SANDHILL CRANE HUNT — TEXAS PANHANDLE

Sandhill cranes are enormous, prehistoric-sounding birds that come into a decoy spread like something out of another era — most grown hunters never get to do this. Kids hunt Panhandle grain fields with guides who run the spread, work the calls and teach them how the whole thing comes together. It's cold, it's early, it's spectacular, and the birds eat better than most people expect. Every hunter carries the required federal crane permit and HIP certification, hunter education is verified, and a mentor stays with each kid the entire hunt.