Sandhill Crane hunting is pretty addictive, particularly over decoys because they see so well, often drifting away at the last moment. The flock that migrates through the corridor we hunt peaks at about 6,000 birds that roost on an array of alkali lakes. Having a thousand or so birds in the air milling around your decoy spread is reward enough for the effort. Over the first three years, our waterfowl then pheasants then sharptails hunting emphasis morphed over to cranes, then ducks and pheasants. I like sharptail cold smoked over apple wood for a half-hour then grilled with a EVOO/garlic baste, served just seared. The concensus perspective is that crane trumps pheasant, even fresh pheasant among our group.
Good luck and have fun!
Ruffed grouse opens today for us, so it's time to move Flynn dog from #5 retriever trainer loads over to gunfire via the 20gauge. Good brood counts this year despite a poor acorn crop, as well as spotty wild apples. Given our six month rainfall level, this seems a bit odd...
Good luck and have fun!
Ruffed grouse opens today for us, so it's time to move Flynn dog from #5 retriever trainer loads over to gunfire via the 20gauge. Good brood counts this year despite a poor acorn crop, as well as spotty wild apples. Given our six month rainfall level, this seems a bit odd...