Hunted 100 acres , got there after dark and farmer drove us around field and told us His observations which were spot on. Set up on a terrace that had a drain with thick coffe weeds, blind was one of our best yet. Crows never decoyed well, we're very spooky even at first light, had been some dove hunting close by that might have hurt some. Most of the birds got high on us and we could not get them down in shooting range. Managed to pick up 36 and lost 10 plus to them getting under plowed up peanuts which they do very well we found out. Seeing area first time in the dark was not the best scenario but I was unable to do otherwise. Still had a great time with two of my boy's, got to do some "adventure camping" in a peanut field with them. By the way if your over 55 yrs old take extra ibuprofen, didn't know I had that many places that could hurt (lol). We did learn a few things that may help on the next peanuts we shoot, we will see. Shooting stopped at 9:30 as they started gathering and drilling wheat. Farmer wants us back, which is good He also hs a few pecan orchards!
I'm curious about the weather conditions you hunted in. Crows will tend to stay high on Sunny / clear mornings. They are most certainly more aggressive on a cloudy / overcast morning. I've often wondered if their keen eyesight is their weakness in bright Sun light. Staying high is sort of like a safety zone to them I assume.
Birds that stay high weather it's sunny outside or not do so because A. you are hunting to close to the roost and need to get out further or B. there is little wind to make them fly lower or C. they are spooked from hunting pressure.
Here is a photo of a couple of hundred taken on a bright sunny morning up until 11:15 A.M. All were taken with a 20 gauge using a 7/8th ounce load of # 8 shot. I was 9 miles from the roost in this photo.
Birds that stay high weather it's sunny outside or not do so because A. you are hunting to close to the roost and need to get out further or B. there is little wind to make them fly lower or C. they are spooked from hunting pressure.
Here is a photo of a couple of hundred taken on a bright sunny morning up until 11:15 A.M. All were taken with a 20 gauge using a 7/8th ounce load of # 8 shot. I was 9 miles from the roost in this photo.
I simply can not believe any of that Bob. I've been hunting Crows for 40 years and those are the wildest theories I've ever heard. Now where were we Butch.
"wildest theories" they are no theories brother, those wild theories have served me quite well over the years.
Why do you think they are wild theories?
Here is a pretty good shoot using some of those wild theories.
This is going to be a revolving door with you sir, so, I'll let you win and move on with the conversation. You're dancing around what I am saying and you simply won't read the words in front of you.
I asked you a fair question, you can go ahead and choose which one A, B or C was a theory. Perhaps all three? Just because you think they are theories does not make it so.
You don't think crows fly high due to hunting pressure?
You don't think the wind is a factor while hunting crows?
You don't think the birds going way out to feed (12 to 15 miles or more) in the morning don't fly high?
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
I am sure i haven't seen it all but I've seen proof of this.
There was hunting pressure so the crows stayed high until they saw my set up in one location that eventually dried up..farmer got too old and his kids didn't like farming. But anyone can tell that they were spooky.
Wind sure changes the equation when shooting at crows!
The crows I am currently familiar with fly high alright when going to the roost here. And I know no one is shooting at them because no one legally can in this specific roost holding about a dozen birds-oh how i miss the good ole days!
I mean the flyway to the roost here...
I am sure i haven't seen it all but I've seen proof of this. There was hunting pressure so the crows stayed high until they saw my set up in one location that eventually dried up..farmer got too old and his kids didn't like farming. But anyone can tell that they were spooky. Wind sure changes the equation when shooting at crows! The crows I am currently familiar with fly high alright when going to the roost here. And I know no one is shooting at them because no one legally can in this specific roost holding about a dozen birds-oh how i miss the good ole days! I mean the flyway to the roost here...
Over the past decades I have seen clear proof of Crows being more willing to fly in low on a early overcast morning. Partly cloudy, first light for about an hour or so, is a sure bet as well. Bright Sunny days... they just have little to no interest. As far as hunting pressure. It's just me about 2 days a week ( Friday and Saturday ) since we can only hunt Wednesday to Saturday anyway. No one else around here for counties away Crow hunts, so, as for hunting pressure, that's simply a theory or an excuse for a bad day of hunting. If anyone else in this county or the next two adjoining counties hunts they sure are secretive about it or simply don't execute the offer often.
I will admit that I learned a long time ago that Crow hunting in the later part of the afternoon is simply not worth the time and effort put in to it. I am most definitely in the middle of a flyway here. It's the same routine almost daily. They have it on their minds to go to the roost and their day is done. There is very little you can do to get a larger number of Crows interested in anything in the evenings. You will always get that one or two stupid birds who just can't help themselves, but, putting them on the ground is another feat in itself.
Hunting pressure, being too close to a roosting area, and too little wind are simply bogus claims. Maybe it is a fact somewhere else, but, it's not a reality in this part of America ( Charles County, Maryland ). There is no hunting pressure here. The wind never matters if they decide to come close or fly high. It can be 30 mph or dead flat calm. It doesn't matter. I will admit they don't fly well in 15+ winds, so, the advantage here is they will fly slower. It depends on their attitude at that time whether even care about what you are throwing at them. Sometimes you can offer them a harem of fine ladies and they have no interest. February and March are the top two months here for endless Crow action. The rest of the season, August 15th to about December is almost useless, but, it's still worth getting up before the Roosters every morning.
Now, with all due respect to the OP, I'd simply like to get back to him and his answer. That's all that matters to me here.
I agree with all of Bobs "theories." I'll even add an additional one...
#D: Hunting under or near very tall or mature trees will keep most of the crows higher than preferred.
Here is another:
#E: They see your blind or lack thereof.
DODGEM250, if you think the birds are all staying high simply because of blue skies and sun....then, well, you can stay home on those days and I'll hunt. I will agree with you, however, that I also prefer overcast days.
I'm curious about the weather conditions you hunted in. Crows will tend to stay high on Sunny / clear mornings. They are most certainly more aggressive on a cloudy / overcast morning. I've often wondered if their keen eyesight is their weakness in bright Sun light. Staying high is sort of like a safety zone to them I assume.
I must admit that I do like overcast days with moderate wind conditions when hunting crows. My theory being that like ducks, crows are driven down to lower altitudes by poor weather. Sunny warm windless days allow crows to approach from a greater altitude thus making them seem more difficult and or warry. On a bright day a hunter would be far more visible from 55 yards aloft than on a breezy overcast day from 25 yards.
Ted
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Life's tough... It's even tougher if you're stupid. John Wayne
I agree with all of Bobs "theories." I'll even add an additional one...
#D: Hunting under or near very tall or mature trees will keep most of the crows higher than preferred.
Here is another:
#E: They see your blind or lack thereof.
DODGEM250, if you think the birds are all staying high simply because of blue skies and sun....then, well, you can stay home on those days and I'll hunt. I will agree with you, however, that I also prefer overcast days.
I never said I was staying home on those days. You can watch my videos and review my photos to see how clear blue the skies are, BUT, it is also right after first light. The clear blue Sunny skies make the task twice as hard as it is on an overcast day, obviously you'll agree with that since you stated you do prefer an overcast sky.
I'll also give you big credit on finally offering the comments that I can and do agree with you #D in Crows will stay above the tree tops when mature trees are present. I also highly agree with the fact that concealment is top priority being your #E. However, give me a cloudy in January through March and it's non-stop-go crow busting action.You do atleast two statements I can agree. That gentleman Bob I've lost interest with his deductions.
You actually said things that made sense in the crow hunting world Big Honker.
I'm still confused about your reply to the "pure ignorance" remark regarding my shooting down of the hunting pressure theory. I'll have to assume you don't crow hunt much or you consider a single hunter to be "hunting pressure". I'm just trying to sort out your ill-directed comment.
I am however starting to remember why I left this forum the first time. I thought maybe the atmosphere had changed or at least it had some new life. Nothing has changes at all, therefore, no one will have to grasp deep in to their bag of 3rd grader comments... I'll just leave the thread here.
Weather was 62 degrees with a low coming out of the Gulf, partly cloudy then within an hour very cloudy with wind 5 to 15. As for hunting pressure, several dove hunts had went on in the area prior to us being there and the Farmers have no problem busting any they get a chance at. Tall trees surrounded the field and a good number woke up within 2 to 3 hundred yards of the field. Farmers got there at about 7:30 getting equipment ready, they were about 200 yds from us, this didn't help but crows had already started going high. We had a crow fall about 150 yds from blind and about 20 plus coming to us low hung up on it and would not come on in to us, after they eased off we policed up the long dead ones and got caught out by a group of 100 plus, still managed to work a few of these into the kill zone. Blind location will change on this field because of what we learned during the hunt and seeing the area in daylight.
Disagreements aside I value all the input I've received on this forum, all areas of the country are different and the variables to, but one things for sure we left a lot on the table on this hunt and next time we might do a little better on the number killed if we do our part.
Butch
BH,
Thanks, by the way stay away from adventure camping ! We won't leave the Pop-Up next time. (lol)
Generally speaking this forum is great and nobody really bashes one another for varying ideas and concepts of how to crow hunt. Bob simply stated a few observations in hopes of helping the OP and any one else reading. He was not asking everyone to agree, they were just his thoughts. YOU were the one who rudely called his opinion wild and unbelievable. If you left because of bickering...then you are right, some things never change.
Welcome back to the forums. You are off to a good start.
The last time I hunted crows in Maryland we had afternoon crow hunts (not great) where we were shooting anywhere from 125 to 140 birds between two shooters. When we chose the spots for the right wind we did fairly well. We hunted in New York State on the off days for Maryland. Jerry my old partner who lived back there was related to the Fiercob Brothers who were in several outdoor magazines in the early 1960's.
I was back there in late December, in November Jerry had a good shoot of over 300 crows on a flyway shoot about 3 miles from Camp David. Jerry waited for the right wind for this spot so the birds would be more strung out and flying lower, it was a clear crisp bluebird day. Jerry had a 10 to 15 mph breeze and just used a 20 gauge Beretta with # 8 shot.
New York State had a lot more snow cover than Maryland did when I was back there so we found some good feeding areas to shoot during the morning hours. The snow was just to deep even with a four wheel drive pickup where we were very limited unless we had a snowmobile to get where you needed to be for a flyway shoot in the afternoon.
When ever I am hunting and people ask me what I am hunting I tell them anything "but" crows! So if there are other tight lipped individuals out there a guy may never know for sure if he has competition or not! If the crows act spooked when the e-caller gets turned on it's a safe bet that somebody else in your area is hunting them.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
It's funny, I have used those "theories" in Maryland and they work just as well in Kansas or anywhere else my travels take me!
I was just giving my opinion as to what has proved to be tried and true over the years. It's up to the individual weather he or she wants to try to put it into practice.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
Thanks for the input, as I've stated before I try to learn from others and on these crows one day you can't seem to do no wrong and other days little things will kill a set up. I have to admit these large crop fields are giving us fits, I feel we are on the right track to up our kill totals with the number of birds in said area. By the way this peanut field wasn't the only game in the area for the crows, as we left saw several fields already turned and drying and saw a couple fields being turned up, not to mention a large pecan orchard (200 acres plus) about 4 miles away. This is a good problem to have but it's going to take some time to figure out the best killing spots, or hopefully we hit on the spots right away, we will see. I think the dove hunting in the area affected the birds a lot, not for sure but a large corn field we hunt they have a couple of dove hunts on and we let it lay for a few weeks before we hunt it and still you can see birds being extra cautious. Got a 3 day hunt next week, going to hunt pecans if the birds are on them if not will try some more peanuts, anyway just hoping to go. And as I told BH the camper is going, no more "adventure camping" (lol)
Thanks for the input. I am fairly new to this forum and have no idea of any drama that you have spoke about. I'm with BH on the various concepts and ideas members share. Being more subdued in your disagreements with others tactics will keep drama out. Don't know about you but I've got all the drama I need with just life in general. I do this for fun and enjoyment.
Welcome back and hope you share your knowledge and experience.
Thanks and He is 17, if he keeps at it he will be a good man. Weather was 62 at sunrise and humid, low was coming out of gulf, got in the mid 80's, it was a good day, cloudy, the sun would have made it tough to be in the blind.
