Any crow hunters here?

I sometimes use the .22 just walking around but usually the best time to hunt them is about right now, early to mid spring I find is when most will come to the call, I guess because they are most newly-hatched or something, I don't know why but they come into the call alot better, anyways I use a couple crow decoys and an owl decoy, and I just put a crow & owl fight cassette into the player and crank it up, wait a couple minutes on the edge of a field and they come in, you have to really be concealed in full camo b/c they notice everything like a turkey does, use modified to full or even tighter choke and heavy game loads. I usually use winchester heavy game loads #5 or 6 but recently I have been using some leftover duck loads #2 and 4 steel, just remember to let 'em circle a bit and come in close, wait til they're about 30yrds. or closer b/c they're hard to take down, sometimes you'll hit em and they'll drop just past the treeline, they usually appear to fly slow but they actually fly pretty fast, give em lots of lead, and remember to scout, it pays off good to hunt close to a roost.......
Good shooting and Good luck!
 
I'm the local (unofficial) pest control and just love shooting them. They are really smart, but this time of the year when they get fixated on eating baby birds they are pretty easy to bushwack. I bag them up and they go to the dump. Not too many left here in town.
 
ELECTRONIC CALLS!!!!!!! they work great, also you muct be very still and preferably in a blind.

We hunt them on farms in the winter, there are always a few farms where they congregate to eat the cattle feed.
Another good trick... after you kill one, tie it to a string and hang it somewhere, when the crows are close, pull on the string, bouncing it off of the ground, drives them nuts.

You can't have too many decoys, the more the merrier....

And if you can find a sunflower field in mid- late summer... you are laughing... be prepared and bring at least a case of shells. A buddy of mine and his partner shot 275 one day in the sunflowers.
 
The key to killing the rat birds is to chum them in for the kill. My favourite method is the 12 gauge shotgun with target loads. Simply spread a little fish feed in front of the fish farm feed shed. With a tarp laid over the door way, make sure you cut a gun port in the tarp. With you hidden behind the tarp in the shadows wait until the scout crow has finished checking out the free meal. At this point the higher ranking rat birds will begin to move in and chase out the scouts. Be patient, the darkness of the feed shed will keep you hidden from view. When you have about 12-20 rat birds snacking on the free grub, squeeze the trigeer ever so slowly. You are guarenteed to take out 10 - 15 rat birds with one shot. At a daily killing rate of 30 rat birds per day. It doesnt take long to wipe out an entire clan... :) I personnally am not that cold blooded so out of about 400 rat birds I left 6 alive to replenish their clan... This took about 1 month to achieve... Within 3 months after the slaughter another clan just simply moved in and took over. Basically killing rat birds would be like killing zombies. Eventually you'll be out of ammo... :( DOH!
 
I hunt them like black bear does... with a Johnny Stewart electronic caller.
Crow and owl fight tape... crank it up and when the scouts come turn it down a little.
An Owl decoy on the ground over a fluttering piece of black cloth is deadly, place a couple of crow decoys low in bushes close by!
If you get a whole flock pissed off and diving at the owl you can pound quite a few before they realize you are killing them.
Young Crows are definitely vulnerable at this time of year... and the adults that protect them are easier to call.
 
I find it more fun to do it with a higher than average fps pellet gun.
Silent, so they can't hear it, and then when one of them drops for no reason, they all freak out. (if they notice at all, if they don't, you keep plinking till they do :D )
 
"ontario" and "BIGREDD" - wait a' go boys ... true conservationists !

Great wing-shooting practice for the off-season.

I too have found a few crow decoys below the owl to initially help. Once you've got a couple down however, replace the crow decoys with the dead crows, wings spread ... drives em' crazy. 30 -40 is a good days work ... haven't managed a "CCD" (Hundred Crow Day) ... yet ... but will keep trying !
And it's a great way to use up any old lead duck loads or large lead shot if you still have any lying about. I've shot everything from 3" - 2's too hot loads of 6's at them ... but in a pinch, 7-1/2 - 3 dram trap loads work just fine !
 
Yup,I truely believe its a matter of destiny-or purpose of life.The purpose of life of a crow is to be shot-and my purpose of life is to shoot them-sort of a symbiotic relationship-we depend on each other
 
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