This makes the second time that i've had a Hawk come swooping down & attack my greenhead gear decoy. Both times the decoy was knocked off it's spike & rattled around making that hollow plastic sound while the hawk stood next to it probably trying to figure out why it was so tough! Different locations so it's different Hawk's & i had other decoy's out with a sentry but they want that Greenhead for some reason. This last time it was about 30 feet from me & gave me an up close look at that big boy. Those big Hawk's look pretty impressive. You can see in the photo it went for the head / neck area. Never mind the owl, I think the Hawk's pose more of a threat to the crow's around here. I'm guessing that if those had been live crow's the Hawk would have made a meal of them. They were probably getting some payback for all the times i've seen the crow's harassing a Hawk while flying or on a limb.
If anyone has the Johnny Stewart crow / Hawk fight on MP3 i would like to add that sound to my arsenal. No big number's around my area, pretty much all scattered out . Best i've done lately is 7 & had to work for that but still pecking away.
That surely made for a memorable hunt! Great story, and the scratch marks are a lasting reminder.
Had one hawk hit ours once, but not a flocked decoy, so no marks. Also had one fly into the mono line hanging up a sentry decoy.
Thanks for passing this along.
Demi
Demi, If you're still using fishing line for the sentry you need to find you a telescoping hot stick. Setting the sentry & decoy's in a tree was always a challenge until i took possession of a hot stick. Best thing going !
The mono line was in the early days of my crow hunting. The hot stick is now my go-to method, but this begs a question:
What is the best method of lifting & hanging the decoys with the hot stick? I use a funnel on the stick and a wire hook in the backs of the decoys, but this method is less than perfect. Suggestions?
Demi
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I may actually be able to add some value to the site for once and share how I use the hot stick "extendo" as we call them to hang decoys. I use "extendo's" as we call them, (I am a high voltage Lineman by trade) on a daily basis and this has lead to my invention that I want to share with you guys.
Picture #1: Is of a Flambeau decoy, the wire is out of a heavy coat hanger. The hanger wire is wrap as tight as possible around the eye that is in the back of the decoy. If you notice the hook that extends above the head of the decoy, this is a key feature of my design as it allows you more easily to hang them.
Picture #2: The hole you see is 1" in diameter and is where the spike was, that was made to stick the decoy in the ground. 1" hole makes it easier to retrieve the decoys from the tree, the extendo is about a 1/2" in diameter.
Picture #3: This is the decoy on the extendo and ready to be run up and hung. I have 8 decoys that I can hang in a matter of minutes with this method. So far it has worked very well.
I may actually be able to add some value to the site for once and share how I use the hot stick "extendo" as we call them to hang decoys. I use "extendo's" as we call them, (I am a high voltage Lineman by trade) on a daily basis and this has lead to my invention that I want to share with you guys.
Picture #1: Is of a Flambeau decoy, the wire is out of a heavy coat hanger. The hanger wire is wrap as tight as possible around the eye that is in the back of the decoy. If you notice the hook that extends above the head of the decoy, this is a key feature of my design as it allows you more easily to hang them.
Picture #2: The hole you see is 1" in diameter and is where the spike was, that was made to stick the decoy in the ground. 1" hole makes it easier to retrieve the decoys from the tree, the extendo is about a 1/2" in diameter.
Picture #3: This is the decoy on the extendo and ready to be run up and hung. I have 8 decoys that I can hang in a matter of minutes with this method. So far it has worked very well.
Dale, thanks for posting these directions. You just saved me a tremendous amount of aggravation while setting up in the dark of the morning! A couple of questions about how you did it vs. what I see:
- The wire end on the back of the decoy seemed to do nothing. I drilled a small hole in the decoy and shoved this emd into the body of the decoy. Seems to be stiffer now.
- Is there a reason your hook was forward-facing? My old method used rear-facing hooks that worked well. This way, the hook can be lower and stores better. Am I wrong?
Thanks again for steering me in a better direction!
Awesome story and it has me considering some greenhead decoys. If it can fool a hawk it surly can fool a crow.
Dale, The Greenhead gear flocked decoy's are much bigger than an actual crow. Someone who has done very well crow hunting told me he uses just two of the greenhead's while hunting. One for the sentry & one on the ground, then the dead ones become more decoy's. I think by them being bigger it makes them more visible to crow's way out there. I just have two & always use one for the sentry & a mix of other's on the ground.
Demi, We'll have to follow Dale's lead on hanging the decoy's. The sentry on the hot stick is a 10 second set up but decoy's with wire can be challenging, especially in the dark, I've been tying two dead one's together with a 2 foot piece of string & throwing them over some branches. It's not as pretty as some nicely placed decoy's but much easier. ( keep a few frozen ) Then you use the hot stick to pull them out when you're done. Paul.
The reason for the extra couple inches of wire that is running towards the tail of the decoy is for stability. I do not want the wire moving around, it is much more difficult if your wire is flopping around everywhere. Hope that addresses the first question if not I can elaborate more.
The hook facing slightly forward will make it easier for you to hook the hook on a limb. The body of the decoy will not move the limb around while trying to hang the dang decoy.
I may try and make a video and put it on here showing how I do it.
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"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be wise enough to be crows." Thoreau.
I also forgot to mention that I removed the adapter head that is on the extendo. There is just a single keeper that can easily be knocked out and the head removed which will make the hanging of decoys much easier.
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"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be wise enough to be crows." Thoreau.
Demi, It seem's that you will get a different welcoming with the dead crow's on a string than with the decoy's. They come in just SCREAMING at those hanging in the tree. I'm sure they realize they are dead & they aren't very happy about it !
You didn't mention a pulley in your sentry evolution ? The rod & reel would work ok if there was only one tree with just one branch at your set up. LOL Been there & tried that also.
-- Edited by camo on Thursday 31st of January 2019 09:26:29 PM
Demi, It seem's that you will get a different welcoming with the dead crow's on a string than with the decoy's. They come in just SCREAMING at those hanging in the tree. I'm sure they realize they are dead & they aren't very happy about it !
You didn't mention a pulley in your sentry evolution ? The rod & reel would work ok if there was only one tree with just one branch at your set up. LOL Been there & tried that also.
-- Edited by camo on Thursday 31st of January 2019 09:26:29 PM
I've always said dead crows make the best decoys.
Tee
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