Am I the only one who thinks it's odd that you have to mail in a $10 payment to get the membership? I love crow hunting and this is a great website for it. But why don't they accept electronic payment for the membership? It's accepted for the crowmart store. Crow hunting seems to be growing even if it's not as fast as predator hunting it still growing none the less. I think they would get more memberships if this was updated. And how about some tutorial videos? I did a lot of searching before I found this site and it's a shame that there isn't more offered in that regard. I didn't know it at the time but there are a LOT of bad information on crow hunting "how to". And if we want our sport to grow why wouldn't we want to make it easier for people to have access to things like the membership and better guides and more videos? Does crow busters have a field staff? How about a section on the forum for people looking for hunts? I would be more then happy to take someone with me if they are in Kentucky or passing through (at no charge of course). Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Yeah I have watched some of them. I haven't seen any that really address a set up itself and why the set up is the way it is. Maybe you all are like me as in knowing why you are setting up the way you are is just as important as knowing how to set up. Maybe something that shows what to look for when doig a feeding set and soft calling anf what to expect vs setting up a fighting set and hard calling. I had to learn the old fashion way that hard calling brings them in fast and high.
I am in central Kentucky. I live is Madison County now but all my family is in Harrison. Harrison is where I do all my hunting other then crow. When I say come in high I don't mean higher then my shotgun will reach just it's a good chuck higher then when I soft call. Most of my shots they come in slow and are maybe 20-25 yards off the ground. But if I use crow fight they come in fast and circle at around 35-40 yards. That's really pushing my reach with an IC. I have an IM I am gonna try thus year though. As far as pressure goes I don't know how much they get but I rarely meet anyone else who crow hunts. That does work out good for me though since it's SUPER easy to find places to hunt.
If you look at the 4th film clip you will see the decoys in back (up wind) of the blind. This is so you can draw the birds in closer to the blind for a good shot.
In the second film clip I have the decoys out in front of the blind. I was on top of a bluff and there was only one tree. I could not put the decoys in back of me because there was no embankment just thin air! So I put them in front because that is the only place I could put the blind. It still worked well with hard calling because these birds did not have much hunting pressure on them. Ryan & I shot over 200 on that shoot.
__________________
To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
So I guess all wing shooting should be with birds coming into the wind then. Maybe that will help me. I have only paid attention to how well I was hidden and laying my decoys out so that there was an inviting open space lined up with my blind. Seemed to work out well just not as productive and I am wanting. I have had a few times using crow fight that I was able to take 4-5 birds before they all took off. What can you do to keep then around longer? Is there a given amount of time you wait for them to circle before you start shooting? Last year I heard a crow fight 2 hills over so I switched to it and about 75 birds came in at once from that hill. I screwed it up by shooting the first bird as soon as it was in range and they all turned and left as soon as I did.
You bet have the birds "down wind" from your position when calling them.
In regard to trying to keep them around longer I would not frustrate yourself in trying to keep them around longer because once the shooting starts they are out of there!
What you need to do is find an area where they are not coming in mobs (75 at a time) and are spread out so they come in just a few at a time. This can be in either a feeding situation or a flyway shoot, mobs are no good because you wise up to many at once! If you will notice in all of my film clips it's just one, two or three birds coming at one time most of the time.
If they are high but killable when circling just take your best shot that is all you can do in my opinion.
__________________
To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
When I am doing a feeding set and soft calling usually over a sunflower field they will come in 2-3 at a time. Only issue is while they are coming in 2 more are making the approach also but still well out of range and when I shoot those leave before they make it. They seems to come from all directions fairly often. This is early in the morning until about 10-11 am. After that it's seems dead and I just leave. Maybe hard calling just isn't going to be for me or I will save it for the late morning in and see if that will pull some more in.
When you said that it is a problem when you had 2 or 3 coming in and then have perhaps 2 more 100 yards further down wind. When you shoot you don't get a shot at the other 2 that were 100 yards down wind they just take off.
Many times (provided the crows don't have much hunting pressure) I have killed crows in a field setup that were way down wind like the birds you mentioned. If the crows 100 yards down wind do not know where the shooting came from and did not spot you they will come over for a look with a good fighting or distress call.
Pay close attention to my film clips because you will see birds still coming in after some of the close crows have already been shot. That is because I was well hidden and the crows did not know where the shots came from!
__________________
To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
I kill birds out of consecutive groups frequently. If you see multiple groups headed in your direction nicely spaced out, just be sure to make your shots count.
Seems like if you only shoot one time, you'll only spook the birds on top of you and the birds 100 yards or more away will still come in. Seems like if you shoot 2 times or more at the group on top of you, the group downrange will flare away. If the wind is heavy then you can get away with a lot more noise before they flare.
This is a scenario where it is nice to be hunting by yourself. You can take a bird you know you can hit, pull a 1 shot-1 kill, and still get shooting at the next group. If you are hunting with a partner there are multiple shots at most groups.
That has been my experience anyway.
This is also why I think a fella hunting solo can ALMOST kill as many as a pair of shooters. I think the advantage will always go to the pair of shooters but that assumes some things. I have been on a couple decent shoots where I was certain I could have killed more solo. Im curious to see Bob's thoughts on this topic.
One guy who can shoot can (in most cases) kill as many crows as two guys who can shoot. The only exception to that is when the shooting is as fast as you can keep the guns loaded. In those rare situations Dick & I or Jerry & I would shoot together because there were anywhere from 3 to 6 crows or more that were with in 25 yards of the blind. These are the shoots where you kill a lot of crows with in 3 to 3 1/2 hours on a good flyway shoot in the late afternoon. The last one I had with Dick was several seasons back where we shot 585 crows with in several hours of steady shooting. We split the blind in half and no matter what happens each guy stays to his side during the afternoon shoot. You have your own shooting window that you shoot crows in and you don't go outside that window!
__________________
To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
Good wingshooting partners are hard to come by!...as you know.
I generally do not feel handicapped by running solo.
I did have one 300 bird solo hunt last fall where I caught myself saying "man, I need a partner." I was letting a few birds get by me because I couldnt keep the gun loaded at all times. But, that was only for about 45 minutes, I was able to keep up with the birds for the rest of the hunt.
My dad retired this spring so he'll probably be coming along on most of my travels this year. Im pretty sure you'll see him again this fall.
There are three little gals (two twins 13 years old and one other sister 12 years old) that I have taken under my wing. I've known them for the past 2 to 3 years now. They would always hide my chewing tobacco when over at the house. Finally I just quit about 3 months ago, but I chew a lot of gum now.
I enjoy hunting alone, so does Dick.
__________________
To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
It was so funny the other day, I was having Kylie (one of the twins) drive my pickup down this gravel road and we swung by the old crow roost! She can do 3 point u turns in my pickup now! Anyway the funny part was when we stopped at the gate of this nudist camp and you couldn't see any of the nudists, they were way back in the timber. She asked me why anyone would want to walk around with out any clothes on ? I said "you love to drive my pickup, well they like to walk around with no clothes on" I said it's all what you like to do.
The next day we took Jada the 12 year old with us and she got to drive as well but is much more timid than Kylie in the driving department. We stopped at an old friends house way out in the sticks and he invited the girls to pick a mess of tomatoes, bell peppers, cantelope and hot peppers. The girls love the horses at my friends place. He still has one of the mares that used to walk around with my soft covered gun case if I left it to close to the fence if she could get to it. I used to hunt crows on this guys place over 30 years ago when they were still in Hutchinson.
__________________
To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
Lots of crows eh? how many did you kill in Hutchinson? that's good A+ on teaching the driving...uumm"Nudist camp"? I wouldn't dare go out anywhere below the mason dixon line let alone your area nude! Mighty brave folks them thar' nature folks!
never heard of any around here but I imagine they could be anywhere..."West Nile Virus" and all that!
Incredible!
I've been around the country(what a laugh-didn't really see much of the crows going to roost except in those two areas I mentioned before-i will say Southern California some where though) but in an eighteen wheeler you really cannot see beyond the trees and valleys so to speak but you do see a lot...rather i got out and looked around a little but just to see the birds, not really caring to see anything else (don't care too much for venomous snakes or grizzly bears and rowdy moose and bison!) basically if I was riding around...what i saw of Kansas was whatever lay along I-70 is it? So not much of anything! None the less worth the experience...and you are doing a fantastic job being a man figure in your little girls' lives so I salute you!
Jada the youngest girl (12 years old) hunts birds in my backyard with a BB gun! She gets frustrated because the birds don't hold still long enough for her to get a shot off! All three of them like to shoot tin cans in the backyard.
From 1974 to 1990 I shot a little over 50,000 crows between Medora, St. John and Wichita. Those were good days, it was all local hunting in those days.
The first photo is of little Jada at the house, she is the one who "wants to kill birds"
The second photo is of a day trip visiting an old Spanish fort built in 1541 out here in Kansas!
The last photo is of them toasting marsh mellows in the fireplace after dinner at my house.
