Spent 5 days two weeks ago in South Dakota and did not see a single crow! That gets my "crow" part of this post out of the way as we were after prairie dogs and there was one event that I think is worthy of reporting to the crow crowd!
We hunt several private ranches and all are owned by just super folks that welcome the NC Crow Patrol to help with "dog control". In fact, we have our own "mission patch" that is proudly displayed on our caps: 1st N.C. C.A.D.R.E. That stands for 1st North Carolina Combined Advanced Dog Reduction Element! No one doubts our objective or dedication with that explanation but on to my "event".
We were just entering several dog towns on one of the ranches, when the owner (Dave) came motoring up to us in his 4-wheeler and said " well, I have finally caught you shooting a protective species...an owl". I instantly denied any such action ( he was kidding and grinning as he knows we have never shot anything on his property other than "dogs".. ) and he said he was off to call R.E.A. ( Rural Electric Assoc. ) as he had lost power at his corral that is located about 3/4 mile from his home and right in the middle of our "dog country". Sure enough, there was a large dead owl near the corral. The only owls I have ever seen in S.D. were Burrowing Owls.. small little buggers that can look just like a prairie dog at distance. This was not a Burrowing Owl!
There is a single strand of electric wire from his home leading to the corral that is evidently controlled by a small transformer located on a 20 foot power pole at the corral. We were there till noon but did not see the R.E.A. truck before we left. We returned the next morning to learn more about the loss of power and the owl. Dave told us the REA truck came around 3 pm. Once the guy in the bucket ascended to the transformer, he laughed at what he saw... a dead prairie dog on top of the transformer!! Well, dogs cannot climb or fly to my knowledge but the dog was up there! REA said the owl had grabbed one of our "busted" dogs and had flown on top of the transformer to dine but some part or parts of the prairie dog touched a live wire and zapped the owl. Dead Owl!
Bottom line: it appears Dave was right.. we were indirectly the cause of the owl's demise though in a bizarre fashion! So my question: do we count that shot as a "double"?
I got my first taste of decent crow shooting in South Dakota back in 1965. The town I lived in was right on the Missouri River in Chamberlain. It was a small roost of perhaps 5,000 crows but it was a far cry better than anything I had experienced living in New York State! I went back there in 1991 to hunt sharptails, pheasants and chuckers and never saw a single crow either! So as you can see, "things change"
Bottom line: it appears Dave was right.. we were indirectly the cause of the owl's demise though in a bizarre fashion! So my question: do we count that shot as a "double"?
Skip
I think it is a fine example of a "delayed Dutch double." Also, you could justify the owl's demise as a "good work," in that you prevented the incidence of future...
..."drive-by hootings."
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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
Good report, but I'll volunteer to take the opposing side. Keep in mind, however, that this is only conjectur.
If owls are like hawks (and they are), then they will not take a dead animal. Yes, they might snatch a wounded dog, but in this example that would be impossible because we all know how well you (and people you associate with) can shoot. And to reinforce the point, I've seen the pictures .
Sorry, but my call is a lost pair for the C.A.D.R.E. and a dead pair for R.E.A.
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
I have seen hawks (not owls) eat both wounded and dead crows in the field. Years back I had two different spots where when the hawks could hear the shooting it brought them because they knew they were going to get an easy meal. They were very polite they just sat in the trees until I got done.
My dad used to put 7 chickens in a pen with his Horned Owl that he used as a crow decoy back in the early to mid 1950's. Every week he would put 7 more in the pen and every night there would be one less chicken! The chickens and the owl got along famously until it got dark outside!
It's not illegal but a game warden asked my friend not to tie wounded crows down so for years we did exactly that but in this case the red-tailed hawks didn't bother waiting instead attacking the wounded crow and in fact starting to chow down on the spot!
Red tailed hawks will eat road kill-they used to call that type of hawk a "buzzard" hawk for soaring about like buzzards....said buzzard meaning a vulture particularly the black vulture that soars exactly like a red-tailed hawk or collectively the buteo or soaring hawk species....I believe they no longer call said soaring hawk a hawk anymore but a "buteo"....
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Top Cat Statutes never replaced or rewrote the constitution!
Here totally illegal to tie down birds, leave wounded birds running about, or use electronic calls
Different laws, different places, even in the UK they differ massively.
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
The people running this country have no idea about what is going on on the streets of America or the fields for that matter and yet they got it all figured out and are all too willing to tell you all about it.....they'll run for office quite frankly blind as a bat regarding the aforementioned...but they'll write all these laws and drive up taxes because they just "know"....sounds by the way by different "supervisors" s so there we have it it is world wide...the utterly stupid ones are pulling all the levers...and we get to try and understand their huge mess....and motives...on another note; if they ever allowed true honest voting in this country there would be no way in hell we'd get the kind of pathetic corrupt criminals running and ruining the show.
Little gets any better-it always get worst and we are told how "great" it is...!
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Top Cat Statutes never replaced or rewrote the constitution!
