Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Sandhill Crane

Going on my first ever guided Crane hunt. Trying to determine whether I should use my 22” barrel or 26”. Will be hunting over a spread. 2 3/4 or 3”??

Ask the guide.

I'd expect a successful hunt with any mix or match. It's likely a social affair so I'd normally go with a longer barrel to put the muzzle blast just that much farther away.

Eni mini miny moe. 26'' and 3'' better to have to much of a good thing than not enough. And next time you'll know.

The vast majority of states allowing crane hunting classify them as waterfowl necessitating the use of non-toxic shot. Cranes are the weight of large Canada geese and their size fools many into believing they are closer than they are. Cranes are also rather wary and more difficult to decoy which often leads to longer shots. For that I recommend 3" shells as they can fit in more large shot than the shorter shells, especially if using steel. This is about the only application I can see the utility of 3.5" hulls in the 12 ga. 1400 fps is my velocity threshold, once I reach that I want a larger payload rather than more speed.

I've killed cranes with lead 7 1/2 on up to steel T shot and find steel BBB to be the best all around size for me. BB steel works OK and in bismuth or the tungsten/polymers it is the preferred size for me. "Decoying" cranes is often more like pass shooting as getting them to land is less common than with ducks or geese. I'll choke for long shots as that works better at short range than using an open pattern at longer ranges. In my guns this tends to be LT Mod or IC with BBB or larger steel shot though Mod often works well for others. Cranes can be tough to bring down as they appear to move slowly due to their size causing many to shoot behind. Centering the pattern on the mid-body often requires several pellet hits to bring down quickly. Otherwise, cranes can sail a lot further than any goose imaginable.

As for barrel length, it doesn't mean squat other than handling chacteristics. The longer barrel might, just might, get you 4" of extra range. Use the one that you prefer and forget about barrel length having anything to do with ballistics.

I shoot quite a few every fall. In fact I shot a triple this morning.
Like W81, I've used everything from #3 steel to T steel and have settled on 2s and 1s while one of our group of seven hunters prefers BB steel.

All of us use 3" 1550fps Federal blue box except one guy likes the Hyper Velocity [1700+fps] Remington 3.5" loads. His shotgun and his body have suffered from the abuse.
Everyone of us uses the PatternMaster choke tubes with the tightest pattern. None of us are interested in changing chokes. We all use autoload 12ga with 28" or 30" barrels.

We seldom get cranes to hover over the decoys and more often take them as they circle or pass overhead which is our favorite shot. We've found that the smaller shot will hit a neck vertebrae or a hollow wing bone and bring the bird down. Much more easily done than trying to penetrate the breast with large shot. With overhead shots they hit the ground hard and seldom are able to get up and run off.

One of my favorite recipes is Chicken Fried Steak.....pound that breast half down to 1/4", dip in whipped egg, dredge in flour and fry.

Good luck!

Federal premium are a tad bit better the the blue boxes - Check out Rogers sporting goods to get them, or Dunn’s.

I have a Browning 10 gold lite the puts the smack on anything with BB or BBB.

If you don’t have good chokes, get the Carlson waterfoul choke set.

Fiocchi 3" 1550 #2 or #BBB (depending on your opinion of hitting necks/wings versus breast).

These are zinc-plated, perfectly round, steel shot that always chronograph at true speeds. Great rounds at cheap prices.

Tight choke and 26" barrel.

Tight choke? As in Full?

Whatever gives you a tight pattern. A general rule is that steel patterns tighter than lead so you should use less constriction with steel. With steel sizes #2-B I would go one choke more open than if using lead and 2 sizes more open if using BB and larger.

For greatest range that might be Modified for the first and Lt Mod or IC for the second. One would need to pattern the loads to know for sure but the above rule works well enough for me.

I use 3" steel #2's in my 20 gauge over/under. I use Modified and Improved Modified choke tubes. We do our best to get them to decoy. I have used the above-mentioned load up to 45 yards. For next year, I am switching to #3 Bizmuth.