new guy here from southwest wy. new to crow shooting and just gathering the necesarry equipment. so far i have binelli supernova 12ga , working on sorting out a good pattern. 12x50 binos. working on getting some kind of blind since theres almost no cover here, theres a few ditches which might work good. bought couple mouth calls which i have no experience so ill have to spend some time to practice. the main question is decoys. is there a prefered decoy that wont break the bank ?
do you guys use a owl decoy in the mix also ? after looking around i can get hardcore brand 4crows and owl to my house for $67 which seems reasonable. ill have a look at boondocker also
-- Edited by cb1975 on Saturday 5th of January 2019 09:00:34 PM
A few points, crows are curious by nature, the most important thing you can do is hide yourself, this trumps all other advice. Flocking is nice but you can shoot a lot of crows over regular plastic decoys (just ask BobA). Don't go too crazy on the quantity of decoys, six will get it done. Learn if the area you are hunting has a period of migration, if so learn when it happens, during a migration you can hunt the same blind day after day and have excellent results because new to the area crows are coming your way on a conveyor belt. Use the best sounds possible from an e-caller, Johnny Stewart sounds remain the gold standard. Practice your wing shooting in the off season, it's more important than your patterns since most successful shots are taken under 35 yards.
i think i called in my first crow today. ive got some decoys on the way but it may be a week or two so i went out to target shoot my gun since i just bought it and has a different feel than my other guns. anyways my crow hand calls showed up last night so i took them also just so i could get to practicing. right when i got to the target shooting area ,i started using the call. not thinking anything would show up, within minutes one crow came over the hill to within 50yds then retreated to about 100yds and circled for a minute and left. probly it was investigating the call i did , even thought it was probly a terrible sound since its my first time using a call. unfortunatly the crow showed up so quick that my gun was still in the truck and i had no camo clothes . soon as the decoys show up i plan to go back to that area. has anyone tried adding in magpie decoys ? if so, did it do any good ?
-- Edited by cb1975 on Monday 7th of January 2019 05:39:57 AM
Seeing the first bird you call in by mouth brings on a special feeling! I can distinctly remember the first time I saw a crow turn and approach due to my calling. I think it goes back to the "Talk to the Animals" theme!
Welcome to the forum and keep learning. This journey will be lots of fun (and a somewhat expensive, if the hook was set properly)!
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
what yardage is most of you guys shooting ? i have a feeling ill be doing a fair amount of long range shots. i forsee 50yds being common mainly because the lack of real good cover and my lack of skills with a call. no heavy brush or trees around here. sage brush is about it. anyways i found another promising hunting spot while at work today and i plan to go there probly in 2weeks. heres a tip ive known for a while and maybe you guys are aware of it. if you know where railroad tracks are then usually alot of crows are there. railcars drop grain which atract crows and other animals get ran over and crows go to the carcass
If you have no cover, you need a good blind. Starting out, my blind was simple...4-6 fence posts with rope strung around the top and camo burlap draped over the rope. That was a start for brushing it with nearby vegetation. This was for a setup w/ decoys vs. running & gunning.
As NH said, you must hide yourself!!!!!!!!! This means full camo, face mask and NO MOTION as they approach! Re-read and commit it to memory!
Good thought on the R.R.’s. No on the magpies as they don’t range near here.
Good Hunting!
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
PP and i have built blinds, used ghillies, layout blinds, the whole 9 yards. My favorite is still run and gun in low pine plantations.
I think part of the fun of it is trying everything you can think of and figuring out what works best for your area, and what type of hunting you enjoy.
