I was looking for advise on decoy bags the other day and I figured since these things are designed and used by waterfowlers that they would have plenty of experience with these and know what's good and what's not. Wow was I ever amazed at how quickly it turned into them trying to belittle our sport. But fear not. I had the pleasure of dropping knowledge bombs on them and having links for references they could confirm everything with. I guess the old stereotype is right. Waterfowlers are stuck up and look down on other wingshooters. They where even trying to justify ground swatting since "it's just a dumb dirty crow" and trying to tell me how easy it is to hubt crow. Some of them though did seem to actually be interested in the information I presented and had actual questions about it.
If you have the occasion to speak with these ignorant folks, and you might, be patient and explain how popping one crow is the equivalent of saving a nest full of ducklings (that our adversaries enjoy eating). You could also throw in songbirds (eggs), newborn helpless mammals and even the duck hunters; tell them Bro Crow would peck their eyes out given the chance. Also ask them if a duck can turn on a dime to avoid your shot. I'm no duck shooter, and am often wrong, but every ducky video I've ever seen shows them coming in straight and predictable. Now, wouldn't that be nice if our crows took predictable flight paths?
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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
When getting the "funny look" from a duck or other hunter, I find it helpful to show him/her a picture or two of a good day hunting.
After they see a picture of 100+ neatly lined-up crows in front of a blind, the tide quickly changes and the "Tell me more!" comments start heading my way. When they hear of how smart the birds are and how spooky they are, then they begin to realize crow hunting puts their efforts to shame, particularly when they remember the limits on ducks or geese.
Add to it the part about helping the farmers to get their crops in with minimal damage and most people have a much better understanding of what crow hunting is all about.
Keep up the good work on educating people to the joys and benefits of hunting with guns!
Demi
-- Edited by Island Shooter on Thursday 17th of September 2015 07:44:48 PM
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
I may be the exception to all those so called "nasty duck hunters". I work for Ducks Unlimited Canada and have been duck hunting since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I took up crow hunting several years ago for the very reasons mentioned above. I've seen first hand how many nests are destroyed by crows in the spring and I do my best to drop as many as I can!
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Saving duck and turkey nests bustin' crows one at a time!
I may be the exception to all those so called "nasty duck hunters". I work for Ducks Unlimited Canada and have been duck hunting since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I took up crow hunting several years ago for the very reasons mentioned above. I've seen first hand how many nests are destroyed by crows in the spring and I do my best to drop as many as I can!
You, sir, are not among the ignorant mentioned above. You get it, big time.
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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
If I am having dinner after hunting and am in camo in a restaurant here is what I say. If they ask "what are you hunting" I just tell them "I'm hunting for a good restaurant to eat at" if that does not do it I just say I'm hunting pigeons or coyotes, anything but crows! The only time I show photos is to the land owners, no other hunters, loose lips and photos sink ships!
Bob, you moved West to a more friendly place. Fortunately for us Down South, most people still understand the culture and value of hunting. Still, I don't normally show pictures to non-hunters.
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
Nobody hunts crows around my part of the world and I like it that way! Game warden once approached me and I told him what I was up to . Said he was in the business for 18 years and had never once come across another shooting crows.
Ted
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Life's tough... It's even tougher if you're stupid. John Wayne
I hope it stays that way for you for years to come.
I was mentioning to Demi that when some one asks me what I am hunting I just say pigeons or coyotes, I keep the crow hunting on a very low profile in my areas. If I am hunting close to a road I pick up all the crows and get them out of sight; plus shoot any dead crows out of the trees that passer bye's might notice in there cars. If a guy has a good thing going it's wise to not bring attention to yourself!
Two weeks ago we had opening day for Dove.. On my way home from the Dove field I stopped by the local grocery for some items.. I still had my Mossay oak cammo shirt on and my hands and the front part of my deserst color pants were blood stained from dove blood.. the young girl at the register said hello and have you been hunting? I said yes. She said deer? I said no, dove... I had people behind me and both registers on either side had people.. All listening.. Then she said "did you catch any?" I had my Blackberry in my left hand acting like I was looking at some text or something and then I looked around at everyone and they were all waiting on my reply.. I paused, looked at my blood stained hands and pants and then looked at her and said yes, a few.. Everyone, around buried their faces back into their smart phones.. I couldn't wait to get outside to bust into laughter..
I get that every time I run into a game warden-the look on their faces is priceless! Mouth drops eyes wide open....and the :"I never met a crow hunter in my life"...then they just inspect our licenses...alone I never run into one though,...i make sure of that. How so? ? You go where you won't be seen for starters and no chance except by another hunter!
A sporting goods dealer asked me what I am going to hunt for? I asked do you really want to know? And I told her and she just stared a bit stunned..she and her hubby had photographs on the shops' walls of them with turkeys and a Grizzly bear and along i come even though I was a familiar face...something I won't talk about...I have been asked: "where do you go(?)" Given the sad state of affairs in this county...I say:"Up North"...and that's the end of it...
There was this local farm that used to have quite a number of crows but over the years it was just too popular-too many doing it. Unfortunately you could see it from the road with ease plus the dump was full of activity before it opened and especially on Sunday and most people knew it! Then Field and Stream mentioned an area was full of crows. ironically it was great news but as i was to learn later others knew too but at the time it was so populated it didn't matter...the farm kept their interest. I don't mind traveling a little ways an hour or what have we but most do not and i saw one ex-crow shooter with his cassette player up for sale...how ironic. I doubt he sold it though...maybe someone new wants to try it out and happy with one crow will do nicely...
On another note no one was getting any crows back then in the 70s either-they were there though. No one knew how to get any! I was getting them in but not hitting many for the numbers i saw...pretty pathetic...14 on my "big" day and it was very very frustrating! Crows of 5-20 kept coming over and i missed often leaving the field with 4 empty boxes of ammunition and little to show for it ironically they were so close for starters the spread could not have been bigger than a golf ball and the lead way too much!
The bottom line is don't make this kind of mistake-try to get out there where no one else will notice you whether its' hikers or dog walkers...stinks to walk out there half a mile but sometimes peace of mind is everything!
We've been visited by game wardens on a few occasions. With all the shooting going on, sometimes outside of the dove season, the wardens are anxious to make a major bust. When they finally get to the blind and decoy layout they roll their eyes and then hang their heads knowing that it is a legitimate hunt... No fines to write up.
And when you encounter a game warden as a legal hunter it's always a good occasion, usually with great conversations. They are all in favor of (by the book) hunting.
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
I keep my mouth shut as well. I never run in to anybody shooting crows. I dont post anything on Face Book. I never shoot the birds close enough to duck or goose hunters as to mess them up or flare any birds off of them. Good way to get your tires cut around here. I go out do my thing and go home. Guys that know me and know what I'm doing just chuckle when I say I had a good day. I love that! They don't need to know what they are missing. To many idiots out there with fat wallets that claim to be experts at everything they do...
I keep my mouth shut as well. Lose lips sink ships! I don't talk about crow hunting to anyone but my hunting partner and on this website. Too many crow hunters means nobody gets nothing!
I keep my mouth shut as well. Lose lips sink ships! I don't talk about crow hunting to anyone but my hunting partner and on this website. Too many crow hunters means nobody gets nothing!
I am the other way with it. I want this sport to grow so I talk to everyone I can about it and take anyone who wants to go. We are in no way going to run out of crow. More people hunt deer in the US then anything but I still shoot a couple every year. Got a nice 12 pointer last year. They might be making the crow smarter and more call shy but that just means we would have to adapt and change our tactics. Thats just how I look at it.
My old crow hunting mentor Boyd Robeson used to be a die in the wool duck hunter (so was I, I lived to hunt ducks) before an old man took him on a crow hunt when he was in his early 30's. All the old man used was a hand held mouth call and a stuffed Great Horned Owl as a decoy. When Boyd got a taste of that type of action he sold his duck boat and decoys and just hunted crows from that point on! He used to go to Saskatchewan every year like my partner Dick does to hunt ducks & geese but once the crow hunting got in his blood he never hunted anything but crows after that. His first crow hunt was in 1958 before they had e-callers so he learned to use a hand call for crows.
When I first started hunting with Boyd after I moved out here he told me something that I will never forget; he said "Bob, the crow hunting will ruin you for anything else" and that was certainly true in my case.
Gearly picked up that quote from me and I picked it up from Boyd Robeson "too many crow hunters means nobody gets nothing!"
That is exactly what happened at the old dairy farm a couple miles up the road!!! Too many hunting the crow and out there almost every single day!! And nobody was not only getting almost none but the crows were now avoiding the entire area!
These types of hunters are human scare crows but in this case the farmer would welcome them in spring!
This is another reason the crow season rots here....let the weather determine the "end" of the season but bad winters do drive them out generally....and the Fish and game has no idea how to hunt them or where to go! It should be all winter long in my view; fall and winter...and SPRING oh btw....but it will never happen as it's all about fish and deer in this state not that it isn't more dramatic regarding that in other states...this means look at Michigan or maine when the crows are not shot during migration! I well imagine it's because of deer season. It certainly is true in Oklahoma where no crow shooting is allowed in one month of the fall-I don't know when and then the crow season resumes right afterwards!
Half the people I run into afield didn't know it was legal; and unfortunately they see my set up and all my techniques and ever so gradually the hunting there greatly goes down the tubes..
in days gone by when chicken farming as huge so this means the early 1900s[?] the accipiter hawks[fast hawks whose primary prey were largely birds particularly in winter.] were a huge problem as were the fox and similair, the bob cat, the lynx, wolves what have we? but the crow seems to have replaced all these predators during the day regarding anyone who leaves their chickens out in example or ducks or geese...where their baby birds would be at risk. During this time farmers would go to the tops of hills and await the huge flights of the day in early fall with shotguns as then these hawks and others were quite common then-not like today-except for me here a pair nest near by and frequently hunt the birds I feed in winter...!
Also in that day of the chicken farms the soaring or buzzard hawks would feed on the rats and mice but frequently received the farmers' wrath who believed this type of hawk was killing his fowl-not the real culprits the woods dwelling bird eating hawks like the sharp-shinned, the coopers and goshawk....! Anyways, so much for history past. I would have loved to have seen thos ehuge hawk flights. Today huge kettles are only made up of the crow sized broad winged hawk.
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