I tried a used mojo hawk and a "flapper'-man it was devastating! While I am an expert mouth caller (more on that later) i hardly had to call at all. i was right udnerneath a flyway where they trade back and forth. When they saw my hawk and crow-they didn't hesitate(also it was still a virgin area).
had i been loaded I could have had a 'walk in" shot as one came right overhead at 12 O'Clock high...oh well..so i set up and turned on the ole' red tail (yes this one at least was a"red tail") after a little difficulty stuffing the short pole into the ground. Sure the wings flap unrealistically more like a duck landing but -hey-it worked! they would suddenly started that swooping down after wheeling up a little bit but still withi range and as we know form reading my posts i like them in close in case i miss-that quick follow up shot usually nails thme but for this day I did not seem to miss. I saw more crows than I shot down however which is quite typical.
I quickly distinguished between the young crows and the adults, but i shot the closest ones. And when you are properly camouflaged and the sun at your back-they will get in close. i probably didn't need to hide what with the camouflage I wear.
The crows would arrive cawing loudly way out of range in the distance giving me plenty of time to get ready. . I wore those electronic ear muffs that shut down after so many decibels (get teh cmaouflaged ones-I have noticed that the sun will reflect off and they will hang out there out of range or just flare out there a few hundred yards)of sound instantaneously but when there is no shooting that hearing enhancement is everything. Icould hear people way out there talking a quarter of a mile away or so.....and i can hear crows very far away.My only draw back was not taking my tape player they are dumping on the market now fairly cheap as everyone is buying up the smaller stuff with the remote caller which i think is a wise choice indeed....in example; when the crow flies past your decoys and all the calling is coming from your blind they quickly figure something is not right there and don't hang around. However still the time to turn on your caller is when you have just shot at them and they saw one of their buddies drop. if you remained hidden instead of popping up like a duck hunter they should return. If you turned on your caller when the crows were coming in anyways -you just blew that chance and educated them royally. that in any case is my experience.
For the record they came in in smallish groups up to 7 but this is early yet, and the corn is just starting to get cut down further north. And all i hit were 7 finding five. one glided off into the woods some 350 yards distant and another dropped but i couldn't find it even though i saw exactly where it dropped: 7 for 7 not bad.. hint: Do not leave dead crows laying around. esepcially when you only use 1 or 2 decoys. you know something is wrong when they fly over at 12 0'clock high and keeping heading off. just check your set up and clean up the dead ones. if you have quite a few decoys out then i imagine they won't notice too badly.
Thanks for sharing your adventures, I have found that the dead ones laying about help with my shoots, The more the merrier,I just make sure that I don't have any laying way out there out of gun range, and for sure you don't want a crippled "hopper" way out there ,because that will hang them up over their fallen comrade. I used to bring my lab with to clean up the fallen, when I started leaving him home and leaving them lay, the numbers went up. just my 2 cents on what works for me
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"There is never a wrong time to do the right thing"
You've got it made where you are if you can get 204 crows! In the apst before 'civilization" ate up the best areas-opening day-well the day i officially go-always netted between 35-55 crows..after that steadily less with a dozen being the norm. So you are in an excellent spot. this area dried up a long long time ago for different reasons but largely the closing of the dumps-that is where they hung out on sunday-and all the farms drying up due to age related issues and or subsequent land sales..very sad indeed!
Tip: want to save your shoulder? I never suffer any bruises any more. I use a pachmyer shoulder protector on my stock and shoot the light loads like 8s and 7 1/2s...it is like shooting a.22! However some like blasting them out there at a hundred yards or so so there fore the pachmyer will help with that too.
One year I realized when the goshawks showed up it wa sitme to pull it all in for the season even with a few more weeks to go. The crows were getting fewer and by now settled into their winter roosts about an hour or 2 or so south of me in a neighboring state. Anyways I was out there and heard a very odd sound ..the flapping of wings at close range every time I sounded off ....then I saw it..and i was wearing hearing protectors. this is where it gets comical. this male goshawk sat right in the bushes amongst my many crow decoys largely in the naked bushes about 65 feet out...it tried to make those decoys fly! It would spot the otherssin neighboring bush and fly right over staring quizzically(?) at each one. it spotted the one on the ground and finally flap sailed away casually into the woods...and what few crows later on showed any interest refused to come in and then I heard a strange sound and looked right back directly into the face of a cow! While a fence separated us it was so close with its' head it could almost touch me! well i packed up and called it a day. I don't think i shot any that day anyways.
Just how I like them "low and slow"