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It’s here, it’s finally here! Absolutely love crane season! Today was the opener and although it was not a barnburner it was a great day!!

Hunter and Huntresses: Vinny, Nattles and I

Well to say that I was almost blown over last week when Nattles told me that not only did she want to go hunting that she wanted to shoot some cranes would be an understatement. She comes along but she’s never had a desire to shoot. I have never forced my kids into hunting. It’s always been their free choice if they want to go or not. Anyways I was so happy and was praying that she would get her first cranes!

Bad Luck: Well it all started yesterday with some problems at work and then 5 stand called me and made me forget that I was supposed to go back out to work to check on things. Got a call later on and ended up being out there till after 11 PM. Thanks 5 stand I really appreciate it! Just messing with you ha ha! The truth is I had no intentions of going back to work but thankfully one of the guys that hauls saltwater told me that one of my tanks seemed higher than normal so I did have to go back out there. Once again no fault at all to 5 stand I just wanted to give him some grief.

We did have fog this morning which can be a good thing or a bad thing. Jury is still out on that today. Unfortunately the northwest wind was light and when we shot our first shots the birds on the roost started to fly. I have hunted much closer to this roost but for whatever reason it got them going.

Heard a truck driving around and could talking by where I was parked but could not see who it was. When we were getting ready to pick up here comes a truck and trailer. Local guy who was questioning if I had permission to be out there. Everything was cool. Reaper wanted to rip his head off. Vinny was holding Reaper by the collar and he was pulling her across the field. Anyways this afternoon the guy sent me an apology message as he didn’t realize who it was. It was not a problem as his group is a good group from what I can tell and they do their fair share of killing! From everything I know he is a good guy so it’s all good!

Our shooting was extremely bad. But even with that we should’ve only had a couple more. Had a single come in that was probably the best decoying crane I’ve ever had and Vinny and I shot at it right in the decoys and both missed. All I could do was laugh about that one and scratch my head. It was about as perfect as perfect could be!

Anyways both the girls shot one and I was left sucking my thumb.

PorkChop, I know we always talk about the smiles and there's a reason why, when you look at that picture of Vinny and Nettles and you don't smile also (you're a curmudgeon)...
Vinny looks like she killed that crane with 1 and 1/2 arm... And Nettles is handless...
Just Awesome... Thank you for sharing your family adventures...

5 stand wrote:Vinny looks like she killed that crane with 1 and 1/2 arm... And Nettles is handless...
:

Oh my I didn’t even notice that

5 stand wrote:Vinny looks like she killed that crane with 1 and 1/2 arm... And Nettles is handless...

We've all been warned about fooling with crippled cranes...

Rick wrote:

5 stand wrote:Vinny looks like she killed that crane with 1 and 1/2 arm... And Nettles is handless...

We've all been warned about fooling with crippled cranes...

They did not heed the warnings haha

Looks like a great time by the smiles !! Congratulations !!

Congrats Dad!

What happened to the cranes, I'd be hunting cranes, Phooey on the ducks...

The reason I say that is last year it seemed like there was a shorter window on cranes, maybe I'm all wet ?

We are actually getting ready to head out here in a little bit. We have been having a strong south east wind which where the birds are feeding blows right to the roost

PorkChop wrote:We are actually getting ready to head out here in a little bit. We have been having a strong south east wind which where the birds are feeding blows right to the roost

Proceed with great caution.

Good Luck!!!!!

Well reaper got skunked but I didn’t! When I was going to park the truck I got the strong with of skunk. So I’m guessing it sprayed at the truck. He didn’t smell like it during the hunt but when he got into the truck when we went to go get it you could smell it so I’m guessing that he must’ve rubbed in the stubble as I didn’t see the skunk. Who knows but he’s stinky right now.


Vinny insisted I took a picture so here you go!






Took me three shots to get this crane. Hopefully the shotkam picked it up. We also whiffed on a flock of ducks. I will see later what kind of footage I have. Hoping to get out after the ducks tonight as there was several flocks going into the field.

Nice...

Only had one flock come by us and I was the only one that could safely shoot. Somehow the birds snuck off the roost and headed to the west. Usually they’re pretty vocal on the roost and when they are taking off and flying but I noticed yesterday when I was scouting they are extremely silent. Not normal behavior for them in these parts. Last night there was about 200 birds in this field so was pretty pumped but that’s how hunting goes

Bingo on the crane, and hope the ducks show for y'all this eve

PorkChop wrote:Well reaper got skunked he must’ve rubbed in the stubble as I didn’t see the skunk. Who knows but he’s stinky right now..

He just slipped and accidentally fell in it...

5 stand wrote:

PorkChop wrote:Well reaper got skunked he must’ve rubbed in the stubble as I didn’t see the skunk. Who knows but he’s stinky right now..

He just slipped and accidentally fell in it, he didn't mean to...

Ha ha I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I don’t care though because I had to leave for work right away so Vinny got to give him the bath. Last week he rolled in a bunch of cow pies and she did not realize it so when he ran up to her she gave him a big hug and then had brown hands ha ha Ha

He just slipped and fell in them cowpies also...

Good lesson for Vinny

Geewhiz the duck hunting is for the birds! I can’t tell you the last time I was skunked duck hunting three times in a row because birds never showed up. Maybe I need to take up crochet or something

PorkChop wrote:Geewhiz the duck hunting is for the birds! I can’t tell you the last time I was skunked duck hunting three times in a row because birds never showed up. Maybe I need to take up crochet or something

Jump shooting. At least that's what a pheasant outfitter from Chamberlain, SD told me it took to kill ducks consistently in his, perhaps similar, land of many potholes. Said they had so many options they couldn't be counted on to keep using any particular one of them.

Then again, he was down here hunting over decoys with us in a landscape chockablock with options.

Jump shooting is a great option here when we have the water but we are drying up pretty fast which means roosts are disappearing. Nonresident season opens up tomorrow. Unfortunately a lot them will be jumping fools. Hopefully most of the birds will head to the refuge but a good portion will head to South Dakota. There are some southern folk that come up here and will purposely jump roosts thinking that the birds will migrate down to them faster. Maybe that is what 5 Stand will be doing Just messing with you 5 Stand!!

Not much of a jump shooter, did when I first started duck hunting anything to kill a duck and I didn't have a mentor...
I enjoy them coming to me, nowhere near the caller that Ricky is so I Trump that with hiding and shooting...


I'll try to explain my welcome above... Welcome to the crowd they no show us down here all the time... But I must say three times in a row is a lot... Sounds like local ducks to me you need some flight ducks...

5 stand wrote:Not much of a jump shooter, did when I first started duck hunting anything to kill a duck and I didn't have a mentor...
I enjoy them coming to me, nowhere near the caller that Ricky is so I Trump that with hiding and shooting...


I'll try to explain my welcome above... Welcome to the crowd they no show us down here all the time... But I must say three times in a row is a lot... Sounds like local ducks to me you need some flight ducks...

I will admit it took me about 15 seconds to understand what your welcome sign meant but I figured it out on my own. And I believe I did a post on my feelings on the term “flight ducks” which is probably why you used it.

Going to see if we can make it 4 in a row tonight

Fourth time’s a charm!

PorkChop wrote:

5 stand wrote:Not much of a jump shooter, did when I first started duck hunting anything to kill a duck and I didn't have a mentor...
I enjoy them coming to me, nowhere near the caller that Ricky is so I Trump that with hiding and shooting...


I'll try to explain my welcome above... Welcome to the crowd they no show us down here all the time... But I must say three times in a row is a lot... Sounds like local ducks to me you need some flight ducks...

I will admit it took me about 15 seconds to understand what your welcome sign meant but I figured it out on my own. And I believe I did a post on my feelings on the term “flight ducks” which is probably why you used it.

Going to see if we can make it 4 in a row tonight

I have the same feelings about a duck shoot (good shoot this morning) just a pet peeve of mine...
Just messing with you buddy, have a good shoot this evening

It's Friday, might as well hunt that roost tonight... Do you use lights when you hunt at night?

5 stand wrote:

PorkChop wrote:

5 stand wrote:Not much of a jump shooter, did when I first started duck hunting anything to kill a duck and I didn't have a mentor...
I enjoy them coming to me, nowhere near the caller that Ricky is so I Trump that with hiding and shooting...


I'll try to explain my welcome above... Welcome to the crowd they no show us down here all the time... But I must say three times in a row is a lot... Sounds like local ducks to me you need some flight ducks...

I will admit it took me about 15 seconds to understand what your welcome sign meant but I figured it out on my own. And I believe I did a post on my feelings on the term “flight ducks” which is probably why you used it.

Going to see if we can make it 4 in a row tonight

I have the same feelings about a duck shoot (good shoot this morning) just a pet peeve of mine...
Just messing with you buddy, have a good shoot this evening

It's Friday, might as well hunt that roost tonight... Do you use lights when you hunt at night?

We run thermals on our shotguns

We got out Sunday morning. We were not on the X so we set up the “three spook crew” to try to get the birds to come to us. Only worked on two groups. I got one for sure out of the first group and then the second group I hit one and it was going down like a rock and then the next thing I knew it started flying again. Kind of like Snowgeese like to do. Anyways Reaper went running after that one as it would get low and get high. We lost him and the crane in the fog and he came back empty-handed. So Vinny had to play retriever for the other one. We had flock after flock of ducks coming into us. Decided not to shoot them up as Nattles is still waiting to shoot her first duck and with the fog it was pretty hard to identify birds. We were going to go yesterday morning to shoot the ducks up but we were in a dense fog advisory. But as luck has it when I got outside to leave for work you could see for miles and miles and miles so that was my screwup trusting the weatherman. Today is Sarah‘s birthday so no hunting. We will most likely hit them in the morning. Definitely going to have to walk in as everything is a muddy mess. Puddles are starting to form on the approaches which means good soil saturation.

Vinny making the retrieve

Vinny have a retriever fee?