Crow Busters Forum

Mainehunt · Guru

OPEN FIELD HUNTING

TexasMatt · Senior Member

I have hunted from a layout blind a couple of times, but I didn't care much for it. When I threw the doors open, the crows went into full retreat, making most of the shots more challenging. I prefer that the crows not know I'm there, until the first shot it fired, so I tend to stand next to a tree or something.

However, if you don't have a tree, the layout blind would probably be better than nothing. If it works well for you, stick with it.

Mainehunt · Guru

TexasMatt wrote:

I have hunted from a layout blind a couple of times, but I didn't care much for it. When I threw the doors open, the crows went into full retreat, making most of the shots more challenging. I prefer that the crows not know I'm there, until the first shot it fired, so I tend to stand next to a tree or something.

However, if you don't have a tree, the layout blind would probably be better than nothing. If it works well for you, stick with it.

Yeah it works very well here for a couple of reasons. 1- is that these crows at this particular farm are hunted hard, usually come in to decoys solo or in pairs. By the time we flip the doors open, it's too late for them. 2- these crows usually will not fly close enough to the trees to get a shot at them because too many people have hunted by hiding in the trees already.
For now, (and I know this will eventually change), the crows aren't afraid to approach decoys that are out in the middle of a cleared field.
I only wish that we could get large flocks to fly into our spreads of decoys like you southern and western guys. (Any other state in the U.S. in either south or west of me:)

Kev
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jd1983 · Senior Member

Never tried them I have been out in the field rounding up spread eagle birds during a so thought quite time. And when I was out in the open got caught by devoting birds so I just melt as low as I could got 9 shots off at em downing 4 birds they just hung around like they thought they where safe in the middle of the field.

Maine: first off you guys got some beautiful land up there. Was in bar harbor 2 years ago man I love it up there.
Second nice russel do you take the dog hunting with ya? I take my jack russel even tho she is white the crows must think she is a not too much of a threat cause they don't seam to care that she is around.

Puppypopper · Senior Member

Now thats just funny. Me and Jon were talking about the same thing the other night and we came up with the same thing about the movement of the doors would cause the birds to flare.

jonthepain · Guru

you just want some new toys.

but hey i'll try anything once

btw nice shades there, cool breeze

smile

SHANEDOG · Guru

Hey Maine
Do you hunt yotes??

Ya,Puppy nice shades!!

Puppypopper · Senior Member

Well you could use one of these.

Or this one.

Or something like this.

Puppypopper · Senior Member

When all else fails, get one of these and just laydown in the field.

We did.

8fishermen · Guru

Puppypopper,

Those are awesome! you could probably get away with wearing a decoy on your hat with that setup. biggrin

Mainehunt · Guru

jd1983 wrote:

Never tried them I have been out in the field rounding up spread eagle birds during a so thought quite time. And when I was out in the open got caught by devoting birds so I just melt as low as I could got 9 shots off at em downing 4 birds they just hung around like they thought they where safe in the middle of the field.

Maine: first off you guys got some beautiful land up there. Was in bar harbor 2 years ago man I love it up there.
Second nice russel do you take the dog hunting with ya? I take my jack russel even tho she is white the crows must think she is a not too much of a threat cause they don't seam to care that she is around.

Yeah she goes out with me. You should see her tackle a wounded crow and shake it til the feathers start flying. It's great.

She went duck hunting with me and retrieved a couple ducks even.

Kev
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Puppypopper · Senior Member

8, you might just have a point with that. If you ran your set up like goose hunters do, that might just work.

Mainehunt · Guru

SHANEDOG wrote:

Hey Maine
Do you hunt yotes??

Ya,Puppy nice shades!!

Yes, I bought the Bushmaster AR-15 with bull barrel. VERY accurate with my handloads. This will be my first fall/winter with the FoxPro.

Kev
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jonthepain · Guru

I almost tripped over this guy

chip · Guru

Damn Pup and I thought I was ate up with it!!! biggrin

Shane them hides gotta make you jelous yawn

shaddart · Guru

thats some nice camo

Puppypopper · Senior Member

The guy holding the crow, is a fellow that I work with. That was his first crow. He is wearing my grassland ghillie. I told him that if he bought his license, I would take care of the rest, gun, camo and ammo. He popped that one at about 50 yards with a IC 16ga. It was one of those DAMN shots.

Chip, its scary with all the gear and crap that I have. The joke is, I'll give Dick Sporting Goods a good run for the money.

Buy hey for $70's you can't beat those suits. You get the hole thing, jacket, pants, hat and gun wrap, its hard to beat, so I bought the woodland and the grassland.

nhcrowshooter · Guru

The disadvantage to the layout blinds is crows can see you easily when you go to shoot. This often flares other incoming birds who might have otherwise continued to the sound of the calls. Movement more than gunfire is what spooks them. I prefer a good blind at the edge of a field as we can often get other birds to decoy right after we have shot some others as long as they didn't see us.

Mainehunt · Guru

nhcrowshooter wrote:

The disadvantage to the layout blinds is crows can see you easily when you go to shoot. This often flares other incoming birds who might have otherwise continued to the sound of the calls. Movement more than gunfire is what spooks them. I prefer a good blind at the edge of a field as we can often get other birds to decoy right after we have shot some others as long as they didn't see us.

I understand what you're saying, but as I said above. Where we hunt, we don't get large numbers of crows coming in, usually just 2-4 at a time. When they see us move, it's already too late for them.

Also, they typically won't fly very close to the fence rows or edges of trees where we hunt because they have been shaot at too many times before around decoys from us and other hunters.

So, decoying them to the center of the field works well for us, in fact we can shoot many more this way than the way you guys do it.

Kev
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jonthepain · Guru

they typically won't fly very close to the fence rows or edges of trees where we hunt because they have been shot at too many times before around decoys from us and other hunters.

I hadn't thought of that. That's a good point.

-- Edited by jonthepain on Wednesday 15th of December 2010 04:30:54 PM

Mainehunt · Guru

jonthepain wrote:

they typically won't fly very close to the fence rows or edges of trees where we hunt because they have been shot at too many times before around decoys from us and other hunters.

I hadn't thought of that. That's a good point.

-- Edited by jonthepain on Wednesday 15th of December 2010 04:30:54 PM

As soon as these crows get out over the middle of a 40 acre field, it's almost like they become stupid. I know that eventually they will get accustom to us in the fields, but until they do............ biggrin

Kev

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jonthepain · Guru

Maybe Santa will bring PP a layout blind or two and we'll get to test that.

Lord knows he doesn't have near enough hunting stuff.

Mainehunt · Guru

I love my layout blind for many reasons. One is that when there aren't any crows flying, you're laying there warm and comfortable...........

Kev
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jonthepain · Guru

with a cup of hot chocolate no doubt biggrin

Mainehunt · Guru

jonthepain wrote:

with a cup of hot chocolate no doubt

........the ever present thermos of hot coffee smile

Kev
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nhcrowshooter · Guru

Also, they typically won't fly very close to the fence rows or edges of trees where we hunt because they have been shaot at too many times before around decoys from us and other hunters.

So, decoying them to the center of the field works well for us, in fact we can shoot many more this way than the way you guys do it.

Kev
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First we have never experienced a problem of getting them to fly close to fence rows or edges of trees ever. Birds that have had a lot of pressure put on them still come to investigate but they stay higher. They are in in the minority.

If you can shoot many more that way than the way we do, then you are not doing the way we do correctly.

-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Wednesday 15th of December 2010 06:29:53 PM

Mainehunt · Guru

nhcrowshooter wrote:

Also, they typically won't fly very close to the fence rows or edges of trees where we hunt because they have been shaot at too many times before around decoys from us and other hunters.

So, decoying them to the center of the field works well for us, in fact we can shoot many more this way than the way you guys do it.

Kev
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First we have never experienced a problem of getting them to fly close to fence rows or edges of trees ever. Birds that have had a lot of pressure put on them still come to investigate but they stay higher. They are in in the minority.

If you can shoot many more that way than the way we do, then you are not doing the way we do correctly.

-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Wednesday 15th of December 2010 06:29:53 PM

OK, then you're a better crow hunter than me. Congratulations.

-- Edited by Mainehunt on Wednesday 15th of December 2010 10:16:57 PM

nhcrowshooter · Guru

OK, then you're a better crow hunter than me. Congratulations.

Perhaps. I have seen and shot crows drift over when we are layed out for geese. What I do know is that after the move to mount the gun and the first shot from a layout blind is fired other crows have a much better chance of seeing you and then not coming in. It is also harder to shoot from a sitting position than it is from a standing position. I understand and know your layout tactic will work, it's just it is not the best for maximizing your body count.

I also know from decades of experience that crows do not avoid fencerows and the edges of fields. Some decoys and calling will make them investigate the setup time and time again.

-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Wednesday 15th of December 2010 11:07:57 PM

Puppypopper · Senior Member

Jon, if you think about Caswell Co, in the field that we just sat down right in the middle of. We had the tall broom straw with nothing else, so we ghillied up and crashed in the middle of the field . We made no move until the birds were into shooting range.

Hey, I found the pic, here is the hole.

Mainehunt · Guru

nhcrowshooter wrote:

OK, then you're a better crow hunter than me. Congratulations.

Perhaps. I have seen and shot crows drift over when we are layed out for geese. What I do know is that after the move to mount the gun and the first shot from a layout blind is fired other crows have a much better chance of seeing you and then not coming in. It is also harder to shoot from a sitting position than it is from a standing position. I understand and know your layout tactic will work, it's just it is not the best for maximizing your body count.

I also know from decades of experience that crows do not avoid fencerows and the edges of fields. Some decoys and calling will make them investigate the setup time and time again.

-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Wednesday 15th of December 2010 11:07:57 PM

I think that there is some confusion here. I can and do setup in fence rows and woods edges and call in and kill crows here in Maine. However, there is a certain farm where that tactic is no longer productive.

A friend of mine who is in his 70's has hunted the same fields that I'm talking about. Over the last 30 years, this man has killed thousands of crows. He gave it up this year however because not even he can get the crows to come near the edges. He went from killing a couple hundred in 2 months to only about a dozen. He has no desire to use a layout.

If I hunt anywhere else around here, setting up in the edges work fine. We hunted the county last summer season and killed a ton of them up there hunting the edges.

Kev
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-- Edited by Mainehunt on Thursday 16th of December 2010 11:46:01 AM

jonthepain · Guru

yeah that worked good Chuck. Your upland ghillie is perfect for broomstraw.

nhcrowshooter · Guru

MaineHunt, if your season ran into October when you have far more birds to shoot, migratory birds that are unfamiliar with the area you would be more productive to hunt the edges. From the sounds of it you are hunting predominantly resident birds during the slower part of the year in a particular location that have been educated. Make the best of your situation with whatever works.

-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Thursday 16th of December 2010 12:58:46 PM

Mainehunt · Guru

nhcrowshooter wrote:

MaineHunt, if your season ran into October when you have far more birds to shoot, migratory birds that are unfamiliar with the area you would be more productive to hunt the edges. From the sounds of it you are hunting predominantly resident birds during the slower part of the year in a particular location that have been educated. Make the best of your situation with whatever works.

-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Thursday 16th of December 2010 12:58:46 PM

That is exactly what we are doing. Killing the resident crows is really helping the farmer out too. The biggest prblem that he has is the crows puling the young corn plants out of the ground to get the seed. This is happening in late May when only the resident birds are here.

Kev
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