Posted: 3/14/2011 1:20:20 PM EDT
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March 14th is Vermont's opening day of our spring crow season. We have had a ton of snow this winter and alot of our spots are not accessible at this time, but we found a sweet spot on a nearby pasture with manure piles in it where the crows go for "hot lunch" and pick the corn out. We hunt them just like a field set up for ducks or geese, with decoys out front and well hidden blinds. Crows are nice in the fact that they love being on hedge rows (unlike geese) and the trees there allow us to get decoys up high when we can.
Total count for the morning was 43 crows and a pigeon between 2 shooters, my partner went into a mini slump and missed another 6 or 7 on his side. Decoys were 26 GHG fully flocked crows and hand calls. Out front 
To the left side 
Pile picture 
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Dead crows are used by a good friend/farmer who either baits coyotes with them or uses the breast meat in traps to bait for raccoon/skunks/possums around the farm. They will also freeze a couple of dozen and hang the dead ones in the pumpkin and corn patches on a stick, and it keeps the other crows away like magic during the early spring when the crops are just coming up.
Calls are HS Strut Hammerin' crow call and an old awesome hand me down wooden call with no markings. Crowbusters (.com) website has a bunch of great wooden custom calls in the crow mart for sale if you want to spend the coin. |
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your farmer friend is the "vlad the impaler" of crows. Yeah they pretty much hate them. They own a vegetable farm and the crows do more damage than the geese and deer combined. The crows are really amazing in the fact that right after the pumpkins and corn sprout, they will come along and rip the shoot out of the ground and eat the remaining part of the seed. Whole groups will line up and go down the rows.....thus they like us to shoot all we can. They are also hell on the sweet corn in the late summer, any outside rows get hammered pretty bad. |
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What chokes and loads for Crows? I use a .675 SRM Terror choke in my Benelli, but again I shoot everything with that combo. A factory modified is fine and low base #7.5 target loads work great. Anything more is overkill and wasting money. Last weekend was really slow, we only got around 15 for both days.....but we did get a little sidetracked by some snow geese that did not want to play nice. Trying to set up for a combo snow goose and crow shoot was something like this  not to mention having to use non toxic shot 
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Our season is really starting to slow down, got out Sunday morning and it started great......then fizzled real quick. Later in the season and as it warms up the crows start to pair up and it is hard to get a good "numbers" shoot.
The rig 
The blind, you really need good concealment 
The mini pile, 17 in the picture and 1 across the water filled ditch 
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Nice pics dude. I love crow hunting. When ever I tell people I'm going they give me funny looks, but once they try it they all want to go. I use my foxpro spitfire and it rocks. I usually have it in my truck all season, so every once in awhile I break it out at work and have some fun. I put the call out the back door, fire up "Crow Party" and usually within 30 seconds to 1 minute I have 20-30 birds circling. NY's season runs from Sep. 1st to the end of March, but you can only hunt them Fri, Sat, Sun, and Monday. Screwy state laws. As far as loads, I usually run high brass 6's out of a modified choke in my 870. I used to take my 11-87 turkey gun, but the 21" barrel is too short. My 870 has a 28" and it's good for the high ones. My last hunt of the season (last weekend in March) we still had to snowshoe in because the snow was so deep. On the last set up I dropped a bird from about 40 feet up and he hit with a nice thud. I saw him hit and immediately looked back up because he wasn't alone. About a minute later I heard a crow caw and I look to my left and the bird I just shot is hopping down the snowmobile trail! That was one tough bird! The second shot layed him flat lol. I went and checked where he originally landed, and there was a large blood spot maybe 12" in diameter. Then, there was blood splattered at least 8 feet in every direction! Like I said, one tough bird. |
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Scoped RWS .177 barrel break heavy pellet to the brain pan is about my only chance on a Crow using an air rifle . The Crow's breast can take a good shot and not fatally wound a Crow . Close body shots will sometime disable a bird and bring in his buddies and then game on ! I had one hit hard and didn't bother going after him and when I did he flew off to my amazement .
With a 12 gauge feathers go everywhere making you think they are soft feathered . It's sure nice to draw down a bead and dust one real good . Sniping or shot gunning it's all GOOD . 
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| Anyone ever tried eating one? I read an article in a hunting magazine that said young ones taste good and have been curious. "They taste good" doesn't say anything about what they taste like. Haven't been able to find anyone who would admit to actually eating a crow. |
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Nope. I have never eaten one and I am not going to try it. EVER! Crow are nasty and evil and I shoot them because I hate them. Not hunting for food. But that is just me YMMV.  Same reason I shoot them but I'm still curious what they taste like. They come apart nicely when hit by a 10 gauge!
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shack, I nominate you to eat one and then you can let us know. kinda like the guy who ate that coyote. pics requiredYou know, I just might do that the next time I shoot one. Not sure of season dates in IA but when it opens and I can do it legally.... I don't actually hunt them, but crows are a target of opportunity when I'm out with a gun and I can legally and safely take the shot. I get a lot of chances at them on my inlaws' farm. As for the coyote, that's what I'm serving my dad to get him back for serving me Rocky Mountain oysters when I was younger. He waited until I was chewing number 5 to tell me what they were, and I have to admit until he said they were nuts I thought they were good! MAybe he'll think the same when I tell him coyote tenderloin is a deer cutlet! |
that is AWESOME!!!!
These two and their friends were disturbing my natural rest . I tried to let them do there thing but they kept it up and I decided I would play along Got my trusty RWS .177 barrel break out along with my decoys and call . The distress call would not bring them in but whenever I hit the regular call the party started . Scored a hat trick . These two fell close by . I had to get ready for work and on the way to work I found number three . I hit another one real hard and don't think he made it very far 
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Quoted:
These two and their friends were disturbing my natural rest . I tried to let them do there thing but they kept it up and I decided I would play along Got my trusty RWS .177 barrel break out along with my decoys and call . The distress call would not bring them in but whenever I hit the regular call the party started . Scored a hat trick . These two fell close by . I had to get ready for work and on the way to work I found number three . I hit another one real hard and don't think he made it very far
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn237/bars01/100_0849.jpg We use that same call... |