to wet and miserable to hunt today..hpoe its better tommorrow...i agree them crows have sharp eyes and if you dont get him with that shot you might as well move on.. i have a bunch of no 9 shot that im going to load up and get rid of on them crows...i know that its not as good as 8s or 6 s but i need to get rid of it...in my 10 ga load with a 1 1/4 oz load does a mighty good job on squirls.... charlie

When do you want those 12 empties Charlie?
 

-- Yes, I thought about it yesterday- on Sat on our way to the GR Hospital to visit my newest grandson, went by one of my many dairy farms- lotsa pigeons and crows in the rutted snow where the "poop wagons patrol" and few snomobilers dare to venture-- hitting the fan, hitting the studded belt- either way, messy-

But will try it this afternoon- gonna use no. 8 spreader loads in right tube of the big 12 2E- and a regular trap load of 8's in the left- But Charlie- I love no. nines- I got a chance to buy a flat of AA no. 9 12 skeet loads last summer from a friend- not reloads- $50.00- and I have shot 'em all up on barn pigeons and crows, and that dense pattern sure "cuts 'em a dusty" I think you'll love No. 9 in that 10 bore- Whoom and a big cloud of black feathers blots your vision- good shootin'---:bigbye:

that was a bargain for a case of shells regardless of shot size....not to many bargains left in ammo...wish i lived closer at least for a moment i would tag along and see if i could help dispatch one of those pesky black demons....i think i would bring my tried and true 10 ga ph hammerless gun...have never used it on crows but its murder on turkeys....weighed it the other day weighed 9 1/4 lbs was a little disapointed hoping it to weigh at least 10...ha back in my younger days i could handle those big guns with ease but since i havenot hauled in hay for a while im beginning to get out of shape...will probably have to start using a liter gun...well how did the crow hunt turn out francis...hope you got enough to mame a good mess for supper.. call me when they are done and that rock is ready to half.... charlie

charlie, time for a true story about cooking crows. When my dad came home from the war, I was 13, and my dad, a bomber pilot, had spent 3 1/2 years as a POW in Stalag Luft III of The Great Escape fame. He would tell us kids when we turned up our noses that you can learn to eat anything. "I can eat anything," he said. I shot a young crow one day and when skinned thought it looked a lot like a spruce partridge. I cooked it and set it out with fixings when dad came home at lunch. He ate it without batting an eye. I never had the nerve to tell him, not even when I nursed him round-the clock for the last year of his life. my dad was quite a guy, charlie, but couldn't shoot or fish worth a damn. If you get a chance read about him in the book A Gallant Company, The Men of the The Great Escape by Jonathan F. Vance. It's the story of the most famous prison escape of all time.

It sure was Charlie-
 

My regular Tower shoot gunning partner bought that flat of AA 12 skeet loads probably12-14 years ago at Gemmen's- now out of business-each box was marked $4.95. They are the older reifenstahl plastic molded red cases--my friend Ted Huff, a reloader from who laid de rail, says the newer cases have a different taper- anyway Bruce gave me a great deal- so I bought lunch that day--I usually use No 8's in my 12's as a compromise-

Today- well I couldn't find my flat of 12 spreader loads, so I took the 12 GHE instead- set up a camo net cover near some old farm equipment- cloudy- 32 degrees- 5 mph wind from my back- and set the K-mart foolies out in the snow by the spread poop- all kinds of bird tracks- pigeons, doves (a no-no) starlings, and then some crows-

I had off and on shooting- steady and good, but as Pete lester mentioned, with crows, like ducks- often times you set up and wait- then out of nowhere- Bingo-- I had mostly singles come in quietly- I carry a few Olt mouth calls with plenty of extra shells in the camo folding stool I use to keep my keister off the snow-but I seldom call, and if a bird is incoming, I never do- I hope he'll home in on the decoys I put out, get in range, and BOOM- ended up killing 8 crows and 3 barn pigeons- then packed up and headed to Burger Ding for a senior citizen coffee and a warm-up-- Best tool in my arsenal- a camo face net- if they can see the glare from your skin, they usually flare- pigeons, not so much--

Anyway, my friend, when you care to do so, send me a PM here with a shipping address and I'll get that box of 12 gauge once fired hulls down your way-- Best-- Francis--

A good video of how it's done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRHKx...eature=related

that was some crow hunt....hope to be in on something like that some day...most of my hunts are sneak and move type...king brown thats a awsome story about your dad..i dont think i could have cooked a crow for my dad and got by with it....been a few times hes made me eat crow...ha i will get that book as soon as i can....ive seen the movie THE GREAT ESCAPE is this the story.. well im off to the hunt....charlie

book and movie same, charlie, only there was no steve mcqueen running around on a motorcycle. The POW camp was all air crew, every one of allied side who got shot down. they had it better than other POWs because Herman Goering, head of the German air forces, considered them his personal prisoners. He once sent in beer for Christmas.

Yawohl- Das ist Korrekt--
 

My first wife's uncle Jack was a Lt. and a bombadier in the USAAC in Europe. Both he and my late father-in-law were raised in Milwaukee and were fluent in German-- Jack's B-17 was shot down on the Polesti/Rumania oil field bombing runs, and all the crew parachuted out safely- unlike the Japanese, who would either machine gun our pilots that bailed out, or fly into the parachute cords to cause death to the pilot- the Luftwaffe followed a more chivalrous code of conduct, and in spite of Goering ( or Goring with the umlat over the letter o) was in charge of the Luftwaffe Stalags--Jack often said that the worst part of the POW affair was that the Germans would take the American cigarettes out of the Red Cross packages and help themselves- Jack was assigned to work as an orderly in the Commandant's office, he wisely never let on that he could understand quite clearly all that was spoken in his presence--

The Commandant was a full Colonel (Oberst) with a Knight's Cross (Ritterkruze) with oak leaves and diamonds personally awarded to him by Goering, who may well have figured out early on that Germany would lose, with the Russians pushing in from the East and the Allies coming in from France, Belgium and Holland- Jack told me that one day a Gestapo Hauptsturmbannfuehrer (Major) came into the office with orders that all the Allied prisoners of the Jewish faith were to be shipped East- The Colonel told him: We removed all their dog tags, and all these men are under custody of the Luftwaffe, not the Gestapo or the SS- and further, he told the Major to "take a hike"- Brave man--

wind was blowing like crazy this afternoon on the hunt...i set up my owl on the edge of afield were crows usally hang out...i really had a good hiding place dont think a crow could have spoted me if theyhada come in...i hunted for an hour in the field decided to move locations i set up in another field with no luck at this location....tried the 3rd spot called on the crow call and one answered me here 3 crows came a mile high..said what the heck took a super long shot and didnot cut a feather....went to the house some days better off setting at the computer looking and talking about parkers.... charlie