My second favorite non-game bird awing, right after the feral (barn) pigeon.
A skeet shooting pal told me about the "Dutch Double" jinx- now I know what to call a lucky "two-fer" shot awing- a Scotch Double-- Never have done this on crows or pigeons, but about 4 years ago in Mid-Oct hunting the river that borders my acreage, a small group of Canadas came in quietly, flaps down, I shot ahead of the neck of a middle flock bird, and it dropped dead, and his "wing-man" also dropped on the water, but not quite dead.
My fellow waterfowlers know that any duck or goose crippled on water is very hard to finish off, as most of the critical vital kill zone body parts are covered, often by the wings- only a close range head shot will work. Too bad about steel- it's illegal to use a 7 & 1/2 shot Trap load for a cripple finisher-
My Lab got the dead bird, I couldn't shoot the cripple with him in the water, but downstream about 1/2 mile (on the State Land sector) there is a huge deadfall- so later we went down the two-track in the Gator to that sector- there was a dead Canada wedged in the fallen branches and my Lab brought him back. Later dressing for the table and amateur autopsy showed the first bird had 6 No. 2 steel pellets in the neck- instant death- the other bird had 4 pellets under the main wing joint, 2 penetrated the breast meat vis a vis the purple flesh and dark blood path-
Estimated range- 16 yards- shotgun was my 3" Mag M12 with 3" Federal steel No 2 loads- My only "Scotch Double" If I ever do this again on either ducks or geese, I'll buy a fifth of Johnny Walker and toast the birds and the Gods of fate and fortune.
Crows- aka "Black Ducks"
Threaded Mode