Need Advice On Getting Crows- Shot Placement and Range

[beachgunner]

Folks,

My neighborhood has become overrun with crows. I am on the East Coast in a coastal suburb, and what started out as maybe a small flock of 20 birds or so has exploded to several hundred crows easily. They have chased all the hawks and other raptors out of the area, which has in turn lead to an explosion in the squirrel and rabbit population, but that's a different topic.

So, I want to start taking out these crows. Problem is that every time I try to stalk and sneak up on them, I can get no closer than 50-75 yards. They are much more cautious than squirrels. Do I need to set up a blind? Can they be baited?

Where is the best place to shoot them? Head? Neck? Chest? I have no experience with these critters, but I really need to control them.
I am using a .22 Crosman NP2 Trial, usually with CPHP 14.3 g pellets. They do very well with squirrels, but don't know how well they will work on crows since I can't seem to get close enough!

Any and all advice welcome on how to reduce their numbers.

Thanks!

[Motorhead]

Crows are TOUGH ... feathers are like light armor.
Found FAST .177's with there minimal frontal area get threw and drop em head or body shot.

Same with .22's got to shot em pretty fast & hard to make it threw the feathers if body shooting ... 14.3's from a Spring gun at 13-15 ft lbs power IMO is NOT ENOUGH GUN for body shots at that range leaving you to head shoot em.
* If guns NOT ACCURATE to stay inside 1" at 50-75 yards ... then IMO that guns NOT up to the task of effectively and humanly dispatching crows.

Only way I ever get a closer than 75 yard shot on crows is to ambush them by happen chance.

*** ABSOLUTELY DO NOT go outside after shooting one !! ... his buddies will see you and there THAT SMART & your crow shoot opertunities will become exponentially more difficult from then on.

[dk1677]

A blind is best, they are very smart and usually have a lookout posted. I have gotten them, 6 or so with my 850  ( and another 4 or so with the Disco 30+yds) at 30yds from a blind but be sure the rest are long gone like Scott said. I knew it but went out too soon and there were a few off in a tree and saw me, they have not been back for 3 years now.

[beachgunner]

Thanks guys. Yes, I'm thinking a blind will increase my chances for certain. I don't have a crony, but I think my NP2 has enough power to do the job inside 20 yards. I'm very confident from that range and I'm thinking head shots may serve me better? I've only shot a crow once and it was about 30 yards. I was standing in my family room and was able to open the slider enough to take a shot at one down on the ground below the bird feeder. I thought I missed, but I definitely heard that "thwack" you get when you hit flesh of quarry. He flew up to the fence, sat there for a minute, and then flew off like nothing happened. I was aiming at the breast and think that is what I hit.

So, I believe you Scott. Those feathers must be plenty tough.

Thanks again.

[newlife3]

If you would like to see some good video on the subject viie
 Huntersvermintv,you tube, his most recent is shooting with a HW97 from a hide.. Thanks

[LeadBreakfast]

I have only taken one with my Condor, aimed center breast but hit low vitals at about 70 yards. He flew to a tree, and when I went out there later he was dead sitting in the tree. Took him from inside the house.

[HunterOne]

I have taken a few at different ranges with both my .22 and .25 cal.  The farthest with my .22 has been 68 yards with Baracuda Hunter HPs. A few flaps and dropped.  The farthest with my .25 has been 122 yards with JSB King Heavy MKIIs. Dropped him immediately without one flap.  My best advice is to stay hidden. Whatever you do, do not let them see you. Hide under a tree, blind, in your house or whatever it takes. Get your shot of then vanish.

[Mod90]

Some good advice here so far. So heres my .02 cents worth.
If shooting them with a .177 you have few choices other than head/neck shots, or center breast/back  shot. Those armor plated wings make penetration into the body kind of tricky.
Now lets talk range and concealment. Unless you plan on taking only a few before they wise up and make your job harder by staying out of reach, I suggest you set up a blind very far away, as far away as you can shoot accurately, and make sure youre in it long before they arrive. This is besides letting them get used to seeing it around with nobody shooting at them. That way it will take them a while to figure out theres someone inside that thing taking potshots at them. And try to change up the times you shoot at them if at all possible, mornings one day afternoons another evenings the next. The idea is to keep them guessing. As regards the far away location, these birds are really smart, and if you are too close when you start they will very quickly make it their business to put a lot of distance between whatever they think might be possibly causing the threat in that area. And your blind will be first on the list. Its less likely to be perceived as a threat as quickly if its a bit far off and they dont see you.

Good luck in your efforts, hopefully you will get a lot of them bedore they wise up & clear out.

[Bryan Heimann]

I haven't killed a crow since I was a kid.  The only grow hunt I have been on as an adult resulted in a single miss that scared off every crow on the property.
That said, as a little boy I probably killed thousands with just a .177 crosman and some copperhead pellets.  Shot placement- almost straight up through the body as they sit on the powerlines lololol.

[walter zielezinski]

Crows pay no attention to cars or trucks because they are so common. Try to get in position before they get there or just drive on in, most times they won't leave, some shelled corn is good bait too. As for shot placement shoot from the  "arse end up", no armor there. Good luck.

[nappyman]

If I can, I will pop the look out. That might give you another shot at one of the rest😃  Like all said, stay covered, or you will be a bust real fast. Don't even let them see the gun, they will associate it wit danger. Good luck. Can't go wrong with head/ neck- spine shot.

[farazh]

I shot 4 from inside my house with a detuned HW-100 doing 23fpe with FTT .22, all chest shots. First shot was 18 yards, and rest were increasingly farther until they worked out how far to sit to be out of my shootable range, they are very smart.
As others said, trick is a good blind and either chest or head shots. They die easily with chest shots. The next trick is to NOT try and retrieve the dead birds, otherwise they will recognize you the next time you step out and either mob you or disappear, either option is not good.
They are so good that they can tell apart a stick and a gun pointed at them, and whether to fly or not based on the threat.

[ancient1one]

There is a documentary on you-tube called "A Murder of Crows" showing how smart crows are and why they are hard to hunt. 

Link:

[beachgunner]

I had no idea they would be this challenging to hunt. I think I may actually try a second story window from in my house first. I'll make sure I am well back into the opening so they cannot see me. Just have to make sure I don't shoot the window out or hit some drywall!

Thanks for the tips. I'll stay concealed, not go out after I hit em', and try to get the lookouts first.

Wish I could use my Mossberg 12 Ga for this. A rapid S/A would at least get me 5 or so before they knew what hit em'.
Neighbors may frown upon it however..

[Kodiak_Enthusiast]

I know a guy with an RX2 in .22 took out a crow at a flat 70 yards on a body shot.  I think a headshot on a crow at 70 yards however is such a condition needy shot it's better off passing on the crow entirely if that's the only chance.  Make sure you cover your face. They know when your face and eyes are on them and when they see that, your done.

Pete

[beachgunner]

I just watched the documentary that Sam posted a link to.
So, they can live as long as 20 years, they have the social and intellectual capacity and development of primates in many categories, even surpassing then in several, and they live in extended family units with multiple individuals on "watch" at any given time.
Great. Sounds like I need a network of underground tunnels and a Marine sniper squad.
I'll set up a blind and shoot from inside the house too, and see if that will get me any culprits.
If not, I'll stick to squirrels and rabbits. Dang..

[LDP]

I dropped one quick and easy with my BSA S10 .177 thats set at 11 fpe at the muzzle @ 35 yds but it was a head shot. If you can get a head shot its no problem but like others said you have to hit the softer parts when going for the body.

[Loki_762]

You say you live in the suburbs - how suburban are we talking?  Are people going to freak out if crows start falling out of the sky or just randomly fall over dead?  I am asking because although you are being stealthy, crows in groups tend to get noisy when one of them suddenly up and dies violently.  Some people refer to this as a "crow funeral", and they can attract a lot of attention.  The last crow I shot was part of a group of about 8 crows that were hanging around in a tall tree in my yard.  I shot it in the head, and it keeled right over, landing right at the base of the tree.  Nice, inconspicuous shot, easy retrieval, exactly what I was hoping for. 

Until all H E L L broke loose, that is. 

Once the other crows saw one of their buddies down, they began to caw - loudly, and all at the same time.  This was bad enough, but then more showed up and landed in the tree, and they started in.  Pretty soon I had a couple dozen of the buggers hanging out, making a racket that could wake the dead.  And it went on for 20 minutes.  Now, some may think this is a perfect time to drill some more, but with neighbors potentially watching, I wasn't going to risk it.  Like you, I live in the 'burbs, and although I pick my shots carefully and know where the pellets are going after they exit, I don't really want to advertise.  So now, I generally leave crows alone, unless they are really being destructive.  Just too risky where I'm at.
Chris

[Habanero69er]

You definitely have to shoot them from under cover of some sort, be it out your second story window, a blind, or whatever. Because once you're spotted they'll stay out of range for a looong time. As you saw in the video, they recognize faces & danger. Another thing, crows are protected & here in Florida there is a season on them & even then you can only shoot them on weekends. So you might want to check state regulations before shooting them.

I actually shoot ten that day, but the neighborhood cats got three of them before it was all said & done. I was under a canopy & yes it got real loud from all the crows cawing when they saw one of their buddies drop. They were clearly confused, because they just kept coming in, landing on a telephone wire to see what was wrong. They learn fast, but not fast enough for the ten that day. But that was over 2 yrs ago & not much luck getting a shot at any since then. 30yds out, .22 Marauder @ 32fpe, JSB 18g.

[Onebaddj]

Last one i got was last year with the condor. Had a flock move in one morning and all landed in a tree about 45-50 yd out right at dawn and the racket was god awful. Sounded like they were in my bedroom with me so the wife actually said lets go shoot them all! Grabbed the condor and a 32 gr ej set up for mid 60 fpe i let the wife shoot. Dead center chest shot from the back porch. They all took off the one we hit jumped up with the rest but balled up and dropped out. Didnt see another crow for a couple weeks and havnt seen a flock like that since. They got the point. If you want them to leave shoot 1 from a visible point if you want to thin them out shoot from a very hidden spot. Get there and leave without being seen. Then switch your spot every few kills. They are smart and can catch on to you.