I've looked around but haven't seen anything on here about people crow hunting in grape Vinyanrds! Does anyone have any experience hunting vineyard? I have permission to hunt a farmers apple orchard and grape vineyard but haven't set up or scouted the grapes yet! Just curious if anyone has some input or advice!
Good question. I've a hunter friend whose home is surrounded by vinyards (largely leased property) who has told me he shot six right behind the house last September. So, it seems likely. I'll ask him for more details about the regularity of their presence (I know what happened to the six he downed ). Seems they would like the fruit. Also blueberries. There are thousands and thousands of acres of these two crops around here as well as many others.
I do hunt many blueberry fields (early FEB-MAR season), but the owners are a bit more cautious about it during the AUG-SEP season here (in southwest MI).
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"Arms are the only true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave." -- Andrew Fletcher 1698
Yeah I don't see why they wouldn't frequent the Vinyanrds, the reason I was asking was because I haven't seen any posts about others hunting in any! Thanks for the feedback
I know nothing of vineyards. I have killed crows in my friend's apple orchard. My wife and I have cottage about 3 hours from home, it's near Machias, Maine. There are thousands of acres of blue berry barrens there. Don't ask me how or why, but the crows do not get into the blue berries. I have spoke with many of the farmers and they all just shrug their shoulders.
Either way one good thing about the vineyards location is that there is neighboring cornfields so it may still be a decent location to try pulling in feeding and curious birds!
I know nothing of vineyards. I have killed crows in my friend's apple orchard. My wife and I have cottage about 3 hours from home, it's near Machias, Maine. There are thousands of acres of blue berry barrens there. Don't ask me how or why, but the crows do not get into the blue berries. I have spoke with many of the farmers and they all just shrug their shoulders.
Blueberry fields simply make an easier setup, as they are like big natural brushpiles. Between the rows is an easy and quick place to put a pop-up blind or drape some camouflage. You're right in that I haven't heard any complaints from my blueberry farmer friends about crow problems--only smaller birds.
__________________
"Arms are the only true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave." -- Andrew Fletcher 1698
I know nothing of vineyards. I have killed crows in my friend's apple orchard. My wife and I have cottage about 3 hours from home, it's near Machias, Maine. There are thousands of acres of blue berry barrens there. Don't ask me how or why, but the crows do not get into the blue berries. I have spoke with many of the farmers and they all just shrug their shoulders.
Blueberry fields simply make an easier setup, as they are like big natural brushpiles. Between the rows is an easy and quick place to put a pop-up blind or drape some camouflage. You're right in that I haven't heard any complaints from my blueberry farmer friends about crow problems--only smaller birds.
The blue berry fields here in Maine have no rows, no cover for a hunter. They're hundreds of acres all together, a soli mat of plants about 12 inches and shorter. The fields surround my cottage, crows fly over the fields, but even when they are loaded with ripe fruit, I have never seen a crow land in the field.
Here is a photo from this past November of an average blue berry field here in Maine. None of the blueberry plants in this photo is taller than 1 foot.
Right. You have the more natural b-berries, sorta like we have in N. Michigan that grow wild. The domesticated versions down my way are quite tall, well over 6' when mature. This kind we pick by hand. I suppose you have some form of mechanical picker.
Jonthepain:
Growers have pretty big mechanical picker machines that straddle the rows of bushes and seem to do a pretty good job. That is, unless you were asking how the crows picked the berries.
Thanks for the update! No hurry! Today we went out for a quick afternoon hunt when we turned down the road there must have been 40 crow in the vineyards in the grass and on the lines! We pulled into the apple orchard that connect to the vineyards and set up out spread and quick blind! Started up 'crow party' within 10 secs of calling we where getting responses and high flyovers finally a few cam in and killed one then hit them with the crow distress one more came back and got dropped too! After that they wished up and left the area! But at least we now know they are hanging out in the grapes!!
For only our third weekend out I feel him and I are learning fast.. Not getting as many kills as we would like but more then we got the first weekend we went out haha
Jon, up here all these berries are picked by hand. A person holds what is called a blue berry rake. Sort of a big comb with a steel shallow box attached to it. They stand up, feet wide apart and lean way over. Then they sweep the rake through the plants. It collects the berries which they dump into a box. It's hard to believe maybe, but that's how they harvest thousands and thousands of acres. Every other year they burn the fields to the dirt. Plants grow right back.
Jon, up here all these berries are picked by hand. A person holds what is called a blue berry rake. Sort of a big comb with a steel shallow box attached to it. They stand up, feet wide apart and lean way over. Then they sweep the rake through the plants. It collects the berries which they dump into a box. It's hard to believe maybe, but that's how they harvest thousands and thousands of acres. Every other year they burn the fields to the dirt. Plants grow right back.
Heard about the burn part somewhere before. That's pretty amazing. I suppose that happens in the north MI woods also.
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"Arms are the only true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave." -- Andrew Fletcher 1698
). Seems they would like the fruit. Also blueberries. There are thousands and thousands of acres of these two crops around here as well as many others.
.