# Opening Day Crane



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Today, September 1st, was the Wyoming opener for rabbit, forest grouse, early goose, deer archery, elk archery, dove, and sandhill crane. I choose sandhill crane.

I haven't had a crane tag since 2011.

Scouted the ranch the day before the opener, driving and walking old, and new, hot spots. I have hunted there many times before.

Drove into the hay and grain fields at daylight and split a herd of 16 cow/calf n spike elk:


















Parked the truck by some machinery along a ditch and then walked down the two-track along the grain field for about 500 yards. Set up 4 full-bodied dekes and about a dozen crane silo-socks along the edge of a malt barley field that had a lot of sign and a good place for me to hide. A small flock of cranes came into the decoy spread. When they set their wings to land I shot a juvenile and it fell dead in the decoy spread:









And of course you have to have a hero shot:









Hope to see you birds next year:









Crane liver and wild mushrooms tonight!!


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

Once again goob delivers!!! Crane liver and mushrooms!!


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Congrats!


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Nice Goob! 

12 gauge and goose load? Long shot?


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Very cool! 8)


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

You had me right up until liver


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

sawsman said:


> Nice Goob!
> 
> 12 gauge and goose load? Long shot?


Thanks

Yes, 12 gauge; 3 1/2", #2 Hevi-Shot, less than 30 yards. They were coming in to land. I had a video camera on a tripod set up but knocked it over trying to move it.

.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

Cool! What kind of mushrooms? ;-)


Are cranes good to eat? I always enjoy watching cranes, especially when fishing, but I've never considered hunting them.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Nice pictures / hunt! Congratulations.

I was curious so I googled up how much crane decoys cost... holy moses, some of those things are super pricey. Never hunted Cranes, looks interesting.


-DallanC


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Catherder said:


> Cool! What kind of mushrooms? ;-)
> 
> Are cranes good to eat? I always enjoy watching cranes, especially when fishing, but I've never considered hunting them.


Puffball mushrooms.

Sandhill crane is called "the ribeye of the sky" because their flavor, if feeding on grain, is similar to beef. However, if feeding on grasshoppers they tend to taste a little like chewing tobacco. 

Crane can be a challenge to cook.

Cranes are an agricultural pest and the limit in eastern Wyoming is 3 cranes per day, 9 in possession.

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

DallanC said:


> Nice pictures / hunt! Congratulations.
> 
> I was curious so I googled up how much crane decoys cost... holy moses, some of those things are super pricey. Never hunted Cranes, looks interesting.
> 
> -DallanC


Thanks. Cranes are migratory birds and require non-toxic shot. With steel 45 yards is about the limit. Sneaking up on a crane is not an option, trust me. So decoys, if set up properly, really help. A crane call can bring in birds from long distances.

When I first started hunting cranes I spent a considerable amount of time scouting, studying flight patterns and then waiting in ambush hoping the birds would fly by less than 50 yards away. The crane hunt in western Wyoming is only 8 days long and some years I ended up with tag soup. Now, using decoys and calls, the hunt normally takes less than one-half day.

.


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## trackerputnam (Dec 21, 2014)

I was involved with the very first crane hunt in Wyoming. There were wardens from four or five states monitoring things. There were some trumpeter swans in the area and they were deathly afraid of having one shot. We were allowed two cranes and two geese. We set up around a field with tons of geese in it and when they left that whole flock took off over me. I fired one shot(lead reloads back before the steel requirement) and 5 geese started coming down. Three hit the ground. Remember only two allowed. One goose hit me in fact. I had no more than stood up and grabbed one goose when the local warden was standing there smiling at me. He had seen the whole thing. I thought I was in big trouble! He asked if one of the other guys would tag it and of course they did. I will have to go did up some of those photos. We got our cranes later in the week.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Nice. Kicked the camera over...IHTGO


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## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

wyogoob said:


> Sneaking up on a crane is not an option, trust me.
> 
> .


I second this. I tried yesterday. They have really good eye sight.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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