Sandhill’s and Canada’s.

Been having some success with my Pedersoli 10 gauge. 110 grains Goex 2f 1-1/2 ounces of Bismuth #B. And as a bonus the goose was banded. My first goose with a muzzleloader and first bird with a band.

Nice! Thats quite a spectacle, both audibly and visually, when the big flocks of sandhill cranes fly through.

Good for you. You make that 10g look tiny where as a Pedersoli 10g made me look tiny!
Congrats.

B.

Nicely done. How do you retrieve those big sandhills?

Conrad
Well done sir fowling really gets the adrenaline going when the geese are calling when coming in to decoys and for a 10 bore it is quite a feat here in the UK we are allowed to use a bigger bore size and for a muzzle loader 8 bore it would have been . Wildfowling is the hardest and the coldest sport especially when the north wind brings the snow and rain but to get a goose in the bag is well worth it
Feltwad

Nice!

Todd

Impressive!!! Nice work bagging Sky Carp and Ribeye's in the Sky with the BP!!

Brokennock said:

Nicely done. How do you retrieve those big sandhills?

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Even though we were hunting near water for duck geese and cranes, the cranes actually prefer the big mud flats where the forage for snails and small crustaceans.if you can bring one down they have a broken wing or leg and can’t get away. We decoy them so they are close. And on dry land.

fishleclair said:

Impressive!!! Nice work bagging Sky Carp and Ribeye's in the Sky with the BP!!

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Skycarp! Never heard them called that.

Thank you everybody. It’s been a lot of fun. I can get one more crane and hope to get a few geese before the season is over. I wanted to get some ducks but spent to much time going after cranes.

Conrad Alan said:

Skycarp! Never heard them called that.

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There are a few of us that hunt them, We've named em Sky Carps cause there are so many around, Same with Sand Hills, However we cannot hunt them here yet..Maybe a season will be in place soon.

Sandhill Crane are on my muzzleloader bucket list. Nice going! I don't have a large bore, so I hope to decoy them close and use a 19 gauge. So far, nobody has been willing to accommodate me. It seems you got them close. How close were they? Any comments on shot size or amount of shot that you think is "enough"? Thanks!

Sparkitoff said:

Sandhill Crane are on my muzzleloader bucket list. Nice going! I don't have a large bore, so I hope to decoy them close and use a 19 gauge. So far, nobody has been willing to accommodate me. It seems you got them close. How close were they? Any comments on shot size or amount of shot that you think is "enough"? Thanks!

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If the cranes cooperate you can get them within 20 yards. Go ahead and PM me and we can discuss loads.

Congrats on the birds and the band.
The "skycarp" name is almost always used in connection with snow geese not Canadas because they are not very tasty on the plate.

Very nice shooting. Where are you that you can hunt sandhills?

No Deer said:

Very nice shooting. Where are you that you can hunt sandhills?

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Tennessee. We have to draw for a permit. There is only a certain number. With a permit we are allowed 3 tags or 2 tags. Depends on which one you get.

We're covered up with sandhill cranes year-round but there will never be a season on them because the greater sandhill is mixed in with the rarer (not here) Florida sandhill that is slightly smaller and non-migratory.

In the winter both are present but the greater sandhills migrate up north in the spring.

Glad to see some areas of the Mississippi flyway got some birds in this year. Here in Illinois we never could hardly hold any ducks this year the weather fronts would come through and they'd go right over us. Very impressive to knock down waterfowl with a blackpowder shotgun it can be enough of a challenge already with 3" shells and aftermarket choke tubes

A whooping crane for a decoy! You can be glad one of them didn't come over, even pointing a gun at one, you could wind up in Leavenworth!

Herb said:

A whooping crane for a decoy! You can be glad one of them didn't come over, even pointing a gun at one, you could wind up in Leavenworth!

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That decoy is gray not white. It's a sandhill decoy.