Sandhill Crane Hunting

[chrism07]

Drew my 1st Sandhill crane tag in AZ in late November and couldn't be more excited. Just wanted to hear everyone else's experiences hunting sandhill cranes! Also if you got any good recipes, please share them!

Thanks everyone.

 

[Austink47]

All I know about Sandhills is when they first opened a season for them in TN my buddies spray painted a bunch of yard flamingos grey and knocked um dead. I think they have wised up since then. Good luck and have fun.

 

[KurtR]

Right behind a spin of 11000 snow geese they are the most warry bird. Make sure the blind is as good as it can be. We havent needed alot of decoys but being in the right spot and the hide is very important

 

[t_carlson]

Keep the dogs away.

 

[Fire power]

Going with a guide?

 

[diamond10x]

Right behind a spin of 11000 snow geese they are the most warry bird. Make sure the blind is as good as it can be. We havent needed alot of decoys but being in the right spot and the hide is very important

This right here. Very good eyesight. Like said as well, the spot is more important than the spread of dekes. Something with the decoys, they need to be facing into the wind and all facing all the same way, which is their natural behavior.

Recipes- cook it like you would any other waterfowl or wild game. No more than med-rare at most. Meat is bloody like other waterfowl but no where near as much as goose. Very delicious. Save the thighs and drumsticks for the crockpot.

 

[kpk]

I ate Sandhill crane this past weekend for the first time, was delicious. I have no advice to kill them.

 

[chrism07]

Going with a guide?

Yes i am going with a guide. So i'm not too worried about my hunt, just wanting to hear everyone else's experiences hunting cranes!

 

[JMasson]

They’re fun to hunt and cool to watch. When you think your hide is bulletproof, keep brushing because they’re probably going to see you.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

Pretty good info so far. Get your dog a set of Rex Specs because they are vicious & make sure they are completely dead before retrieving. My forearms have been thrashed by one that i thought was dead.
Many people call them the "Rib-eye of the sky" which is a bit of a stretch, but they are good eating. Smoking the drummies are my favorite. As others have stated they are wary but are an absolute blast to decoy if the stars align.

 

[Fire power]

This is my decoy spread. Two silhouettes and it works. That being said I either have to be exactly on the X or directly in their flight path. Cranes will decoy beautifully. I am not decoying migrating birds though. They are flying low from The roost to their feed. I could just easily pass shoot them. For this season I have upgraded to six deception decoys And I will boost that spread up to two dozen next season. Just so I can have better luck with those flocks that are off the flight path. I have decoyed cranes both here in North Dakota and Alaska. Same deal in Alaska if they were flying low from one location to the other then being in the middle was key. If we were hunting the migrators we set up our Canada goose spread as the draw. So if you are bringing a goose spread you can use that and add some of your crane silhouettes. Seeing cranes come down from the heavens can be pretty awesome.

These two silhouettes were made by a guy in Alaska. He also had silhouettes that had boards mid body that extended out horizontally and he would place crane wings on top. Gave more of that full body effect for the migrating birds.

 

[dtrkyman]

I need to get in on the New Mexico draw, have some spots I see them all the time, never hunted them. Good luck.

 

[Blue Skunk]

I've wanted to try it. I hunt Waterfowl in North Dakota every Fall and it is an add on to your ND Small Game License. I think it is $15 or $20. We see them migrating, but never feeding/resting in our area.

 

[dtrkyman]

I am in the draw.

What shot are guys using? My hunt will be non tox if I draw!

 

[KurtR]

I am in the draw.

What shot are guys using? My hunt will be non tox if I draw!

I use either 3/5 boss or 2 shot black cloud for everything with a pattern master code black choke. That is over decoys and I would say at a max 35 yard range

 

[dtrkyman]

I Just remembered I have some old Federal heavyweight in 4s. Those things would drop a small air craft! Also some Win. htl in B shot, which seems a bit over kill!

Will be shot over decoys!

Just need to draw.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Right behind a spin of 11000 snow geese they are the most warry bird. Make sure the blind is as good as it can be. We havent needed alot of decoys but being in the right spot and the hide is very important

We literally walk right up to them daily with a pack of 4 dogs when we're walking. They're all over the place in FL. I can mimick their call and they will fly right to us, land and respond to every call as they walk closer towards us. I could hit them in the head with a stick.

It's so funny how the intelligence and bulletproofness of animals are hyped up by hunters.

 

[KurtR]

We literally walk right up to them daily with a pack of 4 dogs when we're walking. They're all over the place in FL. I can mimick their call and they will fly right to us, land and respond to every call as they walk closer towards us. I could hit them in the head with a stick.

It's so funny how the intelligence and bulletproofness of animals are hyped up by hunters.

Ya those are flamingos I bet that would change if they were hunted in that area. The ones we see are shot from canada to texas

 

[akcabin]

I've also heard the ribeye of the sky comment. Sandhills are common in our part of AK. Because they take a mate for keeps similar to swans I prefer to try to harvest them both if possible.
When they are circling overhead and clutching to really echoes, sounds cool

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Ya those are flamingos I bet that would change if they were hunted in that area. The ones we see are shot from canada to texas

They're protected in FL, but I've gotten close to a lot of animals in areas that they're hunted that people make out the same way. It's all whether you're perceived as a threat or not. Somehow these ultra warry birds are not bothered at all by us to get within 10' of us with a shepherd, a pit bull, and two hounds, one of which barks at everything including the birds. I'm confident that even if they were hunted here we could still walk right up to them.