For some reason... I want to try my hand I crow hunting... I suspect it will be fairly easy for me as there are literally hundreds and hundreds in the cornfield behind my house daily... Still, I want to get some decoys and give it a go... I have a mouth call for a turkey locator, I figure it will suffice. So any techniques.... how do you get them to come back after shooting? Just call until they come? What size shot do you use? Just curious... seems like a pretty straight forward hobby...
I just shoot em from the window with the .17. I hate the things. The sound they make strikes a nerve in me somehow. Ill tell you one thing, the darn things are smart. Not sure if you ever seen any shows or studies on them but they really are. Hide well, and dont hunt the same area often. They will catch onto you. They stopped coming in the field for about a year after the first week with my .17. Almost sold it because they wernt coming anymore. But every now and then I get a stray who must not know yet. But, they love my pine trees. So I still hear them but as soon as they see me they leave and never offer a shot. The ones in the field even learned to watch my window. I could walk by, see one, just in time to watch it spot me and fly away.
You may have a easy go for the first couple flocks and hunts but they are smart - you will need good camo especially after educating them(and that will be after the first time you shoot at them). You will need to have a variety of calls and sequences(if your locator is variable pitch you are good for maybe three sessions on the same educated crows) as they learn which calls to avoid. They are tougher than you might think...No4 shot is what I use for the 20ga but prefer the 12 with No4 or No5 shot,...can be tough to hit to...deceivingly slow looking flight and depth perception(how far up are they really). Don't over call when they are approaching stop - they'll have a line on you. Lots of fun.
I thought about the educating thing... I know they are smart... But If I get out a couple of times a month I'll be doing good. I have a pile of old corn stalks piled up on a field edge and with ASAT camo... It does extremely well with corn.... Seems like fun I shot at a few the other day with a 20ga of mine... didn't hit a single one... But I figured with the right shells out of a 12ga design for game birds should help a little. There are so many around here it's ridiculous... They are calling my name... I'll keep you guys posted...
Trick I've found is set up the caller and a few decoys and call. When one comes in do not shoot it. They actually tend to use scouts and it will fly back and come with his friends. We let them land shoot then with our rifles. Sent from iPhone
Crow hunter????? Well thanks to the Migratory bird regs you now have a "season" on the damn pest. When I was a kid growing up we shot them all.. they were educated and stayed away from pecking into garbage placed on the streets and all that sort of stuff.. And now with all the stupid regulations calling them migratory birds... they aren't afraid of us anymore. They've become bad assed pest. IN my neighborhood... they're still shot on site. I knocked off a couple when I first moved here attacking my street garbage bags. Now... if I so much as make a noise at a door or window... they're gone. The only good crow is a dead crow. They're easy to call and leave dead where they drop. They serve no purpose in life except to piss me off. I'm not a crow hunter. I'm a crows nightmare and extermination expert.
This ^^^ Don't shoot the first ones and he will let the flock know that the coast is clear. Many electronic callers have a crow fight that will bring em in. An Owl decoy works great too. They hate Owls.
Not that it can be controlled but my best crow hunts are when a crow is hit but not dead. The rest cant resist it and come in incredibly low making for some great shooting when they see the other flopping. I think one of the moving coyote decoys covered in some black fabric would be great.
Do you crow hunters follow the federal seasons and regs or do your own thing. I follow all games laws... except coyote and crow seasons. In my mind... those seasons don't exist and I admit it. All though all coyotes should die... we can't possibly exterminate them. All crows fall into the same bag limit.
I don't know anything about the federal regs - first I've heard of them. We have a very liberal season with no limits to how many you can shoot. Also a landowner or tenant can shoot any crows 'doing or about to do damage' to crops or your garbage or what ever....SO - shoot em all just about whenever you want. Same with racoons.
I've always found that odd. I don't crow hunt but I've called in a few flocks with the "crow fight" sound on my Foxpro. Its amazing how well they respond to that! Have fun Aaron!
I just tried it for the first time a couple weeks ago. We only shot 5, those things have really good eyes and were seeing something they didn't like. We used dead crows as decoys
I do it from time to time. I just stand in a pine thicket with some #8 shot when I see or hear a lot of them and call with my mouth. I shoot them as they start circling. They usually come in until my throat gets sore from calling. If you can wing shoot one, it may do the calling for you and they will keep coming in then. That's about all I know.
I have a half dozen flocked GHG crow dekes with an electronic caller. It is a blast to go, I just am lucky to make it out even bowhunting here lately. Haven't been crow hunting in 2 years. I have found that actually shooting the lead bird helps us more than letting him go. As mentioned, they are super smart. We found that giving him a pass as the scout circled a few times only gave him ample time to figure out something wasn't real. By dropping him dead and switching the call to crow in distress, the rest of the flock comes in quick, fast, and in a hurry.
I've crow hunted a few times, but more of just an opurtunistic Crow hunter these days. I'll blast at em when givin the chance
