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Killed some Sandhill Cranes Yesterday Morning

Posted on 12/19/25 at 10:33 am
Posted by Clyde Tipton
Planet Earth
Member since Dec 2007
40594 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 10:33 am
My bird dog has been in Amarillo with a trainer the last few months and I had to go pick her up day before yesterday. I reach out to a friend and he let my step dad and I use his camp so we didn't have to deal with a hotel and dogs, etc.

It's just us two guys and when we pull in a few ducks got up off a tank by the main entrance. The camp owner called to make sure we got in safely and I mentioned the ducks. He said we could hunt. So that afternoon we ran the dog and checked quite a few tanks on the ranch. On an isolated tank on the far back corner of the property we jumped between 75-100 ducks. So we made a little make shift blind out of mesquite limbs right at dark and threw out a dozen mallard and 6 teal decoys.

The hunt the next morning was awesome. We killed a green wing, a gadwall, 7 widgeon... and a hooded merganser.

The coolest part though was totally unexpected. I hear the distinct call of a sandhill crane in the distance. I look in my blind bag and sure enough I had a half a box of goose shot left over from my last goose hunt rolling around in the bottom of my bag. My step dad and I go to scrambling to unload our 2 3/4" #4's and reloaded with some 3" T's.

2 come over the tank about 30 yards high and we crushed them. We're pumped, slapping high fives and discussing how unexpected that was.

10 minutes later, the same thing happened again.

Good memory making right there, baw.

Merry Christmas fellas.



Posted by bbvdd
Memphis, TN
Member since Jun 2009
28163 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 10:42 am to
upvote
Posted by GREENHEAD22
Member since Nov 2009
20572 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 10:45 am to
I have an invite for around Lubbock but haven't pulled the trigger. That is a long way to go for just cranes. I want ducks as well if I go.
Posted by Fat Neck
Member since Dec 2013
467 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 10:49 am to
You’ve had invites, connections, and access for many moons and you are still yet to kill a duck GREENIE. Glad you are still fighting the fight but you might fit the definition of insanity.

Clyde show us a pic of that sickle tail shag. Love a good bird dog.
Posted by Clyde Tipton
Planet Earth
Member since Dec 2007
40594 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 10:58 am to
quote:

I have an invite for around Lubbock but haven't pulled the trigger. That is a long way to go for just cranes. I want ducks as well if I go.


If you've never killed any cranes before I would go. I'd want to shoot ducks and more likely geese as well too.

But yeah, it's a haul. At least I live in Shreveport, so I'm as close as you can get to that area of TX and still live in Louisiana.
Posted by PocketLab
Thib
Member since Sep 2018
218 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 11:06 am to
Awesome bonus all the way around. West TX gets widgeon like we get greys and teal. Some of the most beautiful ducks I've ever killed came from the Pecos River.
Posted by Clyde Tipton
Planet Earth
Member since Dec 2007
40594 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 11:17 am to
quote:

Clyde show us a pic of that sickle tail shag. Love a good bird dog.


Shoot, she's straight as an arrow. She just needs to get her tail higher. She comes from some top notch field trial stock.

Miss Skeet. Pronounced like the tree... Mesquite.

"Skeet" is her call sign in the field.



She's a sweetie!



Posted by s14suspense
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2007
15569 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 11:19 am to
Legitimately a cool story bro
Posted by Clyde Tipton
Planet Earth
Member since Dec 2007
40594 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 11:34 am to
quote:

West TX gets widgeon like we get greys and teal.


Check out the drake in the middle with the whiter face. If I wasn't hemorrhaging money between dog training fees, burning gas, and kid's Christmas presents the last few weeks I would have considered getting him mounted.
Posted by jpainter6174
Boss city
Member since Feb 2014
6339 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 11:45 am to
Thats awesome! Ribeye of the sky, never had them but they look fantastic!
Posted by Clyde Tipton
Planet Earth
Member since Dec 2007
40594 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 11:52 am to
quote:

Ribeye of the sky, never had them but they look fantastic!


They are slow, ugly and mean. You can see I had to shoot the one on the far right in the head because he was still very much alive when I approached him. It started hissing and craned up like the Karate Kid on me.

As far as the meat. You'd never guess they taste as beefy as they do. They call them Ribeye of the Sky, but it's closer to Outback Sirloin Special with a tendon running through it of the desert.

Still, very legit for a wild bird though. It's not gamey at all.
Posted by KemoSabe65
70605
Member since Mar 2018
6422 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 12:49 pm to
Mine took a shot right between the eyes in 06, peeled the skin back. Many hunt their dogs wearing doggles now. Beautiful dog CT, how does she swim?
Posted by Clyde Tipton
Planet Earth
Member since Dec 2007
40594 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 2:05 pm to
quote:

Beautiful dog CT, how does she swim?


She likes the water, but she's an upland bird dog. Mostly woodcock which just opened here in LA and I go on a quail hunt or two each year at this same ranch. Quail season is open there, but they don't start until after Christmas because of rattlesnakes and deer hunters that don't want to be disturbed in early season. It runs until the end of February though, so plenty of time on the back end of the season.

quote:

Mine took a shot right between the eyes in 06, peeled the skin back. Many hunt their dogs wearing doggles now.


Your dog got lucky. I've heard stories of dogs getting their eye pecked out by a crane.
Posted by Capt ST
High Plains
Member since Aug 2011
13497 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 3:05 pm to
Hell you should have called, I got a couple spots covered up in quail just N of Amarillo.
Posted by Clyde Tipton
Planet Earth
Member since Dec 2007
40594 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 3:22 pm to
quote:


Hell you should have called, I got a couple spots covered up in quail just N of Amarillo.


That area has a great year for quail. That was one of the selling points about where I decided to send her to and why. That and the trainer has a reputation of being an English Setter whisperer even though he trains all breeds of bird dogs.
Posted by The Torch
DFW The Dub
Member since Aug 2014
27878 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 3:29 pm to
quote:

I go on a quail hunt or two each year at this same ranch


I had a buddy with bird dogs in Ruston a while back, we would buy pen raised quail (the ones that can fly) then put them out in the Jackson Bienville WMA.

Fun stuff
Posted by tigerbait703
Chackbay, La
Member since Sep 2007
672 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 3:30 pm to
That one in the middle looks close to a storm widgeon. Best looking duck there is imo
Posted by StrikeIndicator
Sec. 419
Member since May 2019
992 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 3:56 pm to
I'd give you another upvote for the camo!
Posted by mudshuvl05
Member since Nov 2023
3148 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 4:12 pm to
Shooooo that'ssa fine looking gyp right there.

Interestingly enough, Meateater recently did a short segment comparing the ribeye from the sky to beef ribeye with some interesting result. Rinella even broke out the lab jacket for it

Posted by Icansee4miles
Trolling the Tickfaw
Member since Jan 2007
31885 posts
Posted on 12/19/25 at 4:43 pm to
Fields just West of Falfurrius were loaded with them last week. I’d love to get in on a hunt for them sometime. Nice impromptu hunt!
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