Looks the same here in New York. The snow isn't much a problem as the bitter temps. Tough winter this year...storm after storm.
Went to do some crow hunting this morning. Parked the truck, walked about 20 feet sinking up to my knees in snow.....wimped out, drove home, and drove my wife nuts with crow call practice.
Steve
-- Edited by STP22 on Sunday 15th of February 2015 07:19:57 AM
-- Edited by STP22 on Sunday 15th of February 2015 07:23:23 AM
Not a fan of snow myself or minus temps but dang that pic looks like Anartica, don't see how y'all deal with it. I know your part of the country has some great weather but some of your winters can be extreme.
I guess we can expect some more great humor out of your posts since your snowed in! You can always make fun of us Southern Folk, lots of material on us (lol)
Speaking of cold and "southern" folks.. We are "fix'n" to get hammered with snow and ice.. ( according to the experts) ( Not Brian Williams) We currently have 20 - 40 mph winds. It's 18 degrees with real feel of 0... We are not equipped for this.. We lost power due to high winds last night for 6 hours.. poor crows..
I was thinking the same thing this morning when I walked outside. In PA, it is 1 degree out with 25 mph winds so it feels like -24 degrees here. I don't know how some animals do it during these kinds of winters.
The New Hampshire "spring" crow season is an absolute joke...about half the month total...!! People deciding these issues has more to do with politics than reality...in a state so overly concerned with the dwindling numbers of Black ducks..want to know why? They did well until they introduced the fischer cat a large Asiatic weasel that eats everything. The black duck does not nest in the marshes but in thickets after which the ducklings must walk a couple hundred yards to the pond or swamp..an extremely hazardous journey but we had to have fischer cats...again why? supposedly they were efficient porcupine killers but rather wiped out night time domestic cats, the rabbit population and ground nesting birds from A-Z....
The New Hampshire "spring" crow season is an absolute joke...about half the month total...!! People deciding these issues has more to do with politics than reality...in a state so overly concerned with the dwindling numbers of Black ducks..want to know why? They did well until they introduced the fischer cat a large Asiatic weasel that eats everything. The black duck does not nest in the marshes but in thickets after which the ducklings must walk a couple hundred yards to the pond or swamp..an extremely hazardous journey but we had to have fischer cats...again why? supposedly they were efficient porcupine killers but rather wiped out night time domestic cats, the rabbit population and ground nesting birds from A-Z....
The biggest problem with the blackduck that i have seen in the last 42 years of duck hunting here is the cross breading with the mallards. so more cross ducks, that makes less blackducks being made and so on. It has nothen to do with the fisher, they have always been here in great numbers, in 1967 we gave a southern state. Va. i think, some fishercats ( they had a porcupine problem there) for some wild turkeys. Now spring crow is a joke here. should run from March 15 to April 15 and do away with the aug. 15th open and start fall on sept 1st,
Finisher cat? We call those "fisher" up here in Canada. Kind of a larger animal related to the weasel family. Rather fierce as well but an important short haired fur bearer. Close relieve to the pine martin as well. Likely indigenous to the New England /New Hampshire region and reintroduced. I'd bet though that skunk and raccoon do the lions share of nest depredation on black ducks.
Ted
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There has been cross breeding but...I noticed a significant decline of a lot of species after 1975....particularly within ten years after all that-the introduction of the fischer cat....unless the F&G department can prove to me otherwise ? Yeah well i don't agree with the stupid crow season..so I am with you there. But NH is too political and they ain't listening to you or I...been there-did that but if you think we can? I will be right there with you and Pete to get these necessary changes.
I tried to get a season like NYS and Mass but they weren't buying...fall is always better...I don't have the great shooting you folks do where you go but there is some. Keeps my interest up but nothing like i knew in the late 70s until the reintroduction of pheasants to that area...now most of it is posted...and once that elderly lady passes away there will be no more of any hunting as through out much of that old area not that the crow shooting there would be any good anyways...they left before all these new owners posted their properties.
One problem was the youth grew up hating hunting. ALL hunting.
But it doesn't matter, that area don't hold the hundreds of crows anymore. And I wouldn't go anywhere let alone down the road to shoot one or two crows...
Sure there is agriculture-not much has changed there...but the crows are by and large gone. I found a new area because "loose lips sink ships"....yes someone talked. And they talked to ME! So at least I got a "new" area. Not terribly productive but enough to keep my interest. Nothing like i had before I am sorry to say but enough..barely...no one is shooting a hundred crows a day there for sure...not even 50!!!
So much for that. Remember this, NH is a small state. It doesn't take much to screw up a good area by amateurs....that is what initially happened here locally...oh and for the record, I am not brown nosing anyone to find out where the roosts are...I am always on the look out for new techniques and better shotguns..that I am always looking to learn about...techniques..I am an Old NH "boy"..these new folks moving in are ruining the state and posting their properties everywhere!
I am surprised that you two have anything left in your area...
I tried to get a season like NYS and Mass but they weren't buying...fall is always better...
I am surprised that you two have anything left in your area...
I am so thankful you were unsuccessful in trying to have the NH crow season changed to be like New York State. If you had been successful it would have been an unmitigated disaster for NH crow hunters. NYS has a long season but you can only hunt Thurs, Friday, Saturday and Sunday when it's open. Crow hunting in NH is at it's best during a 2 to 3 week migration that starts in late October, that is when we shoot 60 to 70% of our annual total. Your proposal would have shut down the best shooting for 9 days out of those roughly 21 days. I could not imagine being more frustrated than to be watching balls of 100's of crows headed south on a Mon or Tues and having to wait until Thursday, when they might be gone, before being able to hunt them.
I'm getting sick of the weather, this weekend is looking to be low 30's, will probably use it as a hunting escape :). Definetly beats the below zero days we have been having here in PA
Got a little taste of what y'all are experiencing temp wise, no snow but wind chill is 3 and temp is 14 here in Bama. I know that's probly warm compared to your neck of the woods but dang that's cold for here. Looking forward to hunting this weekend 4 hrs South of where I live highs for Sat. Supposed to be in the 70's and that will be spring like, just hope the Crows cooperate.
It's pretty darn cold here with another dose of snow. The cold wouldn't be so bad--you can always dress up for that. But you simply can't get to the set-up locations because the county plows leave 6' piles of snow where the gates to the fields' access roads (used to be). So, until this stuff melts, we in the frozen North must be satisfied reading about Southern crow carnage tales accompanied by jaw-dropping photos.
Go Get em'!!!
-- Edited by Old Artilleryman on Thursday 19th of February 2015 06:14:36 PM
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All I wanted was a longer season for everyone...none of our crows migrate to Mexico-that was all huge baloney for that idea back in 1974...at the time we had a great location for crows despite my lousy shooting later on in the late 70s until about 1989 when it had by this time dwindled down to a huge waste of time.
Your area either didn't suffer or it increased much better than when you began shooting that area-your area that is.
Basically all i wanted was a longer season...it is as if the state is split in half! You have your best hunts in the middle of fall and years ago in the west you could get decent shooting from about September until the snow fell when it was completely gone...but all told personally I am going out of state (Don't think Maine now NHCrowshooter!)
All I wanted was to be legal and hit them at its' best.Any time i wanted however it was or would be a sickening idea to have to wait ...I know this too too well...
What I have seen crows do I cannot believe they protect them at all!
I never had a prayer with the f&G getting any changes like that...from the get go...if anyone has a crow problem no one is going to say "no" anyways...
There used to be a crow roost 1 mile NE of CW. Post College on Long Island back in the 1960's and early 1970's. It held roughly 15 to 20 thousand crows during the fall & winter months. I used to hunt some of the flyways leading to that roost on this one large estate before I moved to Kansas. I was a rookie in those days and could have done much better then had I know what I know now. To make the long story short I was about to start my season so I knocked on the door of the owners house (late September 1972) only to find out a new owner bought the estate. You guessed it "no hunting" from the new owner! At that moment I swore to myself "there is no way I am putting up with this for the rest of my life back here" with in two years I was out of there living in Kansas; best move I ever made.
I had other areas to hunt back then but I could see the handwriting on the wall for the long haul so I left with no regrets.
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All I wanted was a longer season for everyone...none of our crows migrate to Mexico-that was all huge baloney for that idea back in 1974...at the time we had a great location for crows despite my lousy shooting later on in the late 70s until about 1989 when it had by this time dwindled down to a huge waste of time.
Your area either didn't suffer or it increased much better than when you began shooting that area-your area that is.
Basically all i wanted was a longer season...it is as if the state is split in half! You have your best hunts in the middle of fall and years ago in the west you could get decent shooting from about September until the snow fell when it was completely gone...but all told personally I am going out of state (Don't think Maine now NHCrowshooter!)
All I wanted was to be legal and hit them at its' best.Any time i wanted however it was or would be a sickening idea to have to wait ...I know this too too well...
What I have seen crows do I cannot believe they protect them at all!
There is indeed a very strong migration of crows through NH for about 3 weeks, and it is not limited to the southeast, Central NH has it too. It often starts around 10/15 but I have seen it not start until a week to a week and half after that date. If your a crow hunter you do not want to miss it and you certainly don't want any of the days in that period closed, end of story. I don't know how far they migrate to, may only be to the south part of New England but they are migrating days when the wind is favorable and you better have plenty of ammo in your truck along with some food and water. A longer season? The rest of the fall no matter what month, Aug, Sept, early Oct, lat November and December PALES in comparison. If you want a better season take the two weeks in August and put it back in early March so we get a full month of spring hunting. NH F&G has been opposed to have the season open in April. If we could have only month of crow season, and I hope that is never the case it should be 10/15 to 11/15, thats when you can run up some numbers in this state.
Hopefully this "global warming" will kick in and give you guys a break. As far as carnage goes, we're just now learning how to hunt these rascals down here in Feb. Food is in short supply so they are moving a lot and we haven't got on any concentrations of birds yet. Hopefully we can get something figured out, if not its time to put some crappie in the freezer and start getting ready for next fall on the Crows. And just a thought on the 6 ft snow banks that might be fun under the right circumstances "Tannerite" 10 lbs is very impressive and I think you can shoot up to 50 lbs, but check your regs up there but you could open up some access roads while having a blast! (pun intended) and with your background I'm sure you could probably do it in a surgical manner. Just food for thought (lol)
HHmm...I personally need November-would rather have it go until the first snow flies which is impractical..that could be anywhere anytime in November...or crazy October-who can forget that? Yeah otherwise I am with you here...now..what i think the readers would like to know is something I don't think we get enough of is ten gauge shooting techniques specifically on crows.
Would you give us the low down? Thanks..
Also a little story on my interest in the ten gauge. years ago in the mid to late 70s I was interested but was practically talked out of it to say nothing of the price...the crows hug up there for a second look and a ten could have brought them down...I know you are familiar with the out of range or almost out of range crow up there circling and telling all others to stay from from you...right? I've had that before..
This in any case should you or anyone else want to relate it would be interesting to read and fun..I am not ready for a ten myself given the current ranges I can get crows to come in but would love to hear it from a ten gauge man...a ten just might hold the answers for some of our comrades out west who specifically shoot flyways without any decoys in example..
Your comment about the hundreds of migrants in fall was like the old area I used to hunt..man it was something else! However they came down in loose flocks of a dozen to twenty occasionally 50 but oddly not like what you are describing..that was just" my" area. Well the area I frequented in the 70s and mid 80s when it started stinking real bad or thereabouts..the area started drying up. Just before it did you could see even bigger flocks of crows all along the highway and you knew it was set up time!
Right after the opening of deer season(1978 idea..) is what i mean...that is when the even bigger flocks began showing up...all gone now....yup..all gone!
Another note: I watched a huge flight come over concord last year which means had i stayed in a blind a bit north of there i could have gotten a few....how many? I don't know exactly but they went across to 93 across downtown to the end of the tallest buildings approximately...unfortunately i couldn't come back anytime sooner than a week later...
motiondecoy wrote:I don't think we get enough of is ten gauge shooting techniques specifically on crows.
Would you give us the low down? Thanks..
Also a little story on my interest in the ten gauge. years ago in the mid to late 70s I was interested but was practically talked out of it to say nothing of the price...the crows hug up there for a second look and a ten could have brought them down...I know you are familiar with the out of range or almost out of range crow up there circling and telling all others to stay from from you...right? I've had that before..
This in any case should you or anyone else want to relate it would be interesting to read and fun..I am not ready for a ten myself given the current ranges I can get crows to come in but would love to hear it from a ten gauge man...a ten just might hold the answers for some of our comrades out west who specifically shoot flyways without any decoys in example..
Hi, I have written a bit about the exploits of shooting crows with a 10ga. Most people when they think of a 10ga think of SP-10's, Browning's, and maybe the old spanish doubles, all of them shooting 10ga Magnum ammo, 3 1/2 inch with massive loads of shot and associated recoil.
Few people know that at one time there was a standard field round for the 10ga of 2 7/8" length shooting much lighter loads. At the turn of the 20th century they were loaded with 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 ounce of shot. The guns of that era were mostly double barrels. Some were built light, 8lbs and some were built heavy 10 to 12 lbs. The heavier guns were built of waterfowlers who were stuff brass hulls with as much powder and shot as they could get in them.
The shotgun with the largest bore is going to pattern the best, it's just physics. The 10 with light loads will throw devastatingly tight patterns. Fact of the matter is a man with a 10 had such an advantage at both trap and live pigeon that 10 bore shooters were given a different handicap and after that didn't make enough difference the 10ga was banned from those competitions.
The era of hammerless 10 doubles is narrow, about 1890 to roughly 1910. Shooters in those day preferred a lot of drop making them hard to shoot. Far fewer 10's were built than 12's, far fewer. So the trick is to find one in good shape with good dimensions.
Most of these guns were built with damascus and twist barrels. Everyone was taught they were bombs waiting to blow up. That is far from the case. When loaded with nitro powder shells at pressures equal to what was available when the guns were built is just fine, I have been shooting guns with these types of barrels for years, so have my friends.
Once you get by the hurdle of being afraid to pull the trigger you have to learn how to make the shells, you can buy 2 7/8 factory loads from RST but they are cost prohibitive, reloading is the only way to go. There are two steps unique to loading the 2 7/8" 10ga, trimming hulls to the proper length and using a filler was under the shot. Other than that it's the same as loading any shell.
These guns can and will pull down a crow from 70 yards every time you put them in the pattern with 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 ounce loads of #6. Long range wingshooting is more difficult, but it is fun, and it's fun to learn the hang of it, crows offer a perfect and plentiful target to get the hang of it.
This is my 1905 Remington Model 1894 10ga and an advertisement for it from Remington, note it states these guns were guaranteed for use with nitro powder. My gun has good dimensions, 30" barrels, full chokes, 8 3/4 lbs, and ejectors.
-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Friday 20th of February 2015 10:51:07 AM
Man now that was pretty cool...loved the pattern too! Very interesting! I bet that surprised ole' Jekyll up there thinking he had it made!
How do you handle the recoil? It amuses me to think of one of your farmer friends hearing that for the first time as leaves suddenly fall out of the trees like rain and the earth shakes! I think someone was out in the woods a ways in one area and i think he might have been deer hunting..not sure but it was L-O-U-D!!
I turned to my partner and commented:"Wow-that was loud! What in the hell is he shooting at? Out in the woods somewhere..just that I never really heard of anyone shooting crows with a ten so this would have to be interesting...that is a crow blaster all right...do you use some kind of a recoil pad? When things were hot you had to around here...those week long bruises were not fun!And that was using a pump 12 gauge!
That double looks mighty rugged! I don't remember now-did you inherit it or them? That 40 yard pattern is sticking in my head for some reason...you got me thinking now most of my misses are because I am shooting too close!
What recoil? They are soft shooting guns, an 8 3/4 pound gun shooting 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 ounces at + or - 1200 fps does not kick very much, no recoil pads needed, you can shoot them all day. The 10ga with these light loads is not any louder than a 12 except when loaded with certain powders. I like Red Dot and Green Dot, 10gacrowshooter likes 700-x, those are normal booms. When I first started loading I used SR7625, it's a great powder, keeps pressures down, but the earth shakes with light loads at those velocities with 7625. I bought the gun from on-line auction. It needed some work after nearly 110 years of use and abuse but not a whole lot. I have a Parker 10 from 1893 that is much heavier with 32" barrels, I like the Parker for duck and goose hunting where I shoot a little heavier load.
yeah the crows coming through here are mighty tricky meaning your areas or areas you frequent and i don't think weather bothers them terribly much. One year in the union Leader someone commented in I think Stacy Coles' ole column about "500 crows moving along the coast in blizzard like conditions" if I read it right...what is your take on that?
No "recoil"? Then you are doing far better than I!
Last year I was shooting mainly 5 high brass...I hurt for about 3 1/2 days even with the decelerator on...thankful i was but...OUCH!
I recieved an ole' Johnny Stewart mouth call (plastic)...sounds like PS OLts' ole plastic call..a little high pitched is it...I guess anything will do so long as some well known famous guys' name is on it..it'll work though. I just bought it to have it...anyone s' views on it?
Can anyone imagine calling a crow call "PS"? Reminds me of someone saying a "whisper" call or something..sounds ironic....
today.
