Crow Busters Forum

kacole · Member

crow decoys

nhcrowshooter · Guru

Kacole, decoys can be effective for luring birds into shotgun range. Normally I place mine at the edge of a field with a few hanging in the trees if there is a place to do it. I like to pick a spot where the trees are lowest and I have clear shooting overhead. If you are hunting in tall pines I would think the birds would fly above them and give long shots through the canopy. If so that can be tough shooting.

Owl decoys work sometimes and I generally don't bring one anymore.

As far as Mojo's I think a flapping wing decoy is more effective than a spinning wing decoy. When I use a spinning wing I try to put it in the shadows and at the edge of the treeline and away from the blind for greater effectiveness. The idea is to take their eyes off any movement in the blind.

6 to 12 decoys works fine. Dead ones make great additions to the decoy spread.

jd1983 · Senior Member

Best thing I can say is it doesent matter if you shot 1 or 100 birds that one bird is just as hard to convince or harder than the hundred. 8-10 is a good day. It's all just fun there's days I get none with few shots. Then there are the days when it just rains black bandits. Keep at er and you will see great things.
Decoys are great for feeding set ups and spending a few hours in the same spot but if you like to move around leave em at home. Run and gun with aggressive calls. Once the snow is here I will run and gun more. Who wants to sit in low teen degrees for hours at a time for something you really are not gonna eat? Not me
yes get out of them tall trees hunt 25-35 ft trees if you can.
good luck and welcome

Gadget Bob · Guru

Welcome Kacole!

I suggest acquiring an ecaller - the best FoxPro that fits would budget - and a flapping crow decoy, as NH recommended.

On the Foxpro, load the Johnny Stewart Owl & Crow Fight sound along with their Fighting Crows and Death Cry...

Setup that decoy where it is within 20 yards of where you will hide, wear full head to toe camo - including face mask and gloves and get the party started with your ecaller at low volume up to full power as you rally the close in crows and later bring in those farther away.

Good Luck and Good Hunting,

Gadget Bob

Puppypopper · Senior Member

I use the crap out of my decoys, but only in area's that I know I have call in before or when I have not let an area sit for a few months. One thing I get from my decoys is that when the birds come in fast and hard, the visual makes them slow down so that I can make some shoots. Another thing is that I only use my full set of decoys first thing in the morning, then as the day goes on I leave more behind in the truck, so by lunch I am just totting the caller, shells and my gun.

Mojo or a Flapper, Flapper by far.

Owl , for some reason the few times that we have use one, the more the birds flared off.

One crazy thing that I am and have been trying is that I have been in thick brush and move around with the caller. I turn it on in one spot, call and shoot. This is for about 10 minutes, then I shut down and move about 40 to 50 yards. Then I would turn the caller back on and do it again. Then I would repeat until the birds stopped coming in.I watched some crows fight with a hawk. Then I noticed that the hole time they were fighting, they moved from spot to spot. So I figured that I would try it. So I did and it worked. Again and again and again. Once I got the birds fired up I have been able to pull off longer stands within a given area. As to where I would just run in , turn the caller on, shoot it out then move to the next spot. This is starting to be more productive.

Splash One · Senior Member

I also use decoys. I have a dozen, and put them out if I am the one leading the hunt that day. I have never used a spinning wing decoy, but can attest to the affectiveness of the flapping wing, so I would recommend a flapping wing decoy and a Shepherds/Crosier hook for it's perch.

In my opinion an owl decoy is something used for fun, not for its overwhelming successfulness. I've used the owl several times only to call in crows that were in no mood to fight with a raptor.

When I first started crow hunting all I used was a mouth call. Hide well, don't let them see you, and I have learned over time that, curiosity has killed more then just cats.

Try to find pines that are in the 6-10 foot range.. or a low spot /split in the trees. Like the others have said tall trees = long shots.

nhcrowshooter · Guru

Nobody including myself mentioned the types/brands of decoys so here goes. There are a few choices with the Flambeau decoy being the best for the money IMO. It has no feet and a integral peg for sticking in the ground. It also has a integral eye on it's back so it can be hung from trees with wire or decoy line.

http://www.wingsupply.com/shop/Scripts/prodViewSKU.asp?SKU=5900CR

The "new" style Carry-Lite is junk. It's way to big and bulky to carry easily. It's so big it looks like a Raven decoy and it pegs into the ground with a plastic peg it comes with. The feet are molded into a black lump of plastic earth. If the gound is too hard it blows over easy in the wind. It looks terrible hanging in a tree. Junk.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Carry-Lite-Crow-Decoys/728469.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dcrow&Ntt=crow

"Old" style Carry-Lite, nearly impossible to find now. It was a great decoy with detachable feet and internal platic rod for hanging the decoy from a tree. It was about the same size as the current flambeau and you can easily pack a good number in a decoy bag.

Feather-Flex, great idea but not very durable. This decoy is made of foam making them the lightest decoy of all. They are to some extent crushable allowing for many to fit in a decoy bag. They have a clothespin molded into the body for clipping to tree limbs, corn stalks etc. I found they were not up to task in sub freezing weather. Clothespins fell off and the seam down the middle opened up and the decoy fell apart. Basically junk to me.

http://www.gamecalls.net/products/Feather_Flex_Crow_Decoy_6_Pack-1955-140.html

Green Head Gear, never used them so I have no experience to share.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/GreenHead-Gear174-Flocked-Crow-Decoys/708501.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dcrow&Ntt=crow

-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Friday 22nd of October 2010 09:35:44 AM

Bob · Guru

NH,

The eyelit on the back of the old model Carry-Lite crow decoys was much more durable than the new Flambeau crow decoys.

The trouble with Carry-Lite and Flambeau is that these folks do not have any of the old timers around to "tell em what makes a good crow decoy" plus anybody who buys the new crow decoys just figures a decoy is a decoy, whats the big deal? While you on the other hand can see the difference between the older model Carry-Lites and the new ones. The new Carry-Lites were not designed well for hanging in a tree; the older models were!

Bob A.

Splash One · Senior Member

SportPlast seems to have done a good knock off of the old Carry-Lite Decoy, but they have to be ordered from Europe.

As for the newer Carry-Lites, I cut off the legs and modified the stake so the decoy moves in the wind.

watch em fall · Senior Member

Use black zip ties to ring decoy with another slipped under and not tight to form a loop to hang it from. If they break they are quick to replace as well as inexpensive. I always carry zip ties for quick repairs, they work like duct tape but they are black already wink

Puppypopper · Senior Member

The GHG's are really nice, they are fully flocked , lite and pack well. Plus they look good in a tree.

Gadget Bob · Guru

Hi PP,

Your GHG's do look great in a tree... How are you getting them up there and back down? I apologize if you have already explained this process and I missed it.

Regards,

Gadget Bob

KenCrow · Senior Member

Do any of you know where to purchase a wing flapping crow decoy, besides the Buster II that is available from Crowmart? I would appreciate the website where available, or name of company making them, phone number, or any other contact info. I do not want an air-powered decoy, as you can't depend on the wind for motion.

I have used my Buster II for about 4 years, but now it is kinda ratty after catching hell from me.

Worth mentioning... I scored 98 yesterday, Friday, while standing in the same spot-blind. Only my second day of crow hunting this fall. Also, I was using a shotgun that I had never crow hunted with! Percentage of kills with shots fired...thought you would never ask... 86.7%. Shells? Winchester Super-X, 3 1/4 x 1 1/8 x 8 shot.

Where did I hunt? Thought you would have asked before now. The field is over yonder!

nhcrowshooter · Guru

An economical and effective substitute is a flapping wing bat which are usually available this time of year. All you need to do to make it field ready is wrap the head in black tape to kill the lighted eyes and glue a spring to the battery cover with a hot glue gun. I was using one of these before Buster became available. Neither one will handle a dead crow landing on it very well smile

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Flying-Halloween-BAT-Perfect-Haunted-House-/110601742628?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c060a924

-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Sunday 24th of October 2010 08:17:53 AM

SHANEDOG · Guru

KenCrow wrote:

Do any of you know where to purchase a wing flapping crow decoy, besides the Buster II that is available from Crowmart? I would appreciate the website where available, or name of company making them, phone number, or any other contact info. I do not want an air-powered decoy, as you can't depend on the wind for motion.

I have used my Buster II for about 4 years, but now it is kinda ratty after catching hell from me.

Worth mentioning... I scored 98 yesterday, Friday, while standing in the same spot-blind. Only my second day of crow hunting this fall. Also, I was using a shotgun that I had never crow hunted with! Percentage of kills with shots fired...thought you would never ask... 86.7%. Shells? Winchester Super-X, 3 1/4 x 1 1/8 x 8 shot.

Where did I hunt? Thought you would have asked before now. The field is over yonder!

Ken,nice job on those 98 crows!!!!!!! biggrin

As for decoys,I have all of the brands,My Flambeus I use in the trees for sentries.The Carri-lites take and cut the feet right off at the body and they will fit in your bag better,drill a 1" hole in the bottom so the stake head will fit through,glue a spent 209 primer on the top of the stake,the hole in the top of the decoy will fit right on. I also have some Sports Plast decoys for Crow and Pigeon you can get them at Knudsons Decoys,great people!!! biggrin

http://www.knutsondecoys.com/decoy_misc/crow_decoys.html

Puppypopper · Senior Member

GB, I used a painters pole to put the GHG up in the tree. There is a 1/2 hole in the bottom of the decoy that fits perfect on the pole. I just pushed it up through the branches till I hit the max height of the pole and walla.

Ken, go here , www.ureaduck.com

This is a pic of the older version, The one I have has a great more detail to it. I'll take it over the buster. Its bigger and takes one heck of a beating.

Or you can go this route.

Or you can go this way.

jd1983 · Senior Member

I will say that polish hammer has a assult crow and in a 10-20 mph breeze it was dancing like a teen boy at prom it was movin and a shakin looked good. Better than the darn air crow I have. I think the air crow scares more birds than it does good. Any one else have one of them??