Crow Busters Forum

dml1010 · Member

New to CT Crow Hunting: Finding a flyway?

jacobhwrd · Senior Member

Welcome to the forum. You will find a TON of good info here. I was like you when i first started and was having a lot of trouble. If you are near any sizable towns, say 150k people or more then try and find out where they take their trash. Around here in Ky a lot of smaller towns will haul their trash to a shared dump in one county. Usually these are very productive because it an easy source of food. That said the land is always owned by the state or county and you are just barking up a tree to hunt on it but you shouldnt have any issues finding a surrounding farm that will let you plug away at them. Another big thing that is over looked is being concealed. That was a big issue for me at the start. I thought i was hidden enough and was trying to fix issues that weren't the problem. When i am looking for a new place to set up i look for an area that will offer me a lot of cover behind me and to the sides. I like to have one good hole to shoot from (say 120 degrees or so to swing your gun) but it still be thin enough in the rest so i can still spot them coming from the sides and preferably the back but thats not as important to me. I just wait for them to come back. If your area is like mine i dont think we have many flyways at least not in the since that you will see in other places. I have seen up to 150-200 crow fly the same route following a creek but its still rare. I dont know if its because we have so much woodlands and agriculture combined that they dont have to group up like they do further west or what but i have never seen hundreds or even thousands together at one time. Also what can you tell us about your decoy setup when you do use them?

dml1010 · Member

Thanks. I dont know of really any shared trash dumps around me as I think it all goes to an incinerator type plant where they burn it indoors. We have bulky waste type dumps (furniture, building supplies, tv's. etc.) but I dont see that being much of an attractant. I do live in one of the most agricultural parts of the state though, with a lot of little farms around me, and even one of the biggest farms in the state near me. But being such a liberal state (unfortunately) getting permission to go on some one elses property with firearms isn't as easy as else where in the country, unless they really know you. Not because of the laws, but more of just the mind set of those type of people. But I guess I should at least try to maybe get some permissions as the worst they can say is no. I do believe I'm concealed well enough as I learned that the hard way the first time (1 of only 2 times I've seen a crow hunting) I had a crow come in and just kept going and didn't come back. Ever since then, I've really focused on being concealed. But the issue doesn't seem to be concealment, as I'm not even seeing a crow at all when hunting. Its not like I have one come in and get busted for the rest of the day, I just don't ever see one at all. Decoy wise, I usually have an owl decoy a little out and away from my blind (to keep the attention away from me) and then I'll put 2 or 3 crow decoys in the trees. Usually accompanied by crow fighting sounds on the e caller.

The funny part is, I can walk out on my front porch of my apartment and call in a half dozen crows with the e caller, but when I go out to hunt them on public land, I don't ever see any at all, never mind having any even come in to shooting distance

. I feel like I'm just not on the X type of thing, and I need to find a better area where they are, I'm just not sure on how to find that area, besides just keep looking as I've been doing.

Thanks for the help.

Butch · Guru

dm1010,

Your problem is a shared one, finding crows in numbers that each individual wants to hunt. Flyways are guarded by hunters and take a lot of effort to find. But with a little scouting and talking to folks I believe you should be able to find hunting areas that will produce. Good hunting and welcome to this site, look forward to reading about your hunts.

Butch

dml1010 · Member

Understandable. Is there any tricks to help find a flyway? Do they use them more often on certain times of the day like morning and night? Do they follow certain features like ridge lines, hills, rivers, etc? Or is it just being lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time to discover an active flyway? Thanks.

jacobhwrd · Senior Member

I have found something like a flyway but still not the number i would like to count it as one. Its really a perfect place to crow hunt. The farm is about 5 hundred acres (single track). They have a feed lot where they have a couple hundred head of cattle that they have to feed so thats a HUGE plus and they grow a LOT of corn. The entire farm is backed by a river and they seem to follow the river in through the day and follow it back out. I dont know where they are roosting as most of the river is surrounded by woods. If you can find a good food source like that then they are sure to keep coming back. I think its the feed lot that keeps them coming back since it will always have food. As far as the decoys go try only hanging 1 or 2 sentrys and putting 3-4 on the ground in a feeding set then go with more softer calling. I have done some sets where its all hard calling like crow fight and things more aggressive like that and it will bring in good numbers but without a fresh supply of new birds like a flyway the hunting is short lived since they wont keep coming back. Since your numbers seem to be more like mine you should try the set i said and use calls like crow gathering, crows, crow party etc. I also like to use a hand call combined with this to toss out a fun and frolic or recognition call when they start calling back. It wont be as action packed as hard calling but you will end up with more birds and longer hunting sessions. I will be going to to TN starting this summer and thats where i will do most of my run and gun and do all hard calling their since i am always on the move with minimal gear.

dml1010 · Member

Ok. And just out of curiosity, it seems like anyone I mention crow hunting to always asks the question "What do you do with them after?", and I would probably expect to get that same question from a farmer if asking permission. How do you answer that and how do the farmers usually handle the fact that (I assume) you dont eat them? I personally got into crow hunting after I started duck hunting and found out all the problems they cause through predation of ducks, and thats what I usually explain to people. I also understand that they cause a lot of damage to crops and can transfer west nile to livestock, so maybe the farmers are more than happy to have you cut down on them? We also have some public land that is planted with corn and cut in the fall, which I have tried hunting one section this last season with no luck. It was also months after they had harvested it so maybe next season I'll try it right after its cut and theres still a lot of loose corn on the ground (assuming they eat corn?). Thanks.

jacobhwrd · Senior Member

I am usually pretty honest about what I do with them and just tell them I am going to toss them aside when I'm done. That's what I do when I hunt on our land. But with the farmers I will usually tell them I will take them out with me and I will only because I do t want to add another reason to draw coyotes to their land if not needed. Besides. Every crow a coyote eats on our land is another turkey or deer that doesn't have to worry for a moment. Leaving them is still very reasonable thing to do just for that reason but some farmers worry about drawing them in even though they don't realize if the coyote is in the area he will be on his land anyway. It's just whatever makes them feel better in order for me to have access.

On a side note I am going to breast a few out his year. A couple of guys at work are really curious what they taste like and I am too. I was going to give a bunch to a guy around here for a wild game dinner they have every year but the freezer I kept the first 50 in was cleaned out and they got tossed. then the late season for me was extremely unproductive. I was lucky to get 3-4 in a day.

-- Edited by jacobhwrd on Monday 16th of May 2016 12:12:45 AM

Butch · Guru

dm1010,

Have never found or shot a flyway myself so I cannot answer, as to telling farmers what we do with the dead is we throw them in a thicket for the coyotes and hogs to eat. Farmers usually have no problem with this, but in this day you should be able to get a read on the person and ask if you can do this or see what he wants you to do with them. Just make sure it's an out of the way place so they cannot be found by some tree hugger.

Butch

Old Artilleryman · Guru

Butch wrote:

dm1010,

Have never found or shot a flyway myself so I cannot answer, as to telling farmers what we do with the dead is we throw them in a thicket for the coyotes and hogs to eat. Farmers usually have no problem with this, but in this day you should be able to get a read on the person and ask if you can do this or see what he wants you to do with them. Just make sure it's an out of the way place so they cannot be found by some tree hugger.

Butch

Tell them you are simply being "green" by recycling them back to "Mother Gaia." The tree-huggers (AKA "watermelons"--green on the outside, red on the inside) will be pleased with you. Farmers will mark you as a crazy.

dml1010 · Member

Ok. And as far as concealment goes, I would usually build some kind of blind and wear camo along with it. That being said, when you do pop out to take a shot, how do you keep from getting busted by the other crows seeing you and possibly leaving to not come back? I've been watching some youtube vids of George Digweed shooting crows in the UK and he just seems to be in everyday clothes, but in a decent made blind, and hes popping up left and right dropping birds. Are the birds there different then here, or is a technique like that good here also? And I've also read that you ALWAYS MUST shoot the first (sentry) bird that comes in, and I've also read that you SHOULD NOT shoot the first sentry bird and just stay still so he sees its safe and goes back to bring the rest of the flock to you. Which do you guys do?

jacobhwrd · Senior Member

I shoot every crow that come in range. That said if one is coming in and there are 20 shortly behind it I will wait for the larger group. The first bird dies just as well as the fourth in my book. When to shoot is entirely up to you. I prefer to sit further back into my blinds when hunting alone so not as much of me is going to poking out while shooting. Only about 2 feet of my barrel will out in the wide open. If you can keep from having out like you see duck hunters do they will normally come right back as they haven't figured out where you are and exactly what's going on yet. After my first shot my foxbang kicks in and they usually circle back.

Butch · Guru

O.A.

I like the term "Watermelons" but gona have to send a bill to you for cleaning the coffee I spit everywhere when I read your post smile .

dm1010

We shoot them all unless as jacobhwrd stated there's a bunch behind.

Butch

Big Honkers · Guru

dml1010,

You are right. Anytime you admit to hunting crows, other folks will question what you do with them. I generally tell folks I know a coyote hunter in the area and they use them for bait. That seems to be a well received answer even if it is not truthful. Crow hunting is a blood sport and I like to play the middle ground between "respectful hunter" and "bloodthirsty redneck" when possible.

Concealment is important. I put way more effort into a good blind VS wearing camo. A good blind will allow movement. I never wear a facemask, gloves, face paint, or anything like that. Heck, a couple years back I had a pretty good shoot wearing only a camo shirt and bright blue Nike shorts. It was hot out and a good blind allowed me to dress casually.

One last thought. You need to go find areas that have a few birds. I would forget about flyways and all that, just find some areas where you see birds. It doesnt have to be a lot, but it needs to be something. I can tell you are a little frustrated. You gotta go to the birds, they will not come to you. This is the hard part, but it is the truth.

BH

nhcrowshooter · Guru

I would imagine CT is much like southern NH or probably worse, finding a flyway would be great but the problem is development and lack of farms. Finding a place you can safely shoot, a place where the e-caller doesn't bother some one is hard to find and a very limiting factor. Hopefully the places where you can hunt have a few crows. If CT has a fall migration and it happens during the crow season, learn when it happens each year. During the migration you can be just about anywhere and shoot a lot of crows.

dml1010 · Member

Thanks for the tips everyone. Sounds like I was pretty much on the right track, just need to find the birds and be where they are. I was hoping there was some trick or easier way to find that out but I guess it's just all in the time you put in and hopefully I come across a decent spot this season. After watching videos like this ( www.youtube.com/watch ) I was under the impression that they were every where and crow hunting meant a lot of shooting. But I'll definitely still give it a go next season and maybe I'll come across a spot and have a great day of shooting. Thanks again.

Island Shooter · Guru

Welcome to the forum. If you don't have a flyway, go to the food source(s). In our area they include dumps, pecan orchards, peanut fields, dove fields, etc. Talk to the farmers. Dairy farms, feed lots or horse operations attract crows. Melon farmers are hit hard, too. As for disposal, crows make good hog food, if available. I sometimes find a ditch for coyote food, but more often take them to our dump (ironic, isn't it?). Hope this helps. Demi

dml1010 · Member

Any recommendations for a portable blind with good concealment? That way I can just hop from spot to spot quickly until I find the crows.

Old Artilleryman · Guru

dml1010 wrote:
Any recommendations for a portable blind with good concealment? That way I can just hop from spot to spot quickly until I find the crows.

Just a thought, but if you haven't done a search on this site using that term, make sure you try. There are a lot of high-and-*low-tech solutions to your question on display here in various threads.

(*not necessarily referring to Big Honkers)