was not a good experience. 'Nuf said!

 

[tlowell02]

Panhandle's Best is a great outfit to hunt with and he will put you on birds. He is based out of Amarillo but covers the entire panhandle.

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[Gunnersdad49]

I hunted spring snow geese 2 yrs. ago in Kansas with Arnold/Waterfowl Haven and it was not a good experience. 'Nuf said!

We used grey reef outfitters and had significant challenges as well! Maybe that place is cursed. It is home to the worlds largest ball of sisal twine, so there is that I suppose.

 

[KJH]

Ive killed a lot of them... Saskachewan in Early October is phenomenal. ND in mid October can be amazing or a bust. It can be a total DIY in SK with minimal work and no access problems.

 

[Dexter Grayson]

Crane wreckers in Oklahoma
Deception outdoors in Kansas.

Both outfits work differently but both kill