Any Crow hunters here ?

Canadiankeeper

Canadiankeeper

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So, had an random crow hunt today.

Was out for coyotes, that was a bust. Wanted to try out my new Primos alpha dog caller a bit more. So figured we would give some calls a try. Just messing around I used the crow call...

MY GOD. A ton of them came in, it was staggering. We boogied on back to the truck, switched up the buck shot in the shot guns for some 12 ga 3" #7 bird and flopped some crows!

No decoys other then the yote "spinny tail" type decoy...

Well that was a blast!

So who hunts crow often? Is my 12 Ga 3" with #7 a decent choice ? What do you use ?

I had lots of high fly'rs and tons that turned around before they came in to close. I think they spotted us out, or at least the shotguns out.

Definitely going to get into this more but I think I want to leave the MK12 at home and use a camo pump action.
 
Around my property the crows and ravens and I have an understanding, they continue to chase off predatory birds such as ossprey, eagles and hawks and we all live in peace. The chickens benefit from this arrangment so I'm happy to have it, the crows don't seem to pay any attention to the chickens either.
 
Yea looking them up they are not only a nuisance bird.

They do huge damage to crops and big egg breakers! You migratory bird guys should thank a crow hunter ! lol
 
Used to pick them off with 222 as they were getting into the neighbor’s tomatoes.

I wouldn’t shoot them unless they were being a nuisance. Not many crops or eggs they can get into this time of year.
 
Crows are actually really smart, they will fall for the fall about twice then not again for the year. We turned it on last year and about 200 showed up the next time 50 then 2 and then didn’t matter what I did they didn’t come out.

They teare apart the garbage out here so I have no problem dispatching them.
 
Butcherbill said:
Around my property the crows and ravens and I have an understanding, they continue to chase off predatory birds such as ossprey, eagles and hawks and we all live in peace. The chickens benefit from this arrangment so I'm happy to have it, the crows don't seem to pay any attention to the chickens either.
Click to expand...

Bang on BB.
 
Butcherbill said:
Around my property the crows and ravens and I have an understanding, they continue to chase off predatory birds such as ossprey, eagles and hawks and we all live in peace. The chickens benefit from this arrangment so I'm happy to have it, the crows don't seem to pay any attention to the chickens either.
Click to expand...

Get a good rooster to protect your flock. A few times now I have heard him make some weird call and the hens all snap to attention and run/fly back to the coop as though they're being chased. As the hens are heading for cover he'll make small circles away from the hens to apparently draw attention to himself. Little bugger has even chased off a coyote and feral cat which was both shocking and amusing each time.


I go on a few crow hunts each winter and usually just use whatever odd shells I have laying around from waterfowl, small game, and turkey. You can get quite the impressive cloud of feathers if you hammer one with 2oz of lead or 3 1/2" steel BB's. I've used smaller #7-8 shot in the past and prefer #6's with a full choke.



One thing to keep in mind is you may be education coyotes in the area that X sound(s) are associated with hunters and shooting if you choose to shoot crows after attempting to call coyotes. A few years back I was on a coyote stand for 45 minutes with nothing showing so I decided to shoot at crows. Two coyotes busted out of cover maybe 75 yards away after my first shot and judging by the tracks they were both watching me or the call for a while before I scared them off. I no longer hunt crows in "coyote" spots.
 
I find the best time to hunt crows is in the evenings. When they fly to the roost. Get under the flight path and hide in a bush or stand of trees and light the call up. The birds will come down for a look and as you shoot/spook one group the next group will be showing up. Makes for a good 20 min of shooting if you get it right. I use 7.5 shot but anything that goes bang will work.
 
canadian hunter312 said:
Get a good rooster to protect your flock. A few times now I have heard him make some weird call and the hens all snap to attention and run/fly back to the coop as though they're being chased. As the hens are heading for cover he'll make small circles away from the hens to apparently draw attention to himself. Little bugger has even chased off a coyote and feral cat which was both shocking and amusing each time.
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We have 3 roosters and our top roo is a real good protector and regulator of the yard, we live on a creek and see a fair bit of large predatory birds flying along the creek. I'm totally fine with the crows, they chase any and all predatory birds away as soon as they show up and they don't #### with our 30 birds. I won't say no to more predatory bird control, they get locked in securely every night so no critters have access.

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Canadiankeeper said:
So, had an random crow hunt today.

Was out for coyotes, that was a bust. Wanted to try out my new Primos alpha dog caller a bit more. So figured we would give some calls a try. Just messing around I used the crow call...

MY GOD. A ton of them came in, it was staggering. We boogied on back to the truck, switched up the buck shot in the shot guns for some 12 ga 3" #7 bird and flopped some crows!

No decoys other then the yote "spinny tail" type decoy...

Well that was a blast!

So who hunts crow often? Is my 12 Ga 3" with #7 a decent choice ? What do you use ?

I had lots of high fly'rs and tons that turned around before they came in to close. I think they spotted us out, or at least the shotguns out.

Definitely going to get into this more but I think I want to leave the MK12 at home and use a camo pump action.
Click to expand...

Hi CK~I hunt them. Like most hunting/shooting/fishing...there is never enough time to do as much of it as I'd like, but I have decoys...a FoxPro Hellfire (double-duty coyote/crows) and usually manage to get a few to commit. Very low numbers where I go though. Whether or not my shotgunning is up to the task~well...that's another story. I always want my 870 to be the gun that gets them...but no matter what non-migratory birds I shoot at...it's my old 11-48 that seems to get it done most. I finally admitted that to myself, and am working on making some improvements to it now. Since you asked, it's a 28", fixed MOD choke and I shoot #7-1/2s mostly, but have #6 on hand for birds coming in higher.

On that note~I did spend an afternoon with a very experienced crow hunter who said he guides for them. (didn't know there was such a thing) The most memorable "take aways" from that were;

1. most productive time are the last 2 hours of shooting light (coming back to roost..? don't honestly remember)
2. best hunting is on windy days~he said he wouldn't guide/shoot unless it WAS windy. Reasoning~and it made sense in hindsight... On days with little-to-no wind, they can investigate your decoys/calling and survey the whole situation from a higher altitude. As in...pretty much out of bird shot range. On windy days, that's difficult enough for them that they tend to come in low/fast. That's proven to be true from what I've seen. They sometimes come in squawky and loud...sometimes they just appear over the tree line we're tucked into with no warning. Sometimes they must sense a problem, as they'll land/hang-up in trees behind us just watching...but never commit.

My early-20s nephew is a better shotgunner than I am, so I always bring him. :) He shoots an 870 Express with his extra-full turkey choke installed, and the same 2 shot sizes I use. After I get one or two (if I do) my nerves settle. He starts-off cool as a cucumber. lol

I should add...I pursue groundhogs pretty vigorously in the spring/summer and like your coyote hunt...sometimes the focus changes. :)
 
canadian hunter312 said:
Get a good rooster to protect your flock. A few times now I have heard him make some weird call and the hens all snap to attention and run/fly back to the coop as though they're being chased. As the hens are heading for cover he'll make small circles away from the hens to apparently draw attention to himself. Little bugger has even chased off a coyote and feral cat which was both shocking and amusing each time.


I go on a few crow hunts each winter and usually just use whatever odd shells I have laying around from waterfowl, small game, and turkey. You can get quite the impressive cloud of feathers if you hammer one with 2oz of lead or 3 1/2" steel BB's. I've used smaller #7-8 shot in the past and prefer #6's with a full choke.



One thing to keep in mind is you may be education coyotes in the area that X sound(s) are associated with hunters and shooting if you choose to shoot crows after attempting to call coyotes. A few years back I was on a coyote stand for 45 minutes with nothing showing so I decided to shoot at crows. Two coyotes busted out of cover maybe 75 yards away after my first shot and judging by the tracks they were both watching me or the call for a while before I scared them off. I no longer hunt crows in "coyote" spots.
Click to expand...

Never really thought about it. To be honest though... I live in SWO. I think it is damn near impossible for a yote to show his face in day light with out having a shot pop off at it...Also the crow hunt didnt start until the spot was packed up, walking around and talking about a tims run because it was the last set of the day. They seem to disappear after deer season... Likely because some muzzle loaders/shotguns took pot shots at them lol. Not to mention hunting spots are valuable, as they are all permission given not owned land. So I do a lot of small game on my properties also. SO hopefully the left overs of tree rats and birds will make them think its an easy meal near by. If I was to ONLY hunt coyotes on the areas I can hunt.. Well I wouldn't hunt much anymore lol.

I have read they are EXTREMELY reactionary to being hunted. They will move and avoid the area if you start dropping them often. I also read not to hunt near their roosts as they will move.

Being honest, 4-5 decoys isnt to much to throw into the truck in comparison to the yote gear. I think it will be more of a random occurrence then going out specifically for crows.

.22LRGUY said:
Hi CK~I hunt them. Like most hunting/shooting/fishing...there is never enough time to do as much of it as I'd like, but I have decoys...a FoxPro Hellfire (double-duty coyote/crows) and usually manage to get a few to commit. Very low numbers where I go though. Whether or not my shotgunning is up to the task~well...that's another story. I always want my 870 to be the gun that gets them...but no matter what non-migratory birds I shoot at...it's my old 11-48 that seems to get it done most. I finally admitted that to myself, and am working on making some improvements to it now. Since you asked, it's a 28", fixed MOD choke and I shoot #7-1/2s mostly, but have #6 on hand for birds coming in higher.

On that note~I did spend an afternoon with a very experienced crow hunter who said he guides for them. (didn't know there was such a thing) The most memorable "take aways" from that were;

1. most productive time are the last 2 hours of shooting light (coming back to roost..? don't honestly remember)
2. best hunting is on windy days~he said he wouldn't guide/shoot unless it WAS windy. Reasoning~and it made sense in hindsight... On days with little-to-no wind, they can investigate your decoys/calling and survey the whole situation from a higher altitude. As in...pretty much out of bird shot range. On windy days, that's difficult enough for them that they tend to come in low/fast. That's proven to be true from what I've seen. They sometimes come in squawky and loud...sometimes they just appear over the tree line we're tucked into with no warning. Sometimes they must sense a problem, as they'll land/hang-up in trees behind us just watching...but never commit.

My early-20s nephew is a better shotgunner than I am, so I always bring him. :) He shoots an 870 Express with his extra-full turkey choke installed, and the same 2 shot sizes I use. After I get one or two (if I do) my nerves settle. He starts-off cool as a cucumber. lol

I should add...I pursue groundhogs pretty vigorously in the spring/summer and like your coyote hunt...sometimes the focus changes. :)
Click to expand...

Haha, awesome! Yes I have youth on my side still and am pretty cool for my first shot lol.

the spank said:
You dont need 3” for crows. I shoot them over a foxpro and a half dozen decoys with 2 3/4” 3 dram # 7.5 target loads. Its plenty of load for smoking crows out to 40 yards.
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Yea thats what I am reading. I am trying to justify a reason for a new shot gun! lol The waterfowl 12 ga would do just fine. I have been looking for a reason to get a nice over under though! lol

I was thinking Over under with mod and improved mod chokes using 12ga 2 3/4" #7 shot

Realistically ill likely just go cruise the old used gun rack at the LGS and find some nifty old shot gun for 300 bucks
 
I stumbled on to my first grow shoot back in the mid 70's a pass shoot they were heading to a roost a lot of fun for a shotgunner at heart like myself . I still will get out a couple times a year spring and fall with a call a few decoys and sometimes a owl decoy . Fun shooting and they are not exactly on the endangerd speicies list
 
Canadiankeeper said:
Never really thought about it. To be honest though... I live in SWO. I think it is damn near impossible for a yote to show his face in day light with out having a shot pop off at it...Also the crow hunt didnt start until the spot was packed up, walking around and talking about a tims run because it was the last set of the day. They seem to disappear after deer season... Likely because some muzzle loaders/shotguns took pot shots at them lol. Not to mention hunting spots are valuable, as they are all permission given not owned land. So I do a lot of small game on my properties also. SO hopefully the left overs of tree rats and birds will make them think its an easy meal near by. If I was to ONLY hunt coyotes on the areas I can hunt.. Well I wouldn't hunt much anymore lol.

I have read they are EXTREMELY reactionary to being hunted. They will move and avoid the area if you start dropping them often. I also read not to hunt near their roosts as they will move.

Being honest, 4-5 decoys isnt to much to throw into the truck in comparison to the yote gear. I think it will be more of a random occurrence then going out specifically for crows.



Haha, awesome! Yes I have youth on my side still and am pretty cool for my first shot lol.



Yea thats what I am reading. I am trying to justify a reason for a new shot gun! lol The waterfowl 12 ga would do just fine. I have been looking for a reason to get a nice over under though! lol

I was thinking Over under with mod and improved mod chokes using 12ga 2 3/4" #7 shot

Realistically ill likely just go cruise the old used gun rack at the LGS and find some nifty old shot gun for 300 bucks
Click to expand...

No justification required! Go get the gun you want. I hunt with a Pigeon Grade 101 with flush mount winchokes. I run either IC over SK or M over IC with a 3 dram 1 1/8 oz load of 7.5’s. It folds them clean.
 
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