crow hunting

[charlie cleveland]

have been crow hunting this morning did not take me long to figure out ive got a lot to learn...i m use to the mouth call and take a pot shot ocasionally...today i used a owl decoy nobody had crow decoys at the moment so none used..first set up on the edge of an old cattle farm stayed there about an hour but not one crow called in...set up at another place only one called in...gave up said it was a bad day very over cast and real warm...got to house decided to step out in back yard and try again well 3 crows came in shooting distance but charlie and the parker 20 ga did not score... will try it again soon maybe with some good advise i ll get the hang of this crow hunting... charlie

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Use more gun, crows take some killing.

DLH

[David Hamilton]

I used to shoot crows in my youth with a .22. I was sucessfull but my kills were not numerous. If I was in a car and we were passing a field of crows, all you had to do was stick a gun barrel out the window and all the crows would fly off. I did better walking under heavy tree cover and shooting at crows in the canopy. I did have a great sucess shooting a raven that way which turned out to be a huge bird, I nailed its wings to the side of my sleeping cabin where they could be seen for many years. David

[Pete Lester]

Successful crow hunting involves the combination of a few factors coming together. First an area with more crows than not. They are migratory and the time of year can make a difference. Once you find a bunch you hunt them like waterfowl as they respond to calling and decoys, Flambeau is probably the best crow decoy available at present, the new Carrylites are too big to haul. Keep the wind at your back and wear camouflage clothing head to toe. Build a good blind, a really good blind, they have uncanny eyesight. I'll try to dig up some blind pictures. Next is calling, use of an e-caller is legal in most places, whether digital or cassette tape they need to be fairly loud. Some recorded crow sounds are better then others, there is lot of junk out there in the way of sounds. My advice stick with Johnny Stewart brand of sounds, in particular crow fighting owl, crow come here, crow death cry and maybe single excited crow. Take this advice and go out and try and then try again. Once they start coming in you'll learn more. They are slower than ducks but not necessarily easier to hit as they don't fly in straight lines. It's a great sport for these old guns as lead shot is still legal. Don't fool around with shooting light trap and skeet loads, they'll work close but they will let you down in the field when shots go beyond 30 yards. Use number 6 shot. If you reload substitute #6 shot in your favorite trap load, it works wonders on them. A short ten with 1 1/4 ounce of 6 really clobbers them and as far as you can shoot. Most farmers have no problem with crows being shot and it can be a good way to get your foot in the door for access in other seasons. Have fun!

[Pete Lester]

Here are some pictures of blinds that Scott K. and I have used for crow hunting. Again staying out of their site is paramount.


http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj57/nhshotgunner/DSCF0004__3_.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj57/nhshotgunner/100_0825.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj57/nhshotgunner/100_0800.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj57/nhshotgunner/downsized_1021121343.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj57/nhshotgunner/crow1017.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj57/nhshotgunner/100_0667.jpg

[charlie cleveland]

one things for sure on my first hunt i can see from your blinds that i was not hid out of there sight...and i did not have enough gun looks like....caller though was a johney stwart fairly loud it was rated at 90 decbals...i will try again with better understanding this time...got me a car radio that plays tapes also got a coupla good speakers..it should be pretty loud when i get it together... charlie