That's a crane.

I’ll be, I’m not much of a bird hunter.

Never knew they had red on their heads like that

I was torn between crane or goose

The mature birds get a red head like that. Killed some last week

Sandhill crane

We had one come into our feeder the last weekend of season. Question- can you legally take them with a rifle? I know you need the federal crane stamp/license, but we were not sure of the means and methods for sandhill crane.

Yup.

Chad they are closed to hunting on parts of NE Texas, looks like shotguns or archery only since they are waterfowl.
You need the state permits and the federal permit to take one, or some. Fed permit comes from the state also.

They fly over us all the time hunting in Oklahoma West of OKC...

Ribeye in the sky.

Duck Stamp and Non-toxic shot are NOT required to hunt cranes in Texas. I get the SuperCombo and free Federal permit (w/ $5 online admin fee) and am good to go.

Might want to check that part. Non-toxic shot ok on cranes but looked it up recently and check this page for Texas https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/regs/animals/sandhill-crane

Oklahoma waterfowl regulations including Sandhill cranes https://wildlifedepartment.com/hunting/regs/migratory-game-bird-regulations

Non toxic and Federal Duck stamp not required, but Federal Crane Permit, State migratory endorsement, and HIP is required.

Admittedly, they've made the regs more vague and convoluted now, where as in the past, the regs have explicitly stated the Federal Duck Stamp is NOT required. Agreeing with Sniper, the FDS is still NOT required.

In my original statement, I should have added HIP, but it looks like it's almost an automatic add when purchasing a license. I haven't asked for HIP certification in years. The SuperCombo covers all the required Texas state stamps.