Crow hunting questions???

gth

gth

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Location
Close to North Bay, Ontario
Background:
I was using a chick distress along with a "rally cry/attention cry" thrown in once in a while. I was hunting a fly way between 3 small roosting areas that holds approximately 5,000-10,000 crows combined. Clear and Windy conditions.

I had approximately 200 crows over me at one time. I only managed to kill 3. Sort of anti-climatic if you ask me. I couldnt get them to come back or hang around so I could pound a few more.

I also had many small groups of 5-10 cruise in between 5-7pm. Ended up with 22.




I have some questions after last nights hunt.

Even though these crows had a destination in mind what would have been my best bet to get the crows to return or at least hang around after the shooting started?

Do you move the dead crows (free decoys) to look like they are alive or do you just leave them strewn about in various positions?



BTW: After all this banging and shooting I had a huge friggin bear come out into the field I was hunting.
 
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The question is why not?

I hunt around a very major nesting area for waterfowl and after watching a couple crows pull a clutch of day old mallards out of a nest and eat them I decided it was time to start hunting crows. (In areas like this a crow can kill 100 eggs/ducklings each in a season)

They are smart, wary, tough to hunt, there is tonnes of them, and probably the most fun hunts of the season for me.
 
Robinhood; there is a huge following of crow hunters, do a search on the home page of CGN or Google and see the types of threads you get. Basicaly crows are flying vermin who make a seroius dent in songbird & waterfowl eggs & young along with crop damage; and are open season no limit in the Ont Hunting Regs.
 
"...why hunt crows?..." Flying varmints that are smarter than other birds. Like any other varmint shooting, it's great practice.
"...couldnt get them to come back or hang around..." They're smart. Try an owl decoy. Crows and owls don't get along and crows take great delight in harrassing owls trying to sleep. You wearing full cammouflage including face paint?
"...had a huge friggin bear..." Likely looking for the free lunch you provided.
 
Get a tape of crows fighting an owl, and an owl decoy. This is reportedly irresistable to crows - the sight of dead crows on the ground just makes them madder!
 
Grouse Man said:
Get a tape of crows fighting an owl, and an owl decoy. This is reportedly irresistable to crows - the sight of dead crows on the ground just makes them madder!
Click to expand...


I tried the owl fight but it didnt seem to interest them ( I forgot my owl decoy at home, so maybe that was part of it.) I did try hawk-crow fight for a while with no success and I even had a live hawk flying around out infront of me for a decoy.........??:rolleyes:

The only thing that intersted them was when I made a poor shot and just winged one of the buggers. They really seemed to key in on their falling/sprialling comrades. But once he hit the ground they would move on or just circle higher and higher.



I cant imagine they will hang around here for much longer so the hunting will be done for the year soon.
 
CAMO CAMO CAMO. If you can be completely concealed and the crows are really worked up you can shoot the same flock several times before they'll take off. The owl decoy with a few dead crows scattered around it would have helped get them really riled too. I used to hang a couple in the trees nearby to get them all pissed off and take attention away from me.
 
In my neck of the NB woods there aren't many crow hunters...my buddy, who just moved to BC, and I made what we thought was a dent in the local crow populatoin last year...turns out that i swear there is more of them now! i haven't gone in a couple months now but I would like to get out some evening now that they're into their fall roosting again.

My best advice is stay VERY hidden and wear camo...I also wear a mask and camo glasses because I swear they can recognize the whites of your eyes. I like to hide right amongst the trees where the crows fly over...basically it's harder for them to spot movement plus you get less opportunity to hit them which spices the hunt up (after you've shot as many as I have you look for ways to make it harder). Now having said that, shooting them isnt hard once you're accustomed to shooting birds, it's bringing the crows in close that can prove difficult.

I stay away from electronic calls and have a simple single reed crow call. I rarely call at all unless there's nothing around...I'll give a very relaxed and lazy "caw...caw", and if there is a lonely crow around he'll usually swing by and take a look. My best game plan is just knowing their pattern and being where the crows are gonna be before they get there (just before light when they're coming into feed...and early evening when they're off to roost).
 
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owl or hawk decoy. Get a couple of crow decoys too and and set them up around the owl decoy. any dead crows you shoot keep throwing them beside the owl decoy.

are you using a shotgun or rifle? sit about 15 yards away, WELL hidden and start calling. shoot as many as you can and then move. Crows are really fun to hunt, they are so smart its not funny, I have much respect for them.
 
DVXDUDE said:
owl or hawk decoy. Get a couple of crow decoys too and and set them up around the owl decoy. any dead crows you shoot keep throwing them beside the owl decoy.
Click to expand...

Owl/Hawk decoys are not going to help a whole lot in the fall. The adults keep a short leash on the young ones.


The spring, when the yearlings are left on thier own is the time to use the owl decoy.
 
gth said:
Owl/Hawk decoys are not going to help a whole lot in the fall. The adults keep a short leash on the young ones.


The spring, when the yearlings are left on thier own is the time to use the owl decoy.
Click to expand...

they still come in and swoop down,close enough for shotgun range. I seen 3 crows a couple days ago swooping and flying around a hawk. The hawk didnt even care, he'd just land and let the crows do their thing lol.
 
To call a crow smart is like calling a beaver a good dam builder! They are indeed smart. They are also extremely destructive of songbird and waterfowl nests/young. I have shot a lot of crows using centerfire hotshots, like the 22-250 and 220 Swift. They soon learn how far away they have to perch to be safe from your rifle of choice. They can also distinguish the difference between a broom handle and a rifle or shotgun. I love hunting crows, and will never miss out on an opportunity to knock off a few. Regards, Eagleye
 
We shot 321 this year using a old cassette player and two Johnny Stewart tapes. One is the owl fight and the other the death call of the crow. Try to get into a roosting bush for the night shoot as they arrive at different times. Our best shoot was 46 running out of shells in the evening hunt. I do not wear camo or a face mask but it helps. Try to hunt cedar bushes as the trees are lower for shooting or hardwoods only when they are full of leaves, but your shots will be farther. You can not hunt them every day in the same bush same place as they learn the game fast, move to a different bush a mile away returning once a week or longer. We do about a 40 mile circut. Move around in the bush same as if the crows are chasing an owl during the fight. The best time is just before nesting as they will protect there nesting area and when the young first leave the nest. They are a hard bird to hunt but there are lots and crow shooting improves your wing shooting.
 
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