Boyd & I shot 153 crows in a wild shoot that lasted only 45 minutes, we setup quick that afternoon. Bluebird day Wind SE-15 mph. Boyd - 96 Bob - 57 I use a Remington Light Weight 20 gauge 1100. Flyway shoot.
December 25th.
I shot 35 with the 410 model 42 Winchester and 6 with the 12 gauge Nikko over & under bored mod & full. 41 total, 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Flyway shoot. Used # 9's in the 410 and 7 1/2's in the 12 gauge. I made my very first triple with the 410 this morning!
January 25th. 1976
I was solo and shot 198 crows from 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wind - NE-10-15 mph. Snowing lightly. I shot 75 or 80 with the 410 model 42 Winchester and the rest with the Nikko O/U 12 gauge. This was the best shoot of my life solo up to this point! I used 9's in the 410 and 7 1/2's in the 12 gauge.
Our average this season per shoot was 66 crows per shoot. Went on 71 crow hunts.
Hey, here are some shoots from Ft. Cobb Oklahoma! December 28th. 1976
Boyd & I shot 191 crows in 3 days, the wind blew like hell at 40 mph or better everyday! The crows were pretty spooky!
Boyd (solo) shot 222 crows at Ft. Cobb with his 28 gauge model 12 Winchester on January 19th. and 20th. This was January of 1977.
Boyd ( solo ) shot 350 crows down at Ft. Cobb in 2 days with his 28 gauge Model 12. This was on February 10th. & 11th. 1977.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
When you read about past hunts, it makes them all come back into your mind.
I never document my hunts, but most o can remember well, just not the times and particular dates, but remember the farms, fields, and circumstances, sometimes even the exact year and month, although often it's just the decade and the season LOL
But it's nice reading all this, as it brings back memories of some of my good hunts (and also some which weren't so goo LOL) :)
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
Anything you got Bob, I love reading about it...still amazes me to think you drive a mile out to be able to do this. And all that ammo! I'd be in deep doo doo if I ran out of ammo as it's always a little hike back to my vehicle!
I used to run out I think but once or twice and had to leave. ironically i wasn't hitting that many despite the steady influx of crows.....you other more experienced hunters would have had to have shot down a hundred minimum I'd say but i was not in your league-and still not but i could have done that in the day before they all but a handful deserted the old stomping grounds. Anyways much of that land is posted and anyways...hardly any crows there any more...!!
The new areas i frequent have crows in fall but here again; nothing like the old days...so I am looking at entirely new territories to keep me busy. I learned about roost behavior even better than before as of last year how ever. I couldn't believe it-two roosts almost within sight of one another even though smallish by the other roosts in this state. I was surprised. Couldn't understand that idea at all...both roosts were not using the field I used...not really in any numbers...something else had their undivided attention further south.
It has helped me over the years to document my hunts. It gives me some history on the area over the years. I know over time which places are better for afternoon or morning spots. This way you don't keep making the same mistakes over & over again.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
Bob,
It's something I never did with rough shooting or pest control.
I USED to do it with IPSC scores, with boar shooting, and with Wildfowling, but my ex threw all my old diaries and photos away, and I never bothered doing it again :(
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
I used to do the same thing when I hunted waterfowl on Long Island, New York back in the 1960's.
That is what got me going on the crows, you might spend a whole day out on the water for anywhere from 5 to 10 ducks. On a good day you could get anywhere from 40 to 50 but you only got one or two days a season like that when conditions were right for that type of shooting. I admit it, I was an outlaw in those days, when the ducks were flying good I shot the hell out of them.
I remember one day it was blowing hard out of the Northwest and I was in a nice spot out of the wind in a cove. I was about 16 or 17 just before I moved to South Dakota. The ducks were pouring into that cove and I was the only damn fool out there the weather was so bad outside. I had to pick up the dead ducks with my duck boat because my lab could not keep up retrieving all the ducks. It was mainly Greater Scaup (Bluebills) and Canvasbacks that afternoon. My dad asked how I did when I got home, and I said I retrieved 56 and he said WHAT! He was ready to take me out of the will he was so hot!
Long story short, that is why I got on the crows, I loved to shoot!
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
When migration began in full swing; my partner and i would get 55 birds tops, after that it was a dozen here and there or anywhere from 6-to a dozen until it gradually tapered off to one or two..by then it was November and all the birds departed to their winter roosts....the local winter roost then was about 100 crows but here again the farmer kept a steady luncheon of cow dung . The farmers helper stuck his shotgun out and knocked off eight Johnny on the spot...but anyways the crows also utilized the then dump...when they heard the farmers laying down the manure they'd drift over-I couldn't believe it-and I'd get up to twenty before the lightly falling snow piled onto the decoys now acting as little scare crows .....so I'd pick up and go home. But lightly falling snow is great for shooting at crows. All the normal sunny day conditions aren't there. The high birds in example are not there....
The farmer loved it but there were enough crows no one could really make a dent in the population.
These conditions how ever caused singles and doubles to drift over as the crows did not bunch up in a great flock and this was the onset of spring too. We wouldn't know it what with a foot of snow on the ground but the sound of that tractor really pulled them as the dump at the time through the woods was about 3/4 mile away if that....!
Good stuff Bob. You are the Man.
I have an Uncle that shot crows back in the late 60s. He shot 72 crows in 1 day using only mouth calls. I love to hear his stories.
He gave me his owl he used. It makes me smile when I break it out.
Bob
The owl is rubber, it holds air. A pic of it is in my March post.
He shot all these crows in Oscoda Michigan. It wasn't just him, he had a hunting buddy. But they started out with just mouth calls. He claims he could just about convince a crow to land on his hat!
They ended up getting the 45 player and shot 100 crows in 1 day. That's a lot of crows in North East MI. He always says the mouth call is the best. I always talk about crows when I see him. He started the addiction about 45 years ago.
No need to apologize, the only way to find out is to ask.
I don't do anything with the crows after I shoot them most of the time. Sometimes I will cut the wings off of the crows because there is a guy here in Kansas that makes Indian war bonnets and head dresses out of the crow feathers.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
