After a fun Thanksgiving with my wife and the two (grown) kids, we were preparing for a laid-back afternoon on Sunday after church...until we heard some fish crows outside.
Grabbing our shotguns and running out to the driveway, my son and I turned on the Foxpro to get the action started!
Over the next hour or so, three or four good flights that were heading to roost were diverted our way. Because we had quickly scrambled outside, we were caught short with no camo and minimal shells on hand. With no blinds or good cover, we simply stood under trees on either side of our vehicles parked in the driveway. In spite of the distractions, the Foxpro did its magic and we were able to bring down a total of 45 crows...all but one were fish crows. The single common crow was tagged during a lull when he tried to sneak in to steal nuts from some nearby pecan trees.
Three or four landed in a nearby pond and a few more were "dead but lost" in the nearby woods as the sun was about to set and darkness was approaching. One falling crow hit my wife's car, but because it was my son's shot, she did not get upset...especially after he washed the car to remove the evidence.
It was a great way to end a nice Thanksgiving weekend!
Don't believe you have any of these in Canada. The fish crow generally hangs around the coastal states from Eastern Texas to Florida then continuing up to about Rhode Island. Yes, these crows are a different breed...different voice, maybe 20% smaller than the common crow and different habits. Where we are they hang out in larger numbers than the commons, fly higher and are more wary.
Fish crows have been a hard nut for me to crack, but I'm gaining on them. Beyond being thin skinned, one weakness they have is that they will rally over/around dead or wounded brethren more than usual. So if you can get one down on the ground the job becomes easier. It helps to be able to hit a (very) high bird or two in order to "prime the pump" and get the others down to a lower altitude.
Sorry for the long answer to a short question.
Demi
-- Edited by Island Shooter on Monday 30th of November 2015 06:53:08 PM
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
Way to go!! We shot an orchard on Friday that had a fair amount of "Fish Crows."
Your right about hanging up high.. I missed the first two shots in two groups on some high hanging fissh crows and then I put in a mod choke ( was using LM) and (always number 6's), and took out one from +50 yds..
Then we had a group staying up close to the road and I walked up and killed another one.. and then they started circling..I killed another one..
Walk out your door and bust crows, I'm all in! Sounds like y'all had a great afternoon and it's good to here you gaining an edge on the fish crows. They give us fits at times and when they show up seems like our regular crows take a break till they leave. We've killed some but can't do much with them. Anyway Congrats enjoyed the Home Hunt.
Me and the boys were getting bored. So, we fired up the caller in the yard and killed 45 crows in about an hour. No big deal. I went inside and ate more pie. The end.
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lol, that is simply a dream for most Demi! Good work! Thanks for sharing the experience & photo with us.
BH
PS - hope the high altitude crow didnt dent Momma's car. :)
Got a good laugh from your reply. Yes, we were lucky and it is one big advantage of living in the country. I guess it is also a result of my being lazy!! Should have taken the time to build a blind, etc.
The car is fine...it hit the rear view mirror and tainted the door & fender, but no harm. I hesitated to post this picture initially due to the graphic content. Guess it is no worse than those finger & toe shots on another thread.
While the lawn darts are close to the top, my very favorite are the ones that skwak as they come down. The only way it could be better would be if black smoke billowed out of their tailpipe as they headed for the dirt!!
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
While the lawn darts are close to the top, my very favorite are the ones that skwak as they come down. The only way it could be better would be if black smoke billowed out of their tailpipe as they headed for the dirt!! Demi
Hmmmmm. Incendiary 7 1/2s? I like it. Proximity fuzes would be even better.
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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
