I am up visiting the in-laws and he has a bunch of crows eating his corn. I asked him why he didn't shoot them and he said there was a fine if you shot the crows. I looked it up and says open season is from august to march but only on certain days a week. So my question is it okay to shoot them. Also since I'm visiting from NC do I need a hunting license to shoot them for him. Its private land about 180acres. Also what weapons are permissible.

From the VA DGIF website:


If it's your father or mother in law's property,you can hunt there for free. VA is great for family hunting on family land.
Resident or non-resident landowners, their spouses, their children and grandchildren and the spouses of such children and grandchildren, or the landowner's parents, resident or non-resident, do not need a license to hunt, trap or fish (on inland waters) within the boundaries of their own lands.
Rifles and pistols are also legal for crows in addition to shotguns,provided your county allows them.

Google VA DGIF and follow the hunting information. It will also let you know which counties allow rifles and pistols for hunting. Shotguns should be legal most anywhere.

I'm in Augusta county so looks like I'm free to use whatever to hunt. Going to be a fun afternoon.

You can come visit me.

I have TONS of the noisy bastards.

I need to get an air rifle...

Tougher than I thought it was going to be. They could spot me from a couple hundred yards. I was using my father inlaws 17hmr. I only got a shot on one at about 100yrds. Hit a rock right in front of the pesky booger. But atleast I got to ride around all afternoon on the stealth. Best 4x4 golf cart out there. I wish I had my rifle. Not used to his. It had a heavy bull barrel which didn't balance well for me. I have some handloaded 223 vmaxs that will be coming with me in October. One thing I learned is that you cant sneek up on them bastards. I'm going to have to setup somewhere and wait for the or call them in. I'm thinking about on top of the old silo would make a nice perch.

Crow hunting is one of my favorite shotgun sports. Be warned though they get savvy in a hurry when you hunt them. Be prepared to move around and get a caller for the best effect. If you just wing one and it is hopping about on the ground leave it and you will get a few more shots in as they swarm about a wounded crow for a few minutes. Save the corpses and run sticks up through them and set them around. I use decoys too. Good camo is a must as they are very sharp eyed. Have fun.

Do you eat crow or do you just shoot them??

After crows have been hunted they get very wary of people within a couple hundred yards of them.

Something with a little more range than a .17 HMR may be in order.

The light bullets make longer range hits a real issue.


50 grains in a .22-250 AI does a job on them out to at least 300 yards.

It is not a place for 'offhand' shooting but rests and accuracy.

Just shoot them. I'll leave the crow eating to others.

I used to hunt them off our land year round. They ate holes into our watermelons, thus becoming my enemy for life!. They loved our pecan tree and would eat planted seeds right out of their newly planted rows.  I am amazed at how smart they are as a group.  They will scout an area, usually a lone bird or two and pretty high in a tree (loved the pine tops on our place).  For your corn field you I'd bet they'll hit tall tree's on the edge of the field.  Then the group will come, and  they'll post sentries round about.  They  take turns coming in to feed.  Don't know the best way to hunt them with rifle, I'd be afraid of where the bullets would land if shooting them from tree top, and I'd guess it's impossible to see them from any distance in a corn field?

I remember walking thru a pasture and seeing a couple ~20 yards away squawking at me from tree tops (they were likely scouting for some group).  I wondered why they didn't fly.  I picked up a stick and put it over my shoulder (imitating long gun) and they immediately flew off. From then on I hid my rifle or shotgun as much as possible when I was on the hunt.  If they are hunted hard and/or successfully for a few days, they'll leave an area (stop feeding ) for about a week or 10 days ...

My dad could call them in with ridiculous skill, and I learned a bit.  He busted a single crow one afternoon in a pine thicket (single bbl shotgun) and durned if he didn't give the wounded call.  Ended up with two more dead (I could never do that).  I did kill one that came to help a bird that I wounded once, if you have the skills to intentionally wound one you would likely kill several.

He knocked a hawk out of the sky one day, peppered his tail with a shotgun. We nursed it back to health.  He never told us why, but we eventually got him to eat hamburger and the butt wound healed.  Then he tethered him to a pole in the middle of the field and shot a mess of crows ... they literally couldn't help themselves.  

For all the damage they do to crops, I'm shocked they aren't considered to be a pest and huntable at anytime!  I still think about killing them ANY TIME I see anywhere!

You need better optics.

I do fast searching with some 10x binoculars, then switch to a 60x spotting scope to check out the target.


I thrilled a farmer a few years ago after nailing a gound hog that had been giving him fits for most of the spring.

He had shot at it, and others had also.

I set up a portable bench and started watching the far edge of the field after ranging the trees near the edge.

He really whooped it up when I nailed the varmint with one shot from almost 400 yards away.

I let him watch through the spotting scope.

This thread inspired me to get a Gamo Whisper.

The guy at Dick's told me that I could hunt them year round.

Look out, you noisy bastards!

(Crows, not Dick's clerks).

Crows hate hawks & all other birds of prey.  Especially Owls.  they go out of there way to harass owls and hawks.  They also hate cats - especially tomcats.  One old hunting trick was to put a stray tom in a cage.  Naturally the tom will not like being in the cage & will yowl - which can attract the crows to within shotgun range.  It was suggested to place a board between the cage & the gunner to prevent your tom from getting perforated by accident.

Crows are smart - no question.  If tamed, they can be taught to talk just as well as any minah bird.  They will also hide food & seek it out later in the same place (like in a man's shirt-pocket).  Hunting them requires the utmost concealment and stealth.  

And they learn.  Midwest farmers will often shoot a crow & hang it by one wing from a fencewire as an effective warning to other crows.  It works to some extent - about as effective as the typical scarecrow I suppose.

My Granddad did the same with every crow he shot over his gardens. Looked odd come fall.