Crow Hunters Chatham Ontario

Crowca2

Crowca2

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Can anyone in the area enlighten me on the crow flights and the direction of travel or area one should be looking at to be successful in a hunt. Is permission hard to get ? Any other info would be helpful. Thanks
 
So from what I gather it's legal to hunt crows in Ontario. I understand people are just shooting them and leaving them for the coons. As a newly licensed hunter who has never hunted yet, I thought crow might be a good practice quarry. To cover my butt I've been looking for a regulation that says it's ok to shoot crow and just leave the carcass. All I've been able to find is legislation that states it's an offense to leave meat to waste :) .

I assume there is something somewhere about crows being a pest and can be hunted without being harvested? My wife is the cook of the family and refuses to eat crow. :)
 
Crows are varmint birds and generally the carcasses are left to be recycled by nature. I make a point of picking them up on private land and public areas where in plain sight of humans. No need to get people excited... I don't eat prairie dog, gopher, Magpie, coyote or skunk either. Beaver can be addictive though...so beware...
 
In Ontario you can hunt crows, starlings, grackles, red wing black birds and a few others with just your small game lic. They are all "pests or invasive" species.

For crows, hunt with decoys and a caller or mouth calls. Hide yourself well, very well. If they see you and you'll have to move to a new spot. Crows and Owls are natural mortal enimies, lay an owl dec on it's side with a few crow decoys around it and one on it then start calling. Crows can't wait to kick an owl while it's down lol.

I use a 12ga with full choke #2 lead :)
 
Canadian_Zuk said:
In Ontario you can hunt crows, starlings, grackles, red wing black birds and a few others with just your small game lic. They are all "pests or invasive" species.

For crows, hunt with decoys and a caller or mouth calls. Hide yourself well, very well. If they see you and you'll have to move to a new spot. Crows and Owls are natural mortal enimies, lay an owl dec on it's side with a few crow decoys around it and one on it then start calling. Crows can't wait to kick an owl while it's down lol.

I use a 12ga with full choke #2 lead :)
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The secret to high volume crow shooting is to do your scouting. Hunt where the crows are fall/winter feeding areas roosting flyways to and from, etc... Crows are not hard to kill. Try Mod or IC choke and 7 1/2 or 8 shot and target loads.
 
freezer filler said:
Crows eat garbage and rotten dead things. This influences the flavour of the meat.
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All depends if it's an urban or rural crow and what it's been eating, much like black bear, pigeon, duck, goose, and raccoon. Catfish feast on rotten dead thing's and yet they're one of the most consumed fish in the US. Even carp and sucker, which is often referred to as garbage by most Canadians, is delicious when harvested and prepared properly.

I assume you're assuming crow tastes like crap without ever trying it?
 
Crowca2 said:
Can anyone in the area enlighten me on the crow flights and the direction of travel or area one should be looking at to be successful in a hunt. Is permission hard to get ? Any other info would be helpful. Thanks
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Not much of a crow hunter but I have been told a roost bush at evening may be a good place to start. Hunting crows a handful of shells will do????
As for eating them I do know that if you put them on a bear bait they push them aside, If that helps anyone wanting to eat them.
 
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canadian hunter312 said:
All depends if it's an urban or rural crow and what it's been eating, much like black bear, pigeon, duck, goose, and raccoon. Catfish feast on rotten dead thing's and yet they're one of the most consumed fish in the US. Even carp and sucker, which is often referred to as garbage by most Canadians, is delicious when harvested and prepared properly.

I assume you're assuming crow tastes like crap without ever trying it?
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Guilty, I've never tried it or seagulls or black cormorant, and probably wouldn't unless I was on a Bear Grylls show...same goes for coyote, skunks and opossum. Catfish is good, but around here we catch walleye and perch which most prefer.
 
When they're coming in it doesn't matter what side of town really. They head to the city center along the river. The Bloomfield and along the 8 th concession are good on windy days. The problem is to many crows. It's a steady flight so a volley of gunfire can shift the entire flight unless the wind is strong. Ideally you want 3-6 birds every 2 mins but usually you get 50-75 every minute. Stay hidden in a tree line. I hunt mainly the reforestation off of 40 and 401 but them idiots on the corner have been known to key vehicles lately. Try to get in around the dump. Years ago it was easy to get permission now to many city folk have moved to the outskirts and ##### about noise
I kill between 900-1200 every year between Oct 1 and Feb 28. Some years I've broke the 2000 mark
 
brybenn said:
When they're coming in it doesn't matter what side of town really. They head to the city center along the river. The Bloomfield and along the 8 th concession are good on windy days. The problem is to many crows. It's a steady flight so a volley of gunfire can shift the entire flight unless the wind is strong. Ideally you want 3-6 birds every 2 mins but usually you get 50-75 every minute. Stay hidden in a tree line. I hunt mainly the reforestation off of 40 and 401 but them idiots on the corner have been known to key vehicles lately. Try to get in around the dump. Years ago it was easy to get permission now to many city folk have moved to the outskirts and ##### about noise
I kill between 900-1200 every year between Oct 1 and Feb 28. Some years I've broke the 2000 mark
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This dude knows what he's talking about...
 
Crowca2 said:
Can anyone in the area enlighten me on the crow flights and the direction of travel or area one should be looking at to be successful in a hunt. Is permission hard to get ? Any other info would be helpful. Thanks
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Unless you already know somebody, permission in SW Ontario is generally hard too get.
Either someone already hunts the land or it is owned by an anti. Then throw the numpty's who feel compelled to trespass and poach into the equation.
On the bright side, there are a lot of vegetable farms which get ravaged by crows. Unless they have been previously burned by someone, or you do a bad job "selling your services", I have found they are usually pretty open to the prospect.

The farm by my parents has crow problems. For the first couple of years they had those "crow bangers" which would go off every minute or so. They worked for a couple of seasons. Then the crows started treating them like dinner music.
The best part of that was that they were so desensitized that if your shots went off at the same time as the air blasts they wouldn't all take to the air. You would be able to sit under cover with a 22 and just pick them off one at a time... For a while. Crows are super smart so it doesn't take too long before they figure it out.
 
M12shooter said:
This dude knows what he's talking about...
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Yes he does, I don't know the OP but congratulations for being able to hunt them. Usually you get the highest volume in the fall. At this time of year small groups 3 to 12 are common and near our farms east of Kent Bridge they are very leery for some reason. We have the joy on one site of having a real anti nut who makes lots of false and misleading statements to the local constabulary; apparently thus far there are no ramifications for this behavior. The ethanol plant corridor running 40 is very active for crows and permission is rarely granted as many hunters ignore boundaries and the property owner get a lot of hassle from certain individuals.

Sadly only a few dummies can really spoil things..

http://chathamvoice.com/2013/07/09/the-more-things-change/

http://www.ckreview.ca/2013/02/its-time-to-cull-crows-in-chatham/
 
It's still fun to smack them with a 25/06 out 4-500 yards every now and then. I will hunt crows whenever and where ever I get permission.
An owl decoy works well to. Place a dead crow in front of it with a wing in the air and hide well. I prefer tree lines and cedars. When I lived out of town the morning flight was the best. They're smart. They learned if my truck was in the lot they'd avoid the house and barn
If you can find where they're crossing the 401 work with a partner or 2 buddies. Put a 1/4 mile between each and have the center guy calling with an owl decoy. As he shoots the on coming flight will move. Usually into the wind. Then Buddy gets the shooting. Pause the flight will shift and go the other way. It's easier then running each way with a flat of shells.
My best day was 104 doubles with my baikal sxs straight. I shot 248 crows with 250 shells.
The most amazing part is I'd stash the dead ones in the cedars and in 2-3 days they'd be practically gone. Just a few wing feathers. Hawks and foxes got most. Possums and skunks took the rest
 
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