# Crane Decoy



## skyball (Aug 2, 2002)

I'd like to pick up a couple dozen this summer, whats the best crane decoy on the market for the money?

Thanks! :beer:


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## GooseBuster3 (Mar 1, 2002)

Carrylite makes one hell of a fullbosy, but they want $$$ for them. Outlaw also makes a good to.


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## cooter (Jul 16, 2003)

We hunted with outlaw crane decoys last year in Sask. and they worked great. We took some nice pics of them landing in the decoys. Limited out every day 5 a piece.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

How many dekes did you set up for them. I would love to see the pics if you couold post them!!


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## specklr (Jun 5, 2003)

Yea I would like to know as well we used a dozen on and around our dark goose spread last year and we get some but not what I would like to have had come in


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## bioman (Mar 1, 2002)

edited.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Here's Bioman's pic:


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## bioman (Mar 1, 2002)

Thanks Chris, I had no clue on how to post a pic on the thread side (or for that matter the photo gallery) . Any pointers would be great!


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Check out the Image Tutorial. It includes a download for shareware imaging software if you don't have any.

I'm going to update the forum with some more features later this month, including in this case an "attachment uploader", where you can post a link to your photo (which will be stored on my server).

Hope this helps.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

God I think that would be fun to hunt those B52's over decoys. I have pass shot them by accident before but to see them come into decoys must just be awesome!!!


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## bioman (Mar 1, 2002)

DJ:

I will take shooting 3 cranes over decoys over and above all other types of waterfowl hunting. There is nothing in waterfowling that compares to shooting three 15 - 18 pound cranes at 40 yards, wings set, with nothing but waves of cranes filling the skyline and their piercing/haunting calls filling the wind swept morning on the prairie. One limit over decoys and you will be forever changed.


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## stevepike (Sep 14, 2002)

Bioman,
No offense but 15-18 lb cranes sound like the 20 lb honkers people shoot "all the time". Not very realistic. 
We have been taking the measurements from the cranes we get and they are usually 9-10 lbs with some of the greaters in the 11.5-13.5 lb range. I would love to see some as large as you mentioned but I have only hunted cranes in ND...
Do you actually weigh them or is this a guesstimation? I know they are big and a blast to hunt (pretty tasty too) but I think you may have overestimated their size a bit.


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## bioman (Mar 1, 2002)

Steve:

Thanks for information, I was only guesstimating and it appears that I was high.

I looked up the biology in the my Audubon Encyclopedia and here it is...

"Sandhill crane ... 34 - 48 inch long, wingspread 6 - 7 feet..."

"Weight - Adults weigh from 5.7 pounds to 14.4 pounds, depending on the subspecies."


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## stevepike (Sep 14, 2002)

Those things look like their 30lbs when they are coming by up close. I always likened them to Pterodactyl's. Especially with their eerie call when coming outta the fog.


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## bioman (Mar 1, 2002)

Steve:

I am constantly amazed at how few people actually hunt these birds. The biggest bonus is that other waterfowl species will always utilize a field crane are using for feeding. I guess nothing says protection to a mallard or a Canada goose, like a field of 500 three to four foot sentries.

Mandan huh? Are you a local or a transplant? I am a former N.D. resident who spent the formative years in the confines of the walls and halls of the Mandan Public School District (even an alumni of Mandan High 8) ).


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## gooseman32 (Aug 15, 2003)

We hunt cranes in Sask., Ca. We used homemade decoys. made out of plywood and conduit with real nice paint jobs. Last year on the last day of the hunt we set up for dark geese. Well when morning came the dark geese didn't show up. But we were set up about a 1/2 mile away from a crane roosting area. We had a few crane decoys set out for confidence. We killed a big bunch of cranes a big hand full of light geese and a few darks. We ended up with about 50+ birds. A great way to end the week!![/img]


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

So....How many dekes do you need and if you set them up with others, darks, ducks, snows, can you set them close or do they need to be a ways away??? I am getting more interested in this as I go. If you set up only crane decoys what other species will come in or do you need the other decoys too??


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## gooseman32 (Aug 15, 2003)

We have more luck having cranes fly over our spread of geese. We have not had any luck pulling geese or ducks into a all crane spread. We will use a few crane decoys as confidence decoys outside our goose spreads.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

gooseman32 said:


> We have more luck having cranes fly over our spread of geese. We have not had any luck pulling geese or ducks into a all crane spread. We will use a few crane decoys as confidence decoys outside our goose spreads.


Just out of curiousity...are you referring to crane hunting in Ohio? If so, what types of numbers do you see out there?


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

I heard Outlaw filed for bankruptcy.


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## gooseman32 (Aug 15, 2003)

Cranes in Ohio... (bahhaaahahahhah) No cranes in Ohio.


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## irish (Jan 18, 2004)

Hello all my hunting partner and i call it Grown up waterfowl hunting. 
Feel free to use that any time. 
Also we use the outlaws thay work great ! 8)


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

Did sombody say they taste good????? You guys must be from the south(they eat anything down there). I cook a lot of wild game and I cant make those bastards edible. I stopped hunting them because I cant eat them and I dont like to shoot game birds and have them go to waste. How do you make them taste decent?


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## GooseBuster3 (Mar 1, 2002)

Ribeye from the sky??? They should call'em **** that as fell out of the sky. :lol:


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Its funny!!! I have never ever heard anyone say Crane tastes okay. It is either terrible or the best thing to hit a person's mouth. I personnally have never eaten a bad one. I know people that have had thousands and thousands cupping in and they refuse to shoot them (you can shoot 3 a day up here). I take everyone of them that I can get!

12 days to go!!!


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## GooseBuster3 (Mar 1, 2002)

Porky, 12 more days before you get the ND sickness, thats you NEVER want to leave this state!


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## tsodak (Sep 7, 2002)

Man, I honestly have never had a bad one. Slow cook them babies like roast beef. Delicious.

That should be an interesting drive in a Uhaul this time of year. :beer:


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

GB# Wrote


> Porky


Dam has my wife been posting pictures of me naked?? I have been hitting the weights 2.5 hours a day and although I am getting stronger I seem to be getting fatter???? Must be all those cranes I have been eating.

Not driving a U-haul. Don't think I would want to do that but the Ram will be packed to the limit.

11 More days. It won't come fast enough. I am hooked on ND and I ain't never been there yet. I blame all of you guys!!!!


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## Blake Hermel (Sep 10, 2002)

I would love to make some Crane stuffers. That would be the ultimate. Only use them for about 2 months though, tops.


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## cranehunter (Jan 8, 2003)

I use 4 full body Carry lites. On calm days I use my dozen outlaws but if it is windy they just flop around too much so I have 2 dozen North winds. You need at least a 10 mile an hour breeze to fill the North winds. This variety has worked well for me. Most days cranes do not finish well to the decoys so try to set up in natural cover about 80 yards from the decoys. In crane hunting to be consistently successful you must know where the roost is as my best success is setting up in natural cover between the roost and feeding area. We usually set a couple guys near the decoys and the rest on a fenceline or other cover a couple hundred yards away. Also if the birds start going a certain direction move immediatly as they really love to play follow the leader. The key to success in crane hunting is flexibility and making quick moves. I went the entire season in 2004 without getting skunked once in 12 hunts and had quite a few limits so I think I know what I am doing. I am also constantly learning new tricks. Cranes are a blast to shoot and the young ones roast or grill nice the old bulls I make into strip jerky.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

20 years ago we used northwind SOB socks that were spray painted crane pattern. Cut the heads out of plywood and mounted the whole thing on a 3' dowel. The dowel had a stiff wire on it that ran the length of the sock so that the sock would still hang well in no wind. Movement helps, I think. We had 8 deks in two groups as the family groups seem reluctant to mix when they land. 6361 has very good advice about setting up down wind and pass shooting. They track on the first flight of the day. The neat thing about crane is that early they often come in really really low. I can still them coming in wings cupped, legs down, toes spread out and trilling so loud they almost knock your cap off. Right off the end of the barrel. Gotta get back into that.


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## adokken (Jan 28, 2003)

Crane deluxe, take the breast meat and make steak out of it and pound and roll in flour. brown the steaks and put it in the crock pot with cream of mushroom soup. Of course leave it for about 6 hrs on low heat, If you still do not like crane after that you are not human. Leaving :beer: Hong Kong in the morning for ND, Keep the weather where it is.Madtrapper :beer:


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Have a good flight Madtrapper...temps are nice but only one day of sunshine in a week now, lot of fog. The snow isn't melting very fast here. 

Didn't you have something to do with making a crane decoy?


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## adokken (Jan 28, 2003)

Hope to sleep most of the way back, been awake since 2;30 this morning and leave for the airport in30 minutes. About crane decoys, I harassed the Outlaw company so much that they started making them. Don't know for sure if I was the reason or not but one of their sales girls gave me the credit when I talked to her. The Outlaw goose decoys work a lot better then the crane decoys. See you in Upham some morning for coffee. :beer:


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## Travis Fox (Mar 18, 2004)

I have found that the best way to have a crane decoy is make them. If you guys go to your local wallmart and head back to to arts and crafts department the carry styrafoam shells that women use to put plastic flowers in. While you are there head over to the hardware department and get yourself some dowel rods. Now all the cranes you boys shoot over the hunting season, when you breast them out be careful and cape the hide around it. Now I know this seems like alot of work, but you will get the hang of it. Cape the crane out and cut the wings off. Hang the cape up out on the clothes line and Treat the hide. If you guys want to to take a short cut you can take your old windsocks that had broken up on the head and drill them out to fit your dowel rod and pant them grey, light blue and red. I take the heads off of the cranes I shoot and mount them to a close hanger, that way you can make them feeding or century. Now when you go to the field you put the dowel rod in the ground and the styrafoam shell onto the dowel rod and the cape over the top of the syrafoam shell and mount the head in there. I found that the capes last about 2 seasons and you have your very own mounted bird in the field. Now guys, your thinking GOD!!! thats alot of work, but you will find that you only need about 5 to make it work. If anyone has any questions you are more than welcome to email me and I will call you up and help you out.

"Good luck and Go Crane Crazy"
:beer:


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## win4win (Sep 8, 2003)

I want to see some pictures of that process....or at least the finished product.


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## Travis Fox (Mar 18, 2004)

I dont have any pictures that you can really take a good look at the deeks, and I have to make some this season. If you pm me I will get in contact with you and help you out though. When I get a chance I will get out in the shop and try to make some and take a pict. for you


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## northdakotakid (May 12, 2004)

THE BEST WAY TO EAT CRANE IS TO CUT THEM INTO 1INCH CUBES, COVER THEM WITH BACON AND USE A TOOTHPICK TO HOLD IT TOGETHRE. hEAT UP YOUR OIL IN THAT BIG PROPANE DEEP-FRYER THAT YOU HAVE USED ON ABOUT THREE TURKEYS IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS AND FRY THEM FOR ABOUT 3-4 MINUTES. SERIOUSLY, I WOULD EAT THAT OVER ANY GAME ANIMAL, EXCLUDING PHEASANT.

PS USE PEANUT OIL, NOT THE CHEAPER OILS, THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE IN TASTE.


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