True, never missed once... Because it has only been two weeks since my neck surgery. The doctors don’t want me to even lift my gun, much less shoot it!
The farmer of the same dove field we shot last month (41 killed) called me the day before surgery, so I put him off until I felt strong enough to set up my blind for the landowner and a friend of his. I would act as their guide.
The Darrell & Daryal calls, FoxPro, FF5 flapper and decoys did a good job bringing in the crows. I wish I could say the same for the shooters...one was sporting a 20 gauge side-by-side and both had their misses and struggled with anything beyond 25 yds. They did manage a couple of great shots which did made for an enjoyable morning.
We ended up with 14 birds down, but most flew off over a nearby thicket before they bled out. If I had been shooting with my friend who accompanied me last time, the body count would have been closer to 25.
It was a fun morning and, although I couldn’t shoot, it was well worth the effort. I should be back to shooting crows and clays by mid-September. Can’t wait!!
We ended up with 14 birds down, but most flew off over a nearby thicket before they bled out.
Demi
Since you were observing what do you think was the cause of that; most birds not centered in the pattern, too small a shot size, not enough choke for the range of the shot or taking shots at birds too far away?
As someone who has stood behind lots of shooters of all skill levels and who has also instructed on many occasions, a primary reason for misses is looking at the barrel rather than the bird. If your eyes come back to the bead/barrel, the gun stops and you miss behind. That was the case this morning for both shooters.
In one case a crow flew over and as the hunter was mounting, I said “look for his eye!” When he shot without being distracted by the bead, that crow came to the ground pedaling an imaginary bicycle! “Sky Walkers” are an indication of a head shot.
IMHO, shot size, choke, ammo speed, etc. are secondary to barrel placement. Best barrel placement comes with a consistent gun mount and a total focus on the target.
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
As someone who has stood behind lots of shooters of all skill levels and who has also instructed on many occasions, a primary reason for misses is looking at the barrel rather than the bird. If your eyes come back to the bead/barrel, the gun stops and you miss behind. That was the case this morning for both shooters.
In one case a crow flew over and as the hunter was mounting, I said “look for his eye!” When he shot without being distracted by the bead, that crow came to the ground pedaling an imaginary bicycle! “Sky Walkers” are an indication of a head shot.
IMHO, shot size, choke, ammo speed, etc. are secondary to barrel placement. Best barrel placement comes with a consistent gun mount and a total focus on the target.
Demi
I agree, but you said these were not misses, they had been hit and flew off.
I thought I was missing or something too as the crows would oddly glide off across the river or once in a blue moon glide face first into the side of a tree then drop like a rock!! Ten Gauge told me these were lung shots...verrrry interesting! Now I was using fives that one day..high brass...caught me by surprise too!!
You are right, Pete. I didn’t answer your question. The gliders were mostly ones that had been shot in the tail, but picked up a pellet or two in the lungs.
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
You are right, Pete. I didn’t answer your question. The gliders were mostly ones that had been shot in the tail, but picked up a pellet or two in the lungs.
Demi
Just wondering what your analysis was because you seemed to indicate it was a high percentage of the birds hit flew off and that is not the norm. I thought there had to be a reason(s).
A20 can be a decent crow killer in the right hands. Have to know its limitations and the rest. My son kills crows all evening long with 7/8 ounce of lead 7 1/2 or 8 shot. I'd say you had a couple novice crow shooter there Demi. Heal up fast!
Ted
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Life's tough... It's even tougher if you're stupid. John Wayne
Ted from 1974 to 1990 I shot the first 50,000 crows almost exclusively with a pair of Winchester model 12's and model 870 Remington 20 gauges with the 7/8th ounce load of # 8's. Boyd Robeson and I shot 859 crows in one day using the 20 gauge guns back in December of 1982. Here is a photo from November of 2000 where I shot 506 in one spot with a 20 gauge Remington model 870 Wing Master. There are 386 in the photo as I went back the next morning to setup this photo and the coyotes had already consumed over a hundred of my crows just over night.
