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Post Info TOPIC: Pre-Season Hunt


Guru

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Pre-Season Hunt
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Our South Carolina crow season runs from November to March but crop destroying crows are fair game all year.  I've been shaking some bushes with farmers and found a peanut farmer with a crow problem not too far from home.  Scouting the field last week showed that there were enough birds to do a hunt, so we set it up for Monday morning because he planned to harvest the field on Tuesday.  On the way back from a dove hunt on Saturday evening, I set up the blind.  A friend who had gone with me on two past crow hunts wanted to hunt again... although green at hunting crows, he is a very good shot.  All was set and waiting.

Once settled into the blind, two birds were the first to arrive but neither of them left...except for the "crow snow" they left gently falling onto their corpses.  A very good start to the season!  Along with the temperature, the crow activity quickly rose and remained steady until about 9:30. 

The birds showed up in small groups which was the perfect condition for bringing down multiple birds.  I had 3 or 4 doubles, a couple of triples and one quad out of a large flock of fish crows.  Those fish crows never knew what hit them, but when their buddies kept falling the others just kept coming back.  Now that was fun shooting!

As mentioned above, 9:30 was the abrupt end to our hunt.  Don't know if was the location or the warm weather, but after 9:30 we couldn't hear, see or shoot anything resembling a crow, so we packed up and left.  The final count was exactly 50 birds downed.  Yes the picture only shows 36 crows but there are reasons for this:  A deep ditch behind the blind, chiggers, ticks, rattlesnakes and the heat.  BTW, those are the same reasons that a lot of transplanted Northerners don't stay around here for very long.

That's the report for now.

Demi



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Guru

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Demi,

Well done and congrats on a good start.
Our hunt Sat.crows quit about the same time, don't think they liked the temp but really all I know is they stopped. By the way I'm with you on chiggers, ticks and snakes they can have them.


Butch

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Guru

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Demi: LOVE the blind!! No wonder the birds did not see you comingbiggrin. Fine shooting Mr Howard! 50 birds by 0930 equals a"well managed sir" post script!

Skip



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Skip wrote:

Demi: LOVE the blind!! No wonder the birds did not see you comingbiggrin. Fine shooting Mr Howard! 50 birds by 0930 equals a"well managed sir" post script!

Skip


 Skip,

With this week's heat (85-90's) I made the blind larger for air circulation, so I ran out of palm fronds to line the inside (to hide the burlap). The result was that a few birds coming in from the opposite side were flaring.  Look closely on the top right of the blind behind me. 

After they flared, I simply pulled in some peanuts to drape over the burlap. After that A) No birds flared, and B) We had a nice snack food to munch on!

Demi

P.S. We also used a portable 18V Ryobi fan the entire time... Quite comfortable!



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Guru

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Hi Demi,

A fan in the blind? You run a top notch operation.


BH



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Guru

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Big Honkers wrote:

Hi Demi,

A fan in the blind? You run a top notch operation.


BH


 No, it is because at my age I am a WUSS and will admit it!

Demi



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Guru

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Humm...  a electric fan in a crow blind!! smile Well managed Mr. Howard. 



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Guru

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Will file this info on the fan for future reference biggrin

 

Butch



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Guru

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Guys (aka: Fellow Wusses),

Here it is: m.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-ONE-18-Volt-Hybrid-Portable-Fan-Tool-Only-P3320/205022215

It uses the same batteries as your Ryobi drills/Impact drivers/Leaf blowers/Etc. AND, it can also operate on a 110V power cord as well.
Great for early season (or any Dixieland) crow hunt!

Demi

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