Not wanting Dale, Demi, Bob and the rest of you to have all the fun I spent last Sunday scouting and Monday shooting. The days were almost carbon copies of each other. The crows acted the same as well. After some miserable weather this fall, the last few days have been beautiful. Rarely can a guy hunt in December when it’s this nice.
The forecast was for the day to dawn calm and clear, with the temperature in the upper twenties. Wind was to be almost negligible out of the WNW with a high in the mid to upper forties. The forecast held true and our biggest difficulty was the sun in mid-morning.
The first several groups to come in were large in number (10-15, sometimes more) and rather high. They seemed wary and a lot of the shots were tough. After about a half hour the groups were smaller and they decoyed better. We had steady action into the noon hour. Things slowed considerably after that but the shots we got were good. We did have several times when flocks of 30+ would come in strung out. The first couple would die while the rest left educated. One way or another, the black devils figure a way to cheat a guy of some shooting. The last two that came in were singles. We tacked them on to our total and called it a day at about 3:30. Some pictures are attached.
I have to agree with Mr. Crowalski , I realy like your blind set up. Great camo & tucked in back against that burm. You make it look easy Randy, one day of scouting then one day of shooting. With a good number of birds. I'm curious how far from home did you have to travel to find that location ? Paul.
Nice work, Randy! And a very good report as well. I can see why the sun was a problem...no leaves on any tree in sight anywhere. You overcame the obstacle nicely, however.
As they say, "The only thing that happens without a plan is an accident!" You made the plan, then worked it to a successful conclusion.
One question: Were the 30+ groups made up of fish crows or commons? Those fish crows like to travel in large groups.
Demi
__________________
The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
I have to agree with Mr. Crowalski , I realy like your blind set up. Great camo & tucked in back against that burm. You make it look easy Randy, one day of scouting then one day of shooting. With a good number of birds. I'm curious how far from home did you have to travel to find that location ? Paul.
Hey Paul,
I already knew there would be crows. The recon day was just making sure of numbers and planning the ambush. We needed to be there in time to see the AM flight and locate feeding areas. Conditions wouldn't allow us to drive where we needed to be, so spent considerable time trying to find a suitable blind location. Hoped we had things figured out by 3PM. We are between "official" seasons here in Iowa so we were on the road. Its not as easy as it may seem, but it sure is fun.
Nice work, Randy! And a very good report as well. I can see why the sun was a problem...no leaves on any tree in sight anywhere. You overcame the obstacle nicely, however.
As they say, "The only thing that happens without a plan is an accident!" You made the plan, then worked it to a successful conclusion.
One question: Were the 30+ groups made up of fish crows or commons? Those fish crows like to travel in large groups.
Demi
Demi,
We're too far north for fish crows. I don't think I've ever seen one. If I do, I'm contacting the fish crow expert, a guy who calls himself "Island Shooter", to find out how to hunt them.
Many years ago (1965) I shot a fish crow that must have been lost in South Dakota on a crow hunt.
The crow hunting around Newton was ok but not great. On a very good day you could shoot anywhere between 135 to 150 crows. I hunted up there and around Holdridge Nebraska back in the 1980's. Holdridge was much better by far in my opinion. Boyd Robeson and I shot over 600 crows one afternoon by Elm Creek Nebraska along the Platte River. That was 18 miles from the roost at Funk Nebraska and all we used in those days were 20 gauge model 12 Winchester pump guns. You didn't need a 12 bore in those days all the birds were soft!
Many years ago (1965) I shot a fish crow that must have been lost in South Dakota on a crow hunt_BobA.
What is weird is I saw a photograph of identified fish crows in a big group of around a hundred or so on Nantucket(?) from Massachussettes; and prior to that years ago one report one seen and recently I heard of a small group of 40 in the Manchester area!!!(NH).
They seem to be turning up almost anywhere their larger cousins-the common crow-frequent! Not so odd however is in the crow shooting video "Black in Black"(?) from I think Alabama you can hear a small bunch of Fish Crows coming over with their weird "UH-UH" calls or how ever you might say it. I know the Fish crow call and it's no big deal -just go to youtube...type in Fish Crow. Weird call huh?
Last weekend I had a run in with fish crows, and yes, they are more difficult to deal with in all respects. My limited knowledge being the main problem. They won’t come in “hell bent” like a common crow, in my experience. They will show more reserve approaching your set and there will be a bunch of them.
Anyways Killer, that’s my 2 cents.
__________________
"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be wise enough to be crows." Thoreau.
Last weekend I had a run in with fish crows, and yes, they are more difficult to deal with in all respects. My limited knowledge being the main problem. They won’t come in “hell bent” like a common crow, in my experience. They will show more reserve approaching your set and there will be a bunch of them.
Anyways Killer, that’s my 2 cents.
I appreciate it. I am sure Fish Crows were causing trouble amongst the rare shore birds in Marthas' Vineyard ( a far left wing Demeroid strong hold of political anti-constitutional activism and a hot bed of AIDS epidemic) and not necessarily the Common crow who will certainly unquestionably do so.
Question: Do Fish Crows group up as soon as the young leave the nest? Around here August the common crows start gathering together even before the coming Black Plague of Autumn from the Canadas...
-- Edited by killer Crowalski on Sunday 23rd of December 2018 05:21:44 AM
