Texas Hunting Forum

Crane Hunting Craze?

Posted By: ndhunter

Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 02:29 PM

Who is going to be the Crane Commander?


More Texans interested in sandhill crane hunting
Quote
“It was relatively unknown,” Fitzsimmons told the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “A lot more people are starting to realize through social media and other sources that it’s a really cool and fun sport they can get into.”

https://texasfarmbureau.org/more-texans-interested-in-sandhill-crane-hunting/
Posted By: HuntnFly67

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 02:31 PM

Been doing it a while, but seems overrated to me.
Posted By: cleboje

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 02:33 PM

"If you can dodge a wrench...you can dodge a ball"...
Posted By: Streater

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 02:37 PM

Crane is some damn good eating.
Posted By: Guy

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 02:38 PM

Never have hunted them, but I would be worried about sending my dog to fetch one, from what I have read a wounded one can really injure a dog. I would probably leave my dog at home.
Posted By: 68rustbucket

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by Guy
Never have hunted them, but I would be worried about sending my dog to fetch one, from what I have read a wounded one can can really injure a dog. I would probably leave my dog at home.

I concur.
Posted By: 2flyfish4

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 02:58 PM

I hope to go hunt them this year for the first time.
Posted By: ElkOne

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 03:05 PM

They will go for a dogs eyes, i would never used a dog crane hunting ! They are great eating, and fun to hunt.
Posted By: ducknbass

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 03:26 PM

They seem to migrate more consistently than our traditional water fowl that may have something to do with the “craze”
Posted By: dbgsig

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 03:29 PM

hunted this past Monday and Tuesday with a guide. He uses a dog. He is careful with the wounded birds and his dog, but we didn't have any issues. He will sometimes put those googles on his dog, but he didn't with us.
They are so easy to kill, we only had 2 wounded bird in the 2 days and they didn't fight.

Attached picture crane dog.jpg
Posted By: ndhunter

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 04:12 PM

Sounds like you had a good hunt. I have never seen dogs fetch up cranes but I haven't hunted them that much. Can you post up more detail? Outfitter, type of loads, decoys etc?

and I agree they are very good eating

As I recall, J.P. Greeson did a lot of crane hunting, maybe he can weigh in.
Posted By: john paul

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 04:33 PM

Divebomb is a big reason for the uptick in crane hunters. Now everyone buys 2 dozen of their silhouettes and skyblasts cranes as they flare at 150 yards from the mirror like shine on them.
Posted By: john paul

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 04:36 PM

Anyone that tells you they consistently kill cranes over DB silhouettes either used them once and got really lucky or is on their “pro staff”.
Posted By: dbgsig

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by ndhunter
Sounds like you had a good hunt. I have never seen dogs fetch up cranes but I haven't hunted them that much. Can you post up more detail? Outfitter, type of loads, decoys etc?

and I agree they are very good eating

As I recall, J.P. Greeson did a lot of crane hunting, maybe he can weigh in.



We used Final descent guide service. Top notch group. We hunted 2 different fields. The guide scouted each evening to determine where we would go the next morning. We had 6 guys in our group Monday and 5 on Tuesday. Limited out Monday by 10am, limited out Tuesday morning by 845am. They had us hunting out of Layout blinds both days over decoys. Not the silhouettes. Cranes were very skittish and you had to stay hidden.

I used a 12ga. with #2 steel shoot. Some used BB's, both worked well. they brought them in pretty close, which made them easy to kill. It was my first time and will be going back next year.
Posted By: goosebuster

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 06:10 PM

Gulf Coast outfitters that once relied on geese to hunt, seem to have made the switch. I like watching the big birds commit to a spread, and I try to use #4 turkey loads on them. I think the meat is just like all the rest, maybe a shade better.
Posted By: Guy

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by goosebuster
I think the meat is just like all the rest, maybe a shade better.

My thinking as well. Had a freind give me some that was frozen, I tried to cook it like a steak like I do duck, and it was not very good, like frozen duck. One thing I have learned about eating duck like a steak, you need to cook it fresh, do not freeze it. If you freeze it, cook it some other way, like bacon wrap poppers or something else...
Posted By: 2flyfish4

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 09:18 PM

I think part of it we have a large population of the waterfowl community that only does a few guided hunts a year. They don't love waterfowl hunting enough to justify a lease, boat or put the time in to be successful on public land. And their jobs and home life don't allow alot of free time either so its easier for them to do a few hunts a year and cranes are something different so they are getting alot of attention right now.
Posted By: KWood_TSU

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by john paul
Anyone that tells you they consistently kill cranes over DB silhouettes either used them once and got really lucky or is on their “pro staff”.


You mad bro?

Did it all last year with decoying birds.
What makes b you think they don't work?

Maybe you don't know how to set the decoys.
Or maybe your hide sucked as they are the most weary bird to hunt, maybe besides adult snow geese.
Posted By: skinnerback

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 11:09 PM

I've never hunted cranes, but always wanted to.
Posted By: kmon11

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/05/21 11:51 PM

Never targeted Cranes specifically but have killed several good hunting around Knox City. Last ones I shot were from a deer stand, a group would fly over that one low every morning so got my endorsement and got some the next trip out, passing shots at about 30 yards with turkey loads from the 12ga. Severely broken necks from those #5 lead, no shot in the body
Posted By: BradyBuck

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/06/21 01:10 AM

Love crane hunting, not many things more fun than having those pterodactyls drop in on top of you.

I also have no problem sending a dog to retrieve one. Just don't send them for a cripple or have them wear goggles.

Problem is 90% of people have poorly trained dogs that aren't steady.
Posted By: Guy

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/06/21 01:31 AM

Originally Posted by BradyBuck
Love crane hunting, not many things more fun than having those pterodactyls drop in on top of you.

I also have no problem sending a dog to retrieve one. Just don't send them for a cripple or have them wear goggles.

Problem is 90% of people have poorly trained dogs that aren't steady.

Problem is you don't always know they are dead, like any animal.
Posted By: john paul

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/06/21 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by KWood_TSU
Originally Posted by john paul
Anyone that tells you they consistently kill cranes over DB silhouettes either used them once and got really lucky or is on their “pro staff”.


You mad bro?

Did it all last year with decoying birds.
What makes b you think they don't work?

Maybe you don't know how to set the decoys.
Or maybe your hide sucked as they are the most weary bird to hunt, maybe besides adult snow geese.


No I just have a lot more knowledge and experience than you ever will and am telling people the truth.
Posted By: KWood_TSU

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/06/21 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by john paul
Originally Posted by KWood_TSU
Originally Posted by john paul
Anyone that tells you they consistently kill cranes over DB silhouettes either used them once and got really lucky or is on their “pro staff”.


You mad bro?

Did it all last year with decoying birds.
What makes b you think they don't work?

Maybe you don't know how to set the decoys.
Or maybe your hide sucked as they are the most weary bird to hunt, maybe besides adult snow geese.


No I just have a lot more knowledge and experience than you ever will and am telling people the truth.


Cadillac creek runs nothing but dive bombs too and are extremely proficient.

I think you don't know what you're talking about.
Posted By: ducknbass

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/06/21 05:40 PM

I believe stanfield runs dive bomb and that’s a legit endorsement. When it comes to west Texas hunting for migratory birds stanfield stands the test of time.

All that said I’ve never used divebomb just a suggestion on affordable silhouettes. Like I said originally the one time I hunted them we ran 100% silhouettes and punched a 5 man.

I remember that guide talking about how the cranes swing left right left right that silhouettes work well on them as they don’t get overhead generally till it was hammer time. May be saying something wrong but he had a reason we used silhouettes on cranes and full bodies on geese
Posted By: Biscuit

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/07/21 02:11 PM

😎
Posted By: dogcatcher

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/07/21 08:57 PM

Saw some yesterday in western Taylor county, first time in a few years.
Posted By: Revoman

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/08/21 04:21 AM

We are getting a lot of birds coming in to Taylor County. Waiting on our goofy season to open on the 26th. My Deceptions are ready to go to work.
Posted By: J.P. Greeson

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/08/21 01:29 PM

We started hunting crane with gray sheets cut into about 2x2' squares tied diagonally on dowel rods. I guess the first time was around 1991-92. We eventually added full-body mounts to the spread, but the simple gray cloth on a dowel rod was always effective. One corner is tied to the top end and two middle corners are tied to the center, so that when the wind blows, it puffs up. We usually put out at least 100 of these. Crane have excellent vision, but these simple cloth decoys brought plenty of birds in. Our first blinds were made from tumbleweed, but we eventually switched to layout blinds.

My partner at the time used his lab and she was never hurt, but it could have easily happened. I think you are taking a risk letting your dog retrieve crane.
Posted By: ndhunter

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/08/21 03:52 PM

I remember seeing Crane Hunting in your sig line. Thanks
Posted By: DaleGribble

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/08/21 09:02 PM

john paul maybe you should try hunting with cadillac creeks and learn something new
Posted By: Duck_Hunter

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/09/21 01:25 AM

Originally Posted by skinnerback
I've never hunted cranes, but always wanted to.
Posted By: john paul

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/09/21 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by KWood_TSU


Cadillac creek runs nothing but dive bombs too and are extremely proficient.

I think you don't know what you're talking about.


That’s a lie. And please don’t go make me dig up all the videos of them hunting DB silhouettes on the upwind side of the spread as a filler decoy with deceptions on the downwind side.

I’ve hunted and killed cranes over just about any decoy you can possibly imagine, including DB silos. Gray trash bags, inflatables, sillosocks, homemade sillosocks, real geese silos, and deceptions. I own and run 6 dozen deceptions for a reason. Maybe DB makes a flocked crane silo now? But the first gen silos I got were about on par with the old inflatable decoys I hunted over 13 years ago as far as effectiveness goes.

Sorry if I offended you and your DB prostaff buddies with my original post but cheap decoys and social media together are the main reason for the uptick in crane hunters. It is a little bit of a sore subject because I’ve watched West Texas be completely ruined by this social media/divebomb “squad” movement over the last 6 years.
Posted By: OTL91

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/09/21 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by john paul
Originally Posted by KWood_TSU


Cadillac creek runs nothing but dive bombs too and are extremely proficient.

I think you don't know what you're talking about.


That’s a lie. And please don’t go make me dig up all the videos of them hunting DB silhouettes on the upwind side of the spread as a filler decoy with deceptions on the downwind side.

I’ve hunted and killed cranes over just about any decoy you can possibly imagine, including DB silos. Gray trash bags, inflatables, sillosocks, homemade sillosocks, real geese silos, and deceptions. I own and run 6 dozen deceptions for a reason. Maybe DB makes a flocked crane silo now? But the first gen silos I got were about on par with the old inflatable decoys I hunted over 13 years ago as far as effectiveness goes.

Sorry if I offended you and your DB prostaff buddies with my original post but cheap decoys and social media together are the main reason for the uptick in crane hunters. It is a little bit of a sore subject because I’ve watched West Texas be completely ruined by this social media/divebomb “squad” movement over the last 6 years.


Simmer down ol' son!
Posted By: ndhunter

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/09/21 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by john paul
Originally Posted by KWood_TSU


Cadillac creek runs nothing but dive bombs too and are extremely proficient.

I think you don't know what you're talking about.


That’s a lie. And please don’t go make me dig up all the videos of them hunting DB silhouettes on the upwind side of the spread as a filler decoy with deceptions on the downwind side.

I’ve hunted and killed cranes over just about any decoy you can possibly imagine, including DB silos. Gray trash bags, inflatables, sillosocks, homemade sillosocks, real geese silos, and deceptions. I own and run 6 dozen deceptions for a reason. Maybe DB makes a flocked crane silo now? But the first gen silos I got were about on par with the old inflatable decoys I hunted over 13 years ago as far as effectiveness goes.

Sorry if I offended you and your DB prostaff buddies with my original post but cheap decoys and social media together are the main reason for the uptick in crane hunters. It is a little bit of a sore subject because I’ve watched West Texas be completely ruined by this social media/divebomb “squad” movement over the last 6 years.


It sounds like you are a good prospect for "Crane Commander" going back to my original question. Any other takers?
Posted By: KWood_TSU

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/10/21 03:14 AM

Originally Posted by john paul
Originally Posted by KWood_TSU


Cadillac creek runs nothing but dive bombs too and are extremely proficient.

I think you don't know what you're talking about.


That’s a lie. And please don’t go make me dig up all the videos of them hunting DB silhouettes on the upwind side of the spread as a filler decoy with deceptions on the downwind side.

I’ve hunted and killed cranes over just about any decoy you can possibly imagine, including DB silos. Gray trash bags, inflatables, sillosocks, homemade sillosocks, real geese silos, and deceptions. I own and run 6 dozen deceptions for a reason. Maybe DB makes a flocked crane silo now? But the first gen silos I got were about on par with the old inflatable decoys I hunted over 13 years ago as far as effectiveness goes.

Sorry if I offended you and your DB prostaff buddies with my original post but cheap decoys and social media together are the main reason for the uptick in crane hunters. It is a little bit of a sore subject because I’ve watched West Texas be completely ruined by this social media/divebomb “squad” movement over the last 6 years.



I'll say they are effective for us, and it's all we run when we hunt. When you think it's the decoys, it's 99%of the time not, it's your hide.

Also, is an uptick in hunters not a good thing. Sure, competition can be annoying, but isn't hunting about recruitment? Do you not want new hunters introduced to the game.

Also, I don't think divebomb has a pro staff. I don't care for all of their social media stuff, but they have done a good thing for hunting and making it more affordable coming out with good silos.
Posted By: ducknbass

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/10/21 03:32 AM

I do not care for new Hunter recruitment.

Get off my lawn, etc.
Posted By: john paul

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/10/21 01:17 PM

I could not care less about the new generation of hunters that do it for an Instagram post. They do far more harm to the sport than good.
Posted By: DaleGribble

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/10/21 03:29 PM

I think you should go hunt with caddilac creek and see how they use divebombs maybe you would learn something new
Posted By: Sewer rat

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 11/14/21 03:18 PM

Dogs that don’t know what they are doing can get hurt. My dog retrieved hundreds if not thousands of cranes in her day. She would hit them going full speed and knock them down if they were not down already and then grab them close to the head. She never got hurt by a crane.

My brother in law got into a fight with a crippled crane over 15 years ago and still has a large scar on his leg from it.

I haven’t shot a crane in over a decade. Burnt out I guess.
Posted By: ducknbass

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 12/07/21 08:07 PM

John. We laid the steel to em this weekend using divebombs.

Yes kwood you little pro staffer wannabe, steel not boss. Cheap Winchester expert to be exact.
Posted By: ndhunter

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 12/09/21 03:26 AM

Originally Posted by ducknbass
John. We laid the steel to em this weekend using divebombs.

Yes kwood you little pro staffer wannabe, steel not boss. Cheap Winchester expert to be exact.


That's harsh LOL

Sounds like a good hunt though
Posted By: john paul

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 12/10/21 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by ducknbass
John. We laid the steel to em this weekend using divebombs.

Yes kwood you little pro staffer wannabe, steel not boss. Cheap Winchester expert to be exact.


In kwood’s defense I’m most likely spending $300 on a case of Boss before I spend $200 on a case of Winchester experts.
Posted By: DWADR

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 12/12/21 03:11 PM

I have hunted them since I was 6. My grandfather was a federal judge and his best friend was a federal game warden. My dad and I went on countless crane hunts in west Texas with them. My passion for those birds actually led me to go to Texas Tech where I guided crane hunts on the side. I’m 51 years old and still take my gear with me on work trips out there and try and find a spot for a solo hunt. By far they are the most fun bird to hunt for me.
Posted By: Jaspermac

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 12/23/21 02:55 AM

We have a few that come to our wheatfield and I just found a box of Remington express #4s! I’m
Ready!
Posted By: ndhunter

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 12/28/21 04:12 PM

There you go Jaspermac, they love the wheat
Posted By: Fishercounty

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 12/30/21 10:21 PM

If anybody has the decoys I have the birds. No I don’t need an outfitter hitting me up. Want to get a few for the freezer.
Posted By: SRPI89

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 12/31/21 02:09 AM

I’ve got 10,000 of them flying over my deer blind in tennis racket range. They’re feeding in stripped cotton fields.
Posted By: RLoving1

Re: Crane Hunting Craze? - 12/31/21 04:35 PM

Any body that refers to them as rib eye in the sky needs a better butcher or stop with the chessie clichés. They are good eating bird but come on...comparing it to good cut of beef!? Use to knock on doors around Stanton and Big Spring and folks would let me hunt. Years ago and now it's become a cash cow so everyone has bought up leases.
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