Crow Hunting

[JackReid 35]

Greetings all,

At the permission I shoot on we have thinned out the rabbits big style, and now want to focus o nthe crows. Its a large permission with all sorts of coverage, but the crows our very open field sort of crows, not like village crows our town crows. They can spot you coming ove r a hill at 300m with no problem and take off. the farmer wants them dead because theyre eating/knocking off all the barley heads. Me and a friend set up in a hedge row with a cammo net hanging over at about midday, put some bait out (fresh cut open rabbit) on a big pile of crap and waite dfor them. Theyre wrere lots about in the other fields and some of the bits next to us but onyl one or two showed any interest, and the one that did amazingly saw us our spooked when ockming in, it must have spotted about an inch of silencer or slight outine of face behind the net in the hedge. Its suprising because we were quite far in. We tried again with a singular Crow decoy with raw bacon and eventually (after a break to have a route about) another small medium rabbit. A few more semee dto show interest this time but again spotted us, We need full on face veils to complete the cammo set up i think! Do you think i need mroe crow decoys? Do i need to get some motion on them like a coathanger setup? What do you guys think, or what have you tried maybe in similar circumstances. If this was lazy crow terriotry there wud be many killed by now but they arent stupid! Maybe 2-3 decoys and some bait while waiting completley hidden?

Responses appreciated

Jack

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Ye have my sympathy, Jack. Especially if all ye have is air guns! Be a devil of a job getting near them, at this time of year. My own rifle will allow me to confidently pick them off at 150 yards (after that it's my eyesight / scope that'd let me down. Rifle could more than manage it) but, like ye say; The b*stards see ye coming and off they go! I'm lucky to glimpse one at 200 yards just about now.

 

Winter time they calm down a bit. Good, windy day is my choice. They get so buffeted on those big wings of theirs they'll try to grab a rest in any small hedgerow tree. Pick them off inside fifty yards then!

 

Meanwhile; I've seen devastating work done with a 12 bore, guarding an Eagle Owl decoy.

 

Also, I recently had a loan of my mates electronic call. I was hitting the Rabbit In Distress call, hoping for a fox, when a resident pair of Hoodies came in for a look! Amazed me at the time. But just goes to show; Those b*stards know about wounded rabbits and will come in fast to get themselves a piece of the action!

 

So, along with everything else ye trying, it may be worth baring in mind the big owl decoy and doing a spot of 'Squealing'.

 

 

Full face scrim veils? I keep telling my mate I'm thinking of having my face and hands tattooed in cammo! Save messing about, wouldn't it?

[Grim Reaper 1]

Somehwere on my pc, i have a set of sound files which consist of most of the call types for crows - i put them on to a cd once and (just for experimentations sake) sat in my garden and set the cd playing - before a few minutes had passed, i had seen around 5-6 crows flying around the area.

 

They had obviously heard the cd playing and got excited and were flying around having a look. The calls were (if memory serves):

 

Rally - come and look here, type of thing.

 

Crows fighting.

 

Crows attacking a model owl.

 

there are more calls ( about 7 in all) , but i can't remember what they all are. If I find them, i could make enquiries to see see if they can be posted here?. The calls are all naturally produced by real crows, and did seem to work rather well.

 

All the best,

Grim.

[LOGUNSOLO177 0]

Me and my mate could really use them calls at our permission!! We are having the same problem at the moment!!

[scotlandforever 0]

Go and ask the farmer for a bag of barley from last years crop then find a a place where the crows are feeding or resting in a grass field, empty the bag in a pile sit 2 crow decoys round it as if there feeding and sit back and wait.

 

I did this at my permission and boy did it work

 

good luck

 

Jason

[LOGUNSOLO177 0]

Go and ask the farmer for a bag of barley from last years crop then find a a place where the crows are feeding or resting in a grass field, empty the bag in a pile sit 2 crow decoys round it as if there feeding and sit back and wait.

 

I did this at my permission and boy did it work

 

good luck

 

Jason

 

I will give that a go mate!!! As I already have a crow decoy!! I will let you know how I get on!!

[wats 0]

i like to wait till they roost find where they come just as nightfall comes

[Guest buster321c]

Somehwere on my pc, i have a set of sound files which consist of most of the call types for crows - i put them on to a cd once and (just for experimentations sake) sat in my garden and set the cd playing - before a few minutes had passed, i had seen around 5-6 crows flying around the area.

 

They had obviously heard the cd playing and got excited and were flying around having a look. The calls were (if memory serves):

 

Rally - come and look here, type of thing.

 

Crows fighting.

 

Crows attacking a model owl.

 

there are more calls ( about 7 in all) , but i can't remember what they all are. If I find them, i could make enquiries to see see if they can be posted here?. The calls are all naturally produced by real crows, and did seem to work rather well.

 

All the best,

Grim.

 

 

Would be interested in a copy of that myself mate , maybe somebody could do a thread and add sounds we could use in the field ? Most of us have phones / mp3 players that we can use, so maybe a thread where we can download em would be good . Chris jones , can we do something like this ?

[Malt 379]

I'd suggest a different type of control, a ladder trap perhaps? Crows are b'stards to shoot in any number with an air rifle. It's all right picking the odd couple off round the farm buildings, etc, but if they're roosting in any large numbers, they're a bugger to get to. Just my opinion though.

[Coney 3]

Never been any good with crows myself......but some good advice there lads well done and thanks.

[Jim Grant 4]

Hi there

What sort of crows are you talking about. If they are Ravens then I rather fancy they are protected (Scotland rules OK). All other corvids are fair game. Up here we have three that we recognise, Rook, Carrion & Hoodie.

Rook we normally shoot off the branches of a rookery around the end on May. Carrion are usually taken in Larsen traps with a magpie throughout the summer. Hoodies can count up to three and are a B....r but if you go into a wood where they are working then leave one of four there and get the little darling with something with a bit of poundy. If they are magpies then you will have to be rather crafty. I would get them with a larsen during the summer or an old rook rifle later on.

Best of luck. We have taken our larsen traps in now.

[wats 0]

a crow is a crow a raven is a raven who mentioned ravens and ive been on piss all day

[Sgt.McMuffin 0]

lol crow is not a raven, or a jackdaw or a rook for that maner.

[gilly-93 31]

Carnt add anymore than abouth

[PeakOil 352]

Crowbusters

 

Enjoy