It takes some self control to shoot with a still camera while you're partner is reeking havoc with the local crow population. I love to preserve the sport on film (digital) because I could not have done this even ten years ago to any great extent. The main reason was that I wanted to shoot them myself with a shotgun and not a camera in past years. I have always taken some action photos over the years but this is the first season I have gotten serious with decent equipment.
How is your season going? Are you still hunting with your dad?
I was named after my fathers younger brother who bailed out of a bomber over France (WW2) and his chute never opened! I never took up sky diving, I didn't want to tempt fate!
They both enlisted at Ft. Dix in New Jersey after the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor. My dad failed the physical because of a platinum plate he had in his noggin from a head injury as a child.
So the moral of my story is this:
" Robert Vernon Aronsohn had a parachute and never needed one again either"
I was named after my fathers younger brother who bailed out of a bomber over France (WW2) and his chute never opened! I never took up sky diving, I didn't want to tempt fate!
They both enlisted at Ft. Dix in New Jersey after the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor. My dad failed the physical because of a platinum plate he had in his noggin from a head injury as a child.
So the moral of my story is this:
" Robert Vernon Aronsohn had a parachute and never needed one again either"
So how is your crow season going?
Perhaps your namesake was injured and unable to open it or fix the malfunction. Lots of good men gone. Mine worked all five times; then no more jumping....
As for crow season: equipment checks, finally installed a recoil pad on the ol' Model 12, new magazine spring also. Getting ready for the season opener on 1 FEB.
Our weather has been very mild--good for hunters, but if (like three years ago) the fruit trees and bushes begin to bud, even blossom, followed by a hard freeze, then the farmers are going to suffer, big time. I would prefer more normal weather with light snow so we can get to our set-ups and keep the crops dormant. Stay tuned. Big Honkers is starting to pant as well.
Overall this year is comparable with the long term average for me, maybe even a tad better. I'll take that.
My dad only makes one trip a year with me for crows. He might hunt locally with me a time or two if I can scout out a decent local shoot.
As OA mentioned, we do not have any snow to speak of at the moment and the forecast looks pretty mild for the remainder of January. That should open some doors for Feb shooting as long as we dont get hammered with a snow dump Feb 1st.
I was hoping to get in another crow-venture in January but my best landowner in this area gave me a not-so-promising report. Not sure if Im going to make it happen or not at this point.
Hello Butch, my favorite was photo # 3 in the very first set on the top of the post. I like the feel of that time of day. The birds were out of focus so it was no great photo but "the feel" of the photo was good.
I thought you were nowhere to be found, I had not seen you on here in ages. What have you been up to?
Those pic sticks are very handy if spent hulls are on the other side of the fence, the stick is long enough to reach them with out having to climb over!
So what are we upgrading to? Good camera equipment is an expensive hobby! I keep hearing J.Paul Getty's words in my head and they go like this " if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it"
Based on advice from Steve Dillon, I am planning to buy a FujifilmX-T20 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 18-55mm Lens. And you are right, the sky the limit on some of these camera options. Note these newer mirrorless designs offer excellent low light performance and I need that for my various predator/varmint hunts, too.
Some great hunts, looks like tons of birds to. Quick question though what time do you normally pull up stakes? Guess I'm hunting travel zones so the groups really fizzle out about 9 AM. What's going on at your spots?
__________________
If you aim for nothing you'll hit it every time!!!
Some areas it's the same, by 9:00 a.m. you are done on a morning flyway shoot. In other areas it can last until 11:00 a.m. If the birds cooperate you can kill a lot of crows in a couple of hours. Afternoon hunts can be very good if your in the right spot!
