Any Crow Hunters On Here?

4buck · 02-08-2007, 04:03 PM

This question has came up many times. Do you all shoot the first crow that comes to your setup or let it go? Some say he's a scout, some say grind him cause if he sees anything wrong he'll set up 300yds out and warn others. A third option would be to takeit out of the tree at 300 with my .220 swift, but I don't want to, and wont, shoot above the horizon with a high powered rifle....I'll stick with the scattergun.

Also, have any of you tried a motion decoy (mojo or flapper)? I wonder it one would help in the situation I'm describing below. I made 2 manual flapper decoys that I'm going to try this weekend. I'm having tons of crow circle 100yds high and then leave. I've tried both the feeding and fighting (owl decoy) setups. When feeding I'm putting 1 sentry for every 5 or so dekes on the ground. For the fighting, I'm putting all crows in trees above the owl on the ground or post....their all at a higher elevation than the owl. I'm killing a few, but I'm not grinding them like some people say they do. I'm hunting mostly old sunflower field planted for doves, there's a flock of 200+ birds in the area. I'm not over hunting the areas by any stretch either, I move quite a bit and don't revisit the same spot twice. I'm well camoed, got a cd playing (not too loud), I just can't get them to commit the final 50yds.

Any suggestions would be great.

Roadkillwarrior · 02-08-2007, 04:24 PM

cant say I hunt them, but there sure are alot of them around here. In the last couple years around In this part of Indiana there population has probably doubled 10X. Well, one time I stuck out some fish carcases and seen a bunch of crows eating them, so I decided to hunt over the pile the next day and did shoot the first one that came inand tried to prop it up to use for a decoy but I think they wised up pretty quick.

Criggster · 02-08-2007, 05:14 PM

I used to hunt them quite a bit until I started spring gobbler hunting. Know I would not hurt one at all. They sometimes make that ole gobbler give away his spot. I used to call them in using a mouth call.

If you are hunting mountain areas try setting up on top of the highest point so they come in at a lower altitude. I've also heard that using a deer hide and ketchup will draw them in during the winter when there's snowfall.

I always tried to kill the first bird into my setup. Usually the others followed him.Sometimes they just keep getting higher and higher in the sky after the first passby. So, try to get them the first time they fly by.

TEmbry · 02-08-2007, 09:45 PM

just got into it but i love crow hunting. I would suggest smokin the scout so he dont do what you said, set up and warn others. i really like the birds that come in as solos or pairs so when you shoot it, it dont scare off multiple other birds that came in with it. last weekend we went out and called in over 120, only knocked down 4, and found only 2. you can check our rather short video of it out on huntingfootage.com.

I suggest adding motion, decoys in trees, and staying VERY well hidden and dont follow them with yur lily white face while they are circling. These are the three main mistakes we made this weekend. I also found that the electronic caller brought em in from far off, but the hand call works much better once they are close, or once they came in and left, the hand call can bring em back in.

just my worthless 2 cents. check out crowbusters.com. it has worked wonders for me, cuz i was clueless about crow hunting a month ago. But im still a rookie by all means.

Liv4Rut · 02-08-2007, 09:51 PM

I have shot hundreds upon hundreds of crows while growing up. The best set ups you can have are in thick timber that doesn't have a high canopy or in a pine forest. All you need to do is set up in an area with an opening so you can shoot well. Sometimes they are hard to find but they usually are there somewhere. Just turn in the caller and they will come in low right over the canopy and smoke them when they get in the clearing. They will keep coming all day long. Pines are by far the best for shooting them. I have tried about everything and that has worked everytime. Also don't let the caller run continually, I usually shut it off after a volley of shooting until I hear crows again calling. Or if you can set up where you can see a long ways, i only turn it on if I see a crow. It seems to work much better then letting it run for hours continuously, goodluck

buckhunter14 · 02-09-2007, 05:19 AM

Love crow hunting. I say when they come, pop them.

McKianj · 02-09-2007, 09:07 AM

Just shoot they all they wont think much when the first one doesn't come back. Out here in Eastern Kanas no one really hunts them. Me and my dad hunt them every chance we get. The problem is they come in groups of crows not just one, so we just fill the sky full of lead.

4buck · 02-10-2007, 10:21 PM

Thanks for the info. guys! As most of you have eluded to, I've been killing the singles and pairs. The couple times the flocks of 100 come over they just circle high, one or two may come down for a look, but I usally wait to see what happens. Heading out in the a.m. with the motion deke, maybe I'll hunt some of the thicker brush too.

deertipper · 02-10-2007, 11:25 PM

If it has not already been mentioned, try crowbusters.com
It's an OK site to read about crow blazin'

switchbackXT_shooter · 02-11-2007, 01:17 AM

I shoot em just because the farmers request it. they know crows will eat there corn so they want us hunters to kill em all off. I only kill most of em cant really get em all. plus then the corn is out there and thats good for the deer hunting. P.S. its being a good neighbor to the farmers and in return the let me hunt deer which helps them out a lot. I think i got the best end of that bargan but maybe they did?? HHrrrmmmm