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Island Shooter


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Who Says Summer Is Not For Crow Hunts???
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Recently the phone call I was dreaming about came in!  The guy on the other end said they had a crow problem and he needed my help...not the first call of it's kind, but this one was different.  He wasn't talking about a dove field or pecan orchard.  It was relative to the Clemson University Experiment Station in Charleston...on Savannah Highway, almost downtown!  The facility is know as the Coastal Research & Education Center and I have passed it every day for about 40 years while coming in to work and have often wondered if they are bothered by the crows I've seen frequenting the property.  Website: http://www.clemson.edu/public/rec/coastal/  Yes, they do have crows and no, they don't like them!!  The most recent problem is crows destroying watermelons as they ripen. 

Discussing the problem, I mentioned that we might have a problem with hunting so close to town.  The city has grown up around the property and they even have a greenway trail (that bikers, hikers and birdwatchers frequent) which cuts through the middle of the property.  I was told there would be no problem as they have a blanket permit to eradicate nuisance animals and shoot &/or trap deer, raccoons, possums, etc. regularly. 

After a short visit and tour of the property, the crow population/problem appeared to be light, but I wanted to "break the ice" on hunting here, so we laid out a plan to build a blind and hunt on a Saturday morning when the facility is somewhat dormant.  I showed up and met Brian Ward (see video on website) who wanted to join the hunt.  Brian may be a PHD and researcher, but he loves to hunt and is a great shot.

As expected, the hunting was slow but we killed every single crow that came in...a total of seven.  That is not a lot, but the good news is that they want to stay in touch with me to keep the population trimmed back, including hunting over their peanuts in September when they have hundreds of crows to contend with!

It was an interesting morning and I learned a lot about farming and now will forever have a smile on my face as I pass by the facility twice a day!

Here are a few pictures.  The blind is behind the two of us (we lost 3 crows in the thick vines mostly because it was too hot to worry about them). 

Demi

 

 



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boba


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Gordon Krause has a photo of a quarter section (160 acres) of watermelons and the crows got them all! I will have to look at some of the old articles written because I think one of those photos is in there. Gordon, Doug and I were averaging over 200 birds a day in that area. When and if I find the photo I will get back with you.

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Bob Aronsohn
boba


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Demi if you are interested I found the photo, it is in the Beginner Articles section under the headline "Hunting with a Living Legend" If you look close you can see the crows sitting on top of the irrigation system for that quarter section of ground.


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Bob Aronsohn
Island Shooter


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Yup, that irrigation system is loaded with crows!  Nice article.

Demi



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Old Artilleryman


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I never would have thought of it--watermelons being ravished by bandits. I'm going to ask around for our local watermelon farmers!

Also, you scored big-time in (1) getting an academic institution to invite you to hunt their property and (2) getting close to the city population and especially the "bird watchers," and (3) helping out the reputation of hunters and gun owners in general. Great work!

Hat's off! clap.gif



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Butch


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These have to be "Educated Crows. biggrin

 

Butch



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Big Honkers


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Hi I-S,

Nice article & photos. Enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!

You must be building a reputation for yourself. Thumbs up.

...and killing every bird into the decoys is never easy. Good work!

BH

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Island Shooter


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BH, Thanks for the reply. A couple of points: First, a string of 7 "thuds" is not that spectacular, but it is great fun to get them all. Re: The reputation, it is in part that, unlike some, I will brag and tell others about the sport. Pretty quickly word gets around and all of a sudden, the calls start coming in from all sides from people who have crow problems. It has taken a few years, but it is finally paying dividends. Demi

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Elkhunter


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I had a farmer call me back in August of 2000 about crows hitting his peanut field. Dang it was hot that day. But, we did pick up 83. I have no doubt I could do that more often but did I mention it was HOT! LOL



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Island Shooter


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Update on the shoot at Clemson Station... I just came back from a lunch that they hosted at the farm for our S.C. Agricultural Society of which I am a member.  All of the Clemson personnel who helped coordinate the hunt and farm the watermelons attended and were anxious to talk about the crow removal service. 

Before we hunted, they planted melons (on raised beds covered with plastic) in a field where they had grown peanuts last year.  They said that they had to lay plastic down three time due to the crows pecking and pulling the plastic to get at last year's peanuts from under the plastic! 

After we hunted, they took our dead crows and spaced them around the farm, tying them to sticks above the watermelon vines in order to scare other crows away. 

It was reported that after suffering major crop damage, we hunted one morning and the damaged to the melons plummeted to near-zero levels!  This allowed them to harvest the rest of their crop without blemished and damaged melons. They were extremely happy and I was told that they would DEFINETLY be calling again as soon as they see any future crop damage.

Today's lunch included sandwiches, sliced tomatoes, sweet corn and watermelon.  The watermelon slices I ate had an unusually sweet flavor to them! 

Demi



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M12Shooter


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Heat and humidity, wood ticks, poison ivy, hoards of mosquitoes, black flies... make for a less than pleasant hunting experience. Still, I enjoy getting out for a bit of run and gun during the summer months. Even just shooting half dozen bandits makes for a pleasant dose of needed "crowzac" in the off season!

Ted

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Old Artilleryman


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M12Shooter wrote:

Heat and humidity, wood ticks, poison ivy, hoards of mosquitoes, black flies... make for a less than pleasant hunting experience. Still, I enjoy getting out for a bit of run and gun during the summer months. Even just shooting half dozen bandits makes for a pleasant dose of needed "crowzac" in the off season!

Ted

 "Crowzak" -- good one. My wife appreciated that one.biggrin



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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

 

 
M12Shooter


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Old Artilleryman wrote:
M12Shooter wrote:

Heat and humidity, wood ticks, poison ivy, hoards of mosquitoes, black flies... make for a less than pleasant hunting experience. Still, I enjoy getting out for a bit of run and gun during the summer months. Even just shooting half dozen bandits makes for a pleasant dose of needed "crowzac" in the off season!

Ted

 "Crowzak" -- good one. My wife appreciated that one.biggrin

 That one was coined by Sir Skip Woody...

Ted



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Redditch


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Spring, summer, and Autumn are the main times for crow hunting here, along with pigeon and rabbit. Winter is foxes and wildfowling (ducks) time
When harvests are being done, and new fields planted, that's when the crows are hot here, and when we take them in large. Numbers every day we can (when it's not chucking it down with rain, as then they stay hidden in the forests )

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