so we went hunting this afternoon and it i have a question. the birds always stayed really high, we arent in a blind, just in some brush. my buddy doesnt like to get to concealed and i think that might be a problem with them seeing them. we had 9 dekes and a buster out. all we ended up doing is call in a fox and shoot that. any other reasons birds would stay so high??
I use a bunch of permanent blinds I have set up,you need to be hidden well,shadows really mesh up a crows vision.With that said in my area I have found no matter how well I am a hidden,if there is snow on the ground they fly high and just to dont seem to be a curious,so why fight it I go coyote hunting instead,why educate a bunch of birds and set up for crap results. Mid March things tend to look better as far as getting them in.I now some guys say they dont start till the snow flys and we have the experts that live on great fly ways, will say that I am nuts,but I am just tellin you what its like in my area.I have had some banner shoots in the late summer,fall and spring,call me lazy but I dont want to set up unless I can kill at least 30 birds myself. If you have a buddy that does not like concealment,leave him home!!
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Out of a couple thousand crows that we had fly past yesterday, some of them just refused to come down lower. They didn't even seem to hear the caller or see the decoys. Maybe they didn't. But others dropped right down to within range.
First would be that they are spooky and have been shot at before during the season. They stay high to stay alive.
Second would be the wind or I should say "the lack of wind" that makes them fly high.
Third would be because of a strong head wind, the crows will climb in altitude until they hit an air current going in the direction that they want to go in.
Bob A.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
First would be that they are spooky and have been shot at before during the season. They stay high to stay alive.
Second would be the wind or I should say "the lack of wind" that makes them fly high.
Third would be because of a strong head wind, the crows will climb in altitude until they hit an air current going in the direction that they want to go in.
Bob A.
Bob,
I never thought about why they sometimes fly high in the wind or lack there of. So they just keep climbing till they find a current they like? That is very interesting. This morning I watched some very high birds "stand still". There was barely a breeze on the ground but they obviously turned into a head wind to check out my decs. I can see where this applies.
Also I think it has to do with where they are going. If you are where they were going, ours will usually buzz us. If they are up high while on their way somewhere and you are in their path, they will not normally come down. They just give you a flyby and keep trucking. I guess it is not worth the calories to fight the wind down to you just to get in a fight.
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"If money can fix it, it ain't broke" The great theologian and my crow hunting partner AW.
First would be that they are spooky and have been shot at before during the season. They stay high to stay alive.
Second would be the wind or I should say "the lack of wind" that makes them fly high.
Third would be because of a strong head wind, the crows will climb in altitude until they hit an air current going in the direction that they want to go in.
Bob A.
Bob,
I never thought about why they sometimes fly high in the wind or lack there of. So they just keep climbing till they find a current they like? That is very interesting. This morning I watched some very high birds "stand still". There was barely a breeze on the ground but they obviously turned into a head wind to check out my decs. I can see where this applies.
Also I think it has to do with where they are going. If you are where they were going, ours will usually buzz us. If they are up high while on their way somewhere and you are in their path, they will not normally come down. They just give you a flyby and keep trucking. I guess it is not worth the calories to fight the wind down to you just to get in a fight.
Yesterday when we first started to hunt, we had a pretty good wind and the majority of the crows were flying low. A couple hours later, all of a sudden the majority of them were flying way up high and we noticed the wind had dropped to almost nothing.
Kev <><
-- Edited by Mainehunt on Sunday 13th of February 2011 11:02:59 PM
i always get both types of flyers. some will come in alone real low & sometimes their just teasing me. i usually have their attention though. the high flyers will circle like buzzards before leaving out. i notice from the road to they fly a straight line, sometimes real high or real low. i cant give u an answer but i can tell u it happens to me too. i usually tell my partner he should have been more still. lol
I'll tell you what the difference was, the reason most flew bye and some decoyed in is quite simple. Whenever you have a fair amount of crows going through you're area your going to get some of them that have never been shot at all year traveling with the hordes! I see this happen in areas that are hunted heavily, thats why I avoid them once things get to the point you are experiencing.
Bob A.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
well today we had a strong wind, probably about 20 mph and gusting higher, it almost seemed like they couldnt get down low enough to get to the dekes, its almost like once they caught wind they would just hover there for a bit and then cruise off
I'll tell you what the difference was, the reason most flew bye and some decoyed in is quite simple. Whenever you have a fair amount of crows going through you're area your going to get some of them that have never been shot at all year traveling with the hordes! I see this happen in areas that are hunted heavily, thats why I avoid them once things get to the point you are experiencing.
Bob A.
Man, I was hoping you wouldn't say that. :) These are the only crows that we can find.
If these birds are the only ones you can find then you just have to try to do the best you can.
I was in a new area about two weeks ago talking with the locals at this neat old time country store where they sold canned goods, plus you could gas up the truck there as well. They even served a very good breakfast. It had old wooden floors in the place and the decor was very simple, nothing flashy.
I got talking with these guys and came to find out that they all grew up together and have known each other there whole lives, very nice bunch of fellas. They all hunted, mainly duck hunters, but they pointed me in the right direction since I didn't know the area at all, at least not yet! This is my point Kev, you have to talk to people.
Bob A.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
If these birds are the only ones you can find then you just have to try to do the best you can.
I was in a new area about two weeks ago talking with the locals at this neat old time country store where they sold canned goods, plus you could gas up the truck there as well. They even served a very good breakfast. It had old wooden floors in the place and the decor was very simple, nothing flashy.
I got talking with these guys and came to find out that they all grew up together and have known each other there whole lives, very nice bunch of fellas. They all hunted, mainly duck hunters, but they pointed me in the right direction since I didn't know the area at all, at least not yet! This is my point Kev, you have to talk to people.
Bob A.
Well, you're right, I know. We need to find a farm along this flyway. Same crows, but at least we won't be shooting at them from the exact same place.
The birds you see flying high in a straight line are more than likely headed to a staging area toward a roost. Take an evening and follow them. If you are from there and know the area such as the roads in the county it will pay off. Now this mainly happens after 2 pm. They may fly any where from 5 to 20 miles. Just park your truck and watch. If several birds fly over real high and in a straight line that is a sure sign they are headed to a staging are. Around here the birds stage about an hour and a half before roost time. If you find this staging area be sure not to set up too close to the roost. You need to be a minimum of 1/4 mile from it. You can feed of these roosting birds for a long time. I followed some birds one evenening in early November and killed over 700 of them before they got used to my sounds. They are burnt now but it was a blast for about a month and a half. My problem right now is the birds cutting my spread. Lately I've been building my hide 50 to 75 yards to the side of my spread and when they cut to the side of it I hammer em You have to think outside the box they do!!!!
Third would be because of a strong head wind, the crows will climb in altitude until they hit an air current going in the direction that they want to go in.
They fly so high cause they're DEVIL birds. If you had a blind up in a tree 100 feet they would fly 2" of the ground and 50 yards from the trunk. Some times I wanna kill'emout of spite!
-- Edited by Troy Seal on Tuesday 15th of February 2011 12:24:35 AM
-- Edited by Troy Seal on Wednesday 16th of February 2011 08:20:55 PM
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The birds you see flying high in a straight line are more than likely headed to a staging area toward a roost. Take an evening and follow them. If you are from there and know the area such as the roads in the county it will pay off. Now this mainly happens after 2 pm. They may fly any where from 5 to 20 miles. Just park your truck and watch. If several birds fly over real high and in a straight line that is a sure sign they are headed to a staging are. Around here the birds stage about an hour and a half before roost time. If you find this staging area be sure not to set up too close to the roost. You need to be a minimum of 1/4 mile from it. You can feed of these roosting birds for a long time. I followed some birds one evenening in early November and killed over 700 of them before they got used to my sounds. They are burnt now but it was a blast for about a month and a half. My problem right now is the birds cutting my spread. Lately I've been building my hide 50 to 75 yards to the side of my spread and when they cut to the side of it I hammer em You have to think outside the box they do!!!!
im actually on their feeding area, a cut corn field with fresh spread manure, idk where they are roosting at but maybe i will take a drive one day. when we call they all gather up and fly high above us for a few then leave
I hunted yesterday in 50 mph gusts and had them come in lower than ever before. I'm hunting the T of a hedge row between 2 fields. They came in below the tree line in the middle of the field on the left, soared just high enough to clear the trees and dropped down again below tree level. It was the easiest shooting I ever had in the worst conditions possible. Normally with no wind in this spot, they stay real high. It was also funny, once they turned down wind they had to cover a mile in 3 seconds. Man it was windy.
As Bob A. says wind at your back. It will bring em low and slow, nice and slow. Only downside is they can leave really fast, but I also believe it muffles gunshots and they seem to commit stronger if they have to work to get there.
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whatever i'm doing i'm thinking about crow hunting
We had a similar hunt earlier this year. If you miss that first shot, that second one better be WAY out in front of him. And if you make contact on that second shot, you will have to walk a mile to pick it up.
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"If money can fix it, it ain't broke" The great theologian and my crow hunting partner AW.
When you have a wild wind (above 30 mph) you can get some good shooting "if" you are in the right spot. But the downside is that you only get one good crack at them and they are gone in a flash! It makes it difficult to score on very many doubles in a wind like that, but as Greg pointed out, the report from the shotguns gets muffeled in a wind like that.
My old pal Boyd Robeson had a spot on the Arkansas River north of Hutchinson, Kansas back in the 1960's through the 1980's that was about as perfect a spot as any man could wish for. This spot was called "Blood Alley" by Boyd and rightfully so! When the birds would come in when the wind was 25 to 30 mph or stronger they were really out of the wind in this spot where "they couldn't use the wind to make one fast flip for a get away" you could score on doubles quite easily from this location. The wind could be howling and from this spot it was almost dead calm, it was one great spot!
I remember the first shoot there like yesterday. It was back in 1973 before I moved to Kansas, Boyd said "if we can't kill a few hundred here this afternoon, something's wrong" I about fell over when he said that. We had some outstanding shoots from that spot if you picked the right kind of day to shoot it.
Bob A.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
When you have a wild wind (above 30 mph) you can get some good shooting "if" you are in the right spot. But the downside is that you only get one good crack at them and they are gone in a flash! It makes it difficult to score on very many doubles in a wind like that, but as Greg pointed out, the report from the shotguns gets muffeled in a wind like that.
My old pal Boyd Robeson had a spot on the Arkansas River north of Hutchinson, Kansas back in the 1960's through the 1980's that was about as perfect a spot as any man could wish for. This spot was called "Blood Alley" by Boyd and rightfully so! When the birds would come in when the wind was 25 to 30 mph or stronger they were really out of the wind in this spot where "they couldn't use the wind to make one fast flip for a get away" you could score on doubles quite easily from this location. The wind could be howling and from this spot it was almost dead calm, it was one great spot!
I remember the first shoot there like yesterday. It was back in 1973 before I moved to Kansas, Boyd said "if we can't kill a few hundred here this afternoon, something's wrong" I about fell over when he said that. We had some outstanding shoots from that spot if you picked the right kind of day to shoot it.
Bob A.
Bob, That must have been incredible! I love finding a spot out of the wind when hunting or fishing.
High birds like that up here anyways suggest strongly that they are either migrants but if they don't come down that tells me this field has been hit before an no amount of coaxing will work. But fortunately not much competition so i don't have too much trouble. You on the other hand probably ought to invest in a full choke and high brass shot if this is all you can get for crows. If it's your camouflage-oyu need to be cammied up head to toe and it has to blend in with your surroundings too. I have seen too many in camou that stood out as much as if they were wearing bright orange! Goose hunters use blinds where you lay on your back or even pits if the farmer will allow it! And there is or used ot be cornfield camouflage and it works! Another deal, put out as many decoys as you can afford. later in the season that good ole half dozen just won't cut it! Is your vehicle out of sight? It's worth it to cover it with a huge cornfield colored burlap or similiar.
How many crows are you seeing? If it's always a hundred or so then you must put out at least 40 decoys! 6 won't excite them any! However there is always going to that aggresive bird who'll drop right on in.This is often a that years' juvenile.
I made the mistake of not covering my vehicle and the crows wouldn't come down despite my cool set up-they knew a vehicle meant trouble for them even if there was no crow hunting but the goose and or pheasant hunters! On the other hand the crows that came out of the west in this case were sure fire dead meat! They couldn't see my vehicle from their position!
Final note here: you must be cammied up head to toe period. In your acse a good ghillie suit might be the answer or a portable blind? And a very very minimal amount of movement!
If you experience high birds in the morning and they stay high, 100 yards or higher then you are to close to the roost. These birds are going way out to feed. If you get some to come in but the bulk just keep headed in the same direction that tells me your to close to the roost. I've seen them do this for many years, you just have to follow them to see where they touch down. This takes plenty of time, effort and gas!
Here is a photo taken roughly 10 miles from the roost on a morning hunt.
You have to think outside the box they do!!!!
