Started out yesterday with a quick set up of 1 in a tree and 3 on the ground. I heard some out in distance and let the caller rip. Played some different sounds until they reacted to the fighting call. The deeks were on my left, my back to the trees in a quick blind. A dozen birds circled up over the trees behind me for a bit, changed tune to dying and 3 committed. Eyes lit up and seeing triple, I swung my 12 ga. on the first and shot in front of it ( blame that on shooting that damn beast of a 10 ga.). Slapping the trigger on the next shot and nothing. The shell didn't eject. By the time I ripped the empty out the stand was dead. I stopped a couple of times going back to the truck and got a few birds.
Next, I went to my deer property where there is not great crow numbers, but I can usually get some birds. When I got there the bandits were waiting for me, and so were the gnats. They birds moved a little, but not far, giving a chance to get in some cover. I playthe caller and it sounds like more birds than normal are around. I'm wearing a hat with a face mask and only my eyes are uncovered. Here comes the birds and the bugs. I tried to keep from swatting at the gnats, but when one lands in your eye you can't help moving around. There went the first 4 birds. But they keep coming, sneaking around my back while I'm swinging at bugs.There goes 3 more. More came in and dropped some and then gnats drinking eye juice in both eyes. The birds stopped and I had enough temporarily.
I thought about the daytime coon hunting recently spoke of, and figured let see if I could call one up. I found an old tree and also saw a hole. I don't have a raccoon call, but I do have a red fox distress call. So I put the caller near both and let 'er rip. About a minute later here comes the new one, two crows come screaming into the woods with there heads on fire. Waiting for windows in tree tops, dropped one at 30 yds. and the second at 50 yds.
All and all the day had it's setbacks and with more birds than normal around, I could have piled up better numbers than normal. The unejected hull and the bugs were forgotten after the last 2 birds careers were out foxed.
Sounds like a good time Mike, except for those gnats. I've had crows respond to nearly all types of distress calls. I think their curiosity gets the best of them. They love the chicken distress, try that sometime if you have the sound.
Same with myself yesterday afternoon. Had a bazillion crows coming to me right on the tarmac into a stiff wind. Stood to shoot when they were point blank and expected an easy triple. Bam, bam two crows dropped stone dead, racked my third round up and "click"...only put two rounds in my gun! Managed to drop a couple more rounds into my pump and capped a third crow that was zipping by amoungst all the confusion. Not a true tripple!
Ted
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Life's tough... It's even tougher if you're stupid. John Wayne
Hey Matt, It always good to learn something new and taking out a crow at the same time. I don't have chicken distress. I got squirrel, yote, cottaintail, starling and the fox. I have the foxpro crows fighting a rabbit sound and not once did it every call in a bird.