I have tried the different calls on crows and have left the owl out. I am not having any luck. I found a murder of 40 birds the other day and they were on the road sucking up rocks it seems. I drove thru them and went about another 200 yds up the road out of sight. Parked the truck and went into the corn field and made a set up of 3 decoys out in the grass and me in the corn with a couple of deeks in the corn tops. While I am setting up 2 crows come in one close and the other far out. I managed to get to the gun and kill the one close bandit, the other went cawing out of range puttin the beak on me. I tried every tape in the arsenal...nothing. The next week (the one just past) I went for a ride and saw another murder of 40-50 in a different location and they were on the road sucking rocks as there were no road kills on either road...since I did not have permission to hunt there I went to a place where it is permitted and made a set up. As I usually get caught in the middle of setting up I decided to set the player up first but did not check to see if it worked as I assumed it would cause I had just used it the day before. After doing the deeks and putting the owl out for a change....I turned on the player.......yep you guessed it dead battery as I neglected to shut it completely off the day before. So had to resort to mouth calls.....I got two crows that were dumb enough to see just what the hell I was saying!! Other than that the non owl tapes seem not to work here in W Pa.
From now on just disconnect the battery when you are done for the day, this way you won't have this happen again. When the funds will permit it wouldn't hurt to have a backup e-caller!
Bob A.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
Sound wisdom from Bob A,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I always have three e-callers and hand calls. PA I think it may be a little early in the year for you.... Crows got plenty to eat right now. Let it get a liitle colder and see what happens. Don't give up
On this unit the battery is internal and shows a red light when the power is on...only when the tape is in the drive bay in the run position. Shuck the tape and the power is still on. Western Rivers set up.
I have a old Johnney Stewart....that works fine in warm weather...but let it get cold and the belt stiffens up and it won't play well. I can't find replacement belts...
If you own a model 512 or 612 Johnny Stewart caller there are no parts for them anymore. The only other option would be to buy a unit (512 or 612 or both) that you can use for spare parts.
I used both the 512 and 612 units years back (by JS) and if you pull the jack (male end) out of the caller plus the other jack that plugs into the "Louder" Amp you will never have another dead battery.
If your unit does not have a "Louder Amp" then just pull the one jack out of the machine and you will be all set.
The reason I do this is because if for some reason that button that turns on the e-caller gets bumped you will have the power on without you knowing about it. I'm quite sure this happened to you.
Bob A.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
The JS player I have is old and the reason I bought the Western River. I only mentioned it as a back up kind of machine... It works fine when warm weather is about...however let it get into the 30-40's and it is toast.
Not sure what type of belt you are looking for, but, you may be able to find one local at a belt specialty shop. We have one here in Jackson that carries ten of thousands belts. I think belts are all they carry. I have never been there and not been able to find what I was looking for. Ours is called The Belt Warehouse and is located in the industrial part of town. Just a thought.
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"If money can fix it, it ain't broke" The great theologian and my crow hunting partner AW.
Oh and has anybody seen crows sucking rocks off the roadway?
Yes, but I see them more often along the roads in the grass. I have watched them with binoculars and each time I did, the crows were catching grasshoppers, crickets, etc...
