Need Advice On Getting Crows- Shot Placement and Range

[rsterne]

Crows are definitely a case where penetration is way more important than FPE.... but accuracy is still the king.... Head shots are great if you can get close enough.... but I've got as many crows when out hunting Ground Squirrels than anything else.... When you hit them with anything travelling at least 850 fps at impact they pretty much keel over.... This is definitely where the British ".22 for fur and .177 for feathers" applies when you are talking a limit of 12 FPE.... It's amazing how tough that lightweight suit of armour is....

They WILL recognize your face if they see it.... for years into the future.... They will ignore my wife and head for the hills when they see me.... 

Bob

[ravenksk]

From cover of course, if i use T12 .22, i go for chest. Mostly stone dead. But nowadays i shoot my HW97k with Hawke Sidewinder , my Ft setup, 11,5fpe and go for head shots. Shot placement is vital.

[pepegraves]

Some 35 years of trying to "luck up" on a crow and I've only gotten 3 so far...Very smart birds

[Gut2Fish]

You may want to check your states hunting laws. Where I live there is a crow season and there are fines for out of season shooting. Very smart birds. They will sit on a fence watching you carry a shovel or broom but as soon as you pick up a gun they're gone. Recognition of the different "sticks" we carry.

[beachgunner]

After observing them for several days, I have come to the conclusion that the only way I will get a crow in my current situation is if I sit in a blind and one mistakenly flies into it with me, whereupon I will club it with the stock-end of my rifle.

Jeez, I think I better get used to crows..

[gamoshooter]

  If u really want to get after them there are a couple of options
Buy or YouTube and build your own caller with the crow fight call sound on it
Then YouTube how to build crow decoys and build 8 or 10 and set them where you want to shoot the crows

Use a good blind and be ready because with that setup you will be covered up with them in no time

It works trust me !! 

Gamoshooter

[Alan]

I do not wish to be a spoil sport, but crows are considered migratory. Therefore, a Fed bird stamp is required to legally harvest them. Here in New Mexico, they're protected, but there are provisions for pest control on personal property.

[Habanero69er]

Exactly! Consult your state hunting regulations.   

[Drunk]

Seems that car as a blind works really well, at least in Russia . Except the guys in a video are total jackasses. 

youtube watch?v=xL38ouEvIi8

[BreakBarrelBen]

My Crosman Vantage NP in .22 is enough to go through a wing bone and still enter the crow and kill it.  This was 30 yards, I opened my back door and shot this young one, they usually fly away when they see/hear any door open, sometimes they wait to fly until they see the flashy metal of a gun barrel to fly away.

A blind will help them not see you but a decoy and some food will help draw them in as well. 

EDIT: This crow was taken legally in TN during season, also it was in my yard and laughing at me.

[beachgunner]

Ben,

Very nice, and an appropriate response to the public ridicule this crow was subjecting you to..
I hope you will be okay and no long term therapy will be needed.

[anuthabubba]

Many species of bird are 'smart' enough to avoid an armed threat/you, after they are shot at. The ones I used to shoot at would fly away if I came out to patrol the trees with the airgun, but stay if I wasn't totin' it. Species that were never shot at, would ignore me.

[beachgunner]

Okay, I feel I need to make a clarification because this has come up several times. I started this thread because I wanted to benefit from others who have harvested crows. I wanted to find the best (and in my opinion this always entails the most humane) methods for a quarry I am unfamiliar with. I have gotten some great information and I thank everyone.

Nowhere in this post did I say I was going to poach or do anything that would violate any state or local laws or regulations. Yes, crows are a federally regulated migratory species. In my home state there is no requirement for a HIP# and it is season from August 15-March 18 on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Heck, they even let you use unplugged shotguns which means game on.

I am assuming most folks on this gate are up and up hunters, no? Folks who know that the actions of one reflects poorly on the entire group. In that spirit, I never have taken any species in an unregulated or illegal manner.

Just want to put that to rest. Thx.

[Habanero69er]

I don't think anyone suggests or implies you or anyone else on the forum are poachers. I think, or at least in my case it was just a FYI so no one gets themselves in a jackpot because they weren't aware of the laws.

[beachgunner]

Dave,

I do appreciate the heads up. I posted that just for clarification because I don't know if people would, in fact, encourage that kind of thing here. I'm new to GTA, and it seems like a great place to learn and connect with others about AG's, but I wanted to be clear just in case.

Heck, the more I learn about crows, I think they'll probably be able to poach me if they had access to AG's 

Take care,
Michael

[Gut2Fish]

I didn't mean to imply anyone would knowingly take game illegally. It's just that a common crow isn't viewed by many to be a game bird and laws be easily over looked in that regard.

As for pest control I certainly would take out that Fisher cat that was growling at me and my son if it showed up again. We've a lot of them in Vermont yet they've a trapping only three week season. Wasn't a need to kill it in front of my 3 year old and just kept him away from the barn it was hunkered in but weeks later it took out our cat so wish I had.

Letting you know I'm certainly not holier than thou. There is sport then there is pest control. The adage SSF (shoot, shovel and forget) comes to mind.

[beachgunner]

It begs the question; Is there such a thing a sporting pest control??

[justbrian55]

Wow, I never knew besides Heckle and Jeckle crows could be problematic.
They and the migrating sandhill cranes are the only wild type sounds I hear. (umm, fook geese no longer migratory) I like the smart birds.
In that way I'm sorry.


I've called in a coupla crows 1day with my voice mimicking, hiding beneath the lower than very, canopy of pine and oak.  Twas cool to do, but not hunting them.
There are crow calls to be had. And they don't get along with owls I hear.
 lol, fisticuffs with an owl donned in ghillie suit sounds a good story for the grandkids. ~I've heard of another for observation purpose playing owl sounds having a close encounter; but was night.
~Back to crows; I have seen some video of crows recognizing people as said. What not said was they told the others. wow!

Shoot a crow, show your self and put up cardboard cutouts of ya county wide. Problem solved.  (-: 

[HatsanPhantom]

Man..crows are tough to tag. I call in ALOT of crows but have only killed two. My best results come from calling from the cover of a tree. They circle overhead but rarely land for me. They are the first thing that comes into season here. I have had them show up at the sound of a distressed rabbit or an injured young crow. I got my crow call from walmart and it will bring them in but the landing..eh lol. They respond very well to a "boss" crow sound. I learned to "speak" a little crow just through research. I called today and a bald eagle came...go figure.

[Habanero69er]

Maybe the eagle was looking for a "crow-sant" to eat.