Crane hunting tips

Bob Jensen, a North Dakota sandhill crane hunting enthusiast from Grand Forks, offers these tips for pursuing the birds:

- Hide well. They have very good eyesight.

- Be patient. The current flock might present a marginal shot where the next flock could be closer.

- When using decoys, hunters should set up in the same spot in the field where they saw the cranes.

- If the cranes flare, check your setup. “I have had a candy wrapper spook them at 80 yards,” Jensen said.

- Do not “bust” the field. When scouting, birds that are within half a mile will fly if hunters slow down to look, Jensen said. Stay away from them and use binoculars

- Pass shooting is the easiest way to harvest cranes. (See tips one and two.)

Tags: sandhill cranes, outdoors, huntingnorthland, outdoors, hunting