[bighonker]

I am a hunting guide in the Texas panhandle. I was just looking around for hunting info on the net and found this site. I found some posts asking how to hunt crane. I'll tell y'all how we do it in Texas. We set up about 50 rag decoys made of pillowcases dyed and stapled onto a piece of plywood so a kind of tail hangs down. the plywood has a hole drilled into it so a 1/2 in stake can be inserted. On about 10 of the dekes we put pieces of pipe insulation on them for heads. We use red oxide primer to touch up the backs of the decoys. We do not set them up in any special pattern but we do leave a hole in the middle. We use ghillie blankets to cover up with and just wait for them to come off the roost.

Y'all were right about hunting them with decoys. If you can get them to do it once you'll never want to hunt anything else.

 

[jonP]

Crane action can be tough to beat. I'm kind of curious on the rag decoys...they really do work eh? With their eyes I guess I always felt it couldn't be done without high end looking gear. I'm going to have to hit you up for your pattern.

 

[bighonker]

These decoys work great. I have limited out many times with them. Take a 8"x16" piece of paneling and drill a hole big enough for a 3/8 or 1/2 conduit pole to fit through. You will have to Tape the pole with duct tape so the pole will not slide all the way through. The material should look like a messed up pillow case. Tale a piece of thick white cotton material and cut it 10"x20". The next piece is the belly of the decoy. Cut a pentagon out of the cotton material 20"x10"x20"x25"x25". Sew the two pieces together so the measurements match up.

After you are done with all of the sewing you have to dye them. I used grey paint and just soaked the rags in a bucket until they are all colored. This makes them a little stiff and makes them look better. After they dry just slide the paneling into the rags and staple them down. Cut a small hole into the bottom of the rag so you can get the conduit through. If you want heads just tape the poles a little farther down and slide a piece of foam pipe insulation, that has been touched up with paint, onto the conduit.

I know that this is not very clear. I will try and draw this up on the computer so you can see the pictures. I will also try to take some pictures of the finished product. If you would like the pictures and the plans just E-mail me at [email protected] and I will send them to you as soon as I get them done. [/img]

 

[jonP]

Thanks Joe!