Sandhill crane. !!

boom

WKR
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Sep 11, 2013
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i am finally excited!! i load my truck up tonight and head out. gonna be a long drive, but we are making it worth it.

Lubbock next week. ive never seen a sandhill in my life. cant wait to line a bead on one.

then we meander back towards home, detour - with a NM private ranch mulie hunt. i get to see my rancher buddy. i'm his CA wine connection. i dusted off my 257 weatherby for this part of the venue.

to bring it back to game birds..this ranch is exploding with quail. quail opener crosses lines with the last day of deer season. we hunt quail afterwards. last year we limited out 2 days in a row..i'm not super fan of cleaning quail, so i will not go crazy this year.

gonna be special. before cancer took him away; my stepdad gave me an early Beretta SxS..unfired in a box. it is old but brandnew! i finally took it out of the ragged box, wiped it down, and took a look. fixed chokes are M/IC. i am going to make this trip the maiden voyage. i'll probably miss every quail especially with that shot that needs the "other trigger". haha..i'll bring my Citori just in case things go pear shaped.

having said that..i am going to have a lot of guns with me. i hunt the rancher's moms old homestead. a bunch of abandoned buildings surrounded by cottontail. pellet gun for them..and my new .22 handgun.

two weeks of mayhem folks. been a crazy California year for me. first the rains washed out our roads that i was tasked with rebuilding..and then the effen fire. more work to fix..this is my first vacation in 2 years. since moving to Santa Rosa.

then Thanksgiving with the wife and new dog..with my family..Sheesh..i'll bring wine. lots of wine.

sxs.jpg
 
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Titan

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Nice! Let me know how it goes (I am in the Lubbock area). I usually wait until later this month before heading out for Crane...but I did see quite a few flying over the last week or so.

Nothing like Crane hunting. Someone described it like a folding lawn chair falling out of the sky...pretty accurate description. An in-law of mine taught me to use a double reed turkey call to make the crane call noise. Sounds almost perfect, but don't know how it works in the field. It will probably end up being a distress call. Ha!
 
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boom

WKR
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^okay!!

"folding lawn chair falling out of the sky"...i am stealing that.
 
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Las Cruces, NM
Hey, if you need some help with those quail back here in NM, feel free to let me know! I've got a year old pointer pup and a little older setter that would love to help also :)

Pro-tip for the cranes - Let them get way closer than you think they need to be(they still look huge at 75 yards), and try to not even look at their bodies. You need to shoot them in the head/neck.
 
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boom

WKR
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Hey, if you need some help with those quail back here in NM, feel free to let me know! I've got a year old pointer pup and a little older setter that would love to help also :)

Pro-tip for the cranes - Let them get way closer than you think they need to be(they still look huge at 75 yards), and try to not even look at their bodies. You need to shoot them in the head/neck.

you can find me at that Blakes Lottaburger on sunday.the one on Main St. haha. i dont think i remembered you live in Las Crusas.. thanks for the tip.
 

FlyGuy

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Hey, if you need some help with those quail back here in NM, feel free to let me know! I've got a year old pointer pup and a little older setter that would love to help also :)

Pro-tip for the cranes - Let them get way closer than you think they need to be(they still look huge at 75 yards), and try to not even look at their bodies. You need to shoot them in the head/neck.
What he said. Lived there 3 years and loved the crane/Goose hunting. They are like teradactiles. They are flying much faster than it appears, force yourself to get a bead on their HEADS and then extend the lead and swing through the shot. So many can't stop themselves from aiming at the body. A crippled crane can be a bit of a rodeo. Can't send a dog after them. You have to chase them down. Their legs are about 28" inches long btw. Bring a LOT of shells with you when you run out of the blind! If you run out of shells brace yourself for hand-to-hand combat. When you finally catch up (Im going with >1 mile chase on average) to them they will turn towards you and attach! Their beaks are extremely dangerous. Best advise at that point is to grab your empty shotgun by the barrel and swing for the fences. They will stand and up tall and flair out their wings to look intimidating. Aim right at the center of their neck and pretend you are Altuve!

Or, just remember to get out in front of their HEADS and swing through the shot.

Also, they live a long time. Like 20 years. Their isn't another bird in NA that is harder to decoy than a large flock of cranes. They don't come in as fast as waterfowl do. They will just float there over your spread and just out of range, with all those wise old eyes checking everything out. You really have to be well hidden and stay perfectly still. When you think your layout blinds are brushed up perfect - add more.

Wishing I was going back with you!

Las Brisas is the best Steakhouse in 800 miles. Go. Ask for Steve, the new York waiter.

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hodgeman

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Delta Junction, AK
Cranes are awesome hunting... we get a crack at them on the other end of their journey.

Yes- enormous birds that are tough. I emptied a Benelli loaded with BB into one at 35 yards and never even slowed him down.

If there was a hunt that made spending the dough on some Heavy Shot #T worth it....this is it.
 

FlyGuy

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Cranes are awesome hunting... we get a crack at them on the other end of their journey.

Yes- enormous birds that are tough. I emptied a Benelli loaded with BB into one at 35 yards and never even slowed him down.

If there was a hunt that made spending the dough on some Heavy Shot #T worth it....this is it.
You can use lead shot on them as long as you don't shoot at any geese. Technically, they aren't waterfowl (no webbed feet), so you can use lead just like for dove/quail/pheasant. If you are with an outfitter though they usually require you to use steel as mistakes can become a big headache for them.

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hodgeman

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You can use lead shot on them as long as you don't shoot at any geese. Technically, they aren't waterfowl (no webbed feet), so you can use lead just like for dove/quail/pheasant.

Not sure about everywhere else- but in AK the regs specifically call out cranes requiring non-toxic shot. If you can use lead on them in your locale, it'd sure make knocking one down a lot easier.
 
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Not sure about everywhere else- but in AK the regs specifically call out cranes requiring non-toxic shot. If you can use lead on them in your locale, it'd sure make knocking one down a lot easier.
In Texas, if you are only hunting cranes, you can shoot lead. If you're shooting ducks/geese at the same time, have to have non-tox.

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boom

WKR
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OMG!!!

Got our limit in 15 minutes!!
One more day tomorrow.

Crushing them with #2 steel Heavy metal shot
 
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Titan

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You are probably right. Which direction from Lubbock did you hunt? I'll be headed SW about 30 miles.
 
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boom

WKR
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I’m shocked!!

It is the best non seafood meat I’ve ever eaten.
 
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