I went on a hunt recently and Im not going to lie, I got a little scared. Several times.
I was hunting by myself and having a good time. I had to walk into this spot so I traveled light only bringing one decoy to rest atop my crowpole. I was set up at the end of a scrub brush tree row. The set up was traditional for me, wind at my back, ecaller upwind behind me. It was working good. The birds were coming straight in or following the scrub tree row to their demise just as I had hoped they would.
Then, the wind changed a little. Not much. Maybe 45 degrees. To my disappointment, the wind direction change was juuuuust enough to change how the birds approached my set. Now most of the birds were approaching from my left hand side and still coming up the scrub tree row but they were on the wrong side of the trees. Ugh. This wasn't that big of a deal because they were still well in gun range and the shooting was still pretty soft. The problem was, however, that my ecaller was now in the dead bird fall area. I dont care for that. If my ecaller took a direct hit from a dead crow it may do some damage. We all pay enough for electronics and I try to avoid repair costs. Obviously you cannot see all the dead birds that were around me but you CAN see I had some direct hit close calls. This was an afternoon hunt. The wind changed about an hour before sunset, just at the best part of the hunt so I didnt really have time or want to hop out and change the caller location. I tried to take the birds earlier so they would fall farther out. That worked for the most part but some of the birds that held tight to the tree row got in close on me and gave me the dead bird bullseye scare.
Has anyone ever had a falling bird hit their caller? I assume it may not always do damage but still, it is something I do try to avoid.
This photo is oriented facing backwards/behind me. My left-hand side is the right side of the photo and the "wrong" side of the tree row is the same side that my caller is on.
BH, by the number of KIA's near the call I can see your worry. I have had one lawn darting crow hit my flapper with no damage. It hit hard enough to knock it over and for me have to go straighten it.
Curious about your calls, looks to be a Krakatoa with an externa speaker or is it two Krakatoa's?
Nice report.
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"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be wise enough to be crows." Thoreau.
Good to hear your hardware was spared. Looks like you had a swarm of Kamikazes to worry about!
Never had one hit my caller, but have had a few come into the blind with us, creating moments of shear panic! Jerry Tomlin told me about one that hit him on the head, resulting in a detached retina and a very big scare until it healed.
Safe hunting,
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
Looks and sounds like a well executed plan of attack. You get no sympathy from me about the danger you were putting the caller in. You do deserve credit for shooting a bit early to avoid a direct hit.
Had a near hit on a speaker once. Knocked it out of the tree.
My partner put his gun down and caught one earlier this season. Tossed him out of the blind and grabbed his gun. Five minutes later that crow came to and started to hop away. Had him in hand once, but had to chase him down to dispatch him. We got a good laugh out of that one.
Hey OA,
Where did your post go? I read it earlier today and it made me smile.
Bob,
My blind should look nice, I stole the branches idea from you over 10 years ago! I think a few small oak branches give it a nice blended look.
Dale,
Good eye. Yes, I do run a Krakatoa unit with an external Toa speaker that has the same strength as the mother unit.
Demi,
Don’t you love the “whizz” a really close falling bird makes? It makes me smile every frick’n time, I just can’t help it.
Rock Jaw,
I’ve always chickened out of catching one. Your buddy must have bigger stones than me. :) I have had to jump up and watch one bounce off my bucket though, that was fun. I think Bob had one knock the bucket from underneath him once. He’ll tell the story if he reads this hopefully.
I was hunting crows in Georgia and the orchard owners son was with me.
Three crows came in to the setup together in formation. After I shot the third crow I look over next to me and the orchard owners son is lying on his back with the back of the blind knocked out from his body hitting it. He was sitting on a bucket next to me when the second killed crow came into the blind like a lawn dart. The height and trajectory plus speed put that crow right in the blind but not before his bill mandibles punctured the orchard owners son's left ear!!!
He had blood running down his face and I had no clue what just happened! He said "you're second crow got me" and said it went through his left ear. I carry a roll of toilet paper in my bucket so I used that to clean the streaming blood off his face and use some direct pressure on his left ear to stop the blood from flowing!
Big Honker, I have always believed that a couple well placed deeks are more effective than a dozen poorly placed. When crows fly into a setup with no calling at all, one knows they have an effective spread.
Ted
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Life's tough... It's even tougher if you're stupid. John Wayne
Dale,
I cannot speak to the difference in battery life with one speaker VS two speakers. I ordered my TOA speaker from an electronics place at the same time I ordered the Krakatoa unit. I used them jointly right from the start. I run two external 12v 10ah batteries (it’s a 24 volt unit y’all) that you can see below my speakers in the picture. I have yet to run them down even in cold weather on a long hunt. Foxpro rigged up my battery connection cables. I have confidence in this system. I’ve had it for maybe 7-8 years. I am on my second set of batteries.
I had two speakers with my previous unit too so it’s been a long time since I have hunted with only one speaker. I don’t think the birds really respond any differently with 2 speakers vs 1 speaker. But, I do think the extra volume and sound direction is beneficial in attracting birds.
Bob,
Oh man, I forgot about that crow ear piercing! You just can’t make this stuff up. :)
Ted,
I think you are right. When I have to walk in a distance to hunt, the decoys are generally one of the first things I leave behind....or maybe all but one of them. :)
I only have the small battery packs that go in the pouches on the side of the call. I have spoke with FoxPro and may do as you have done and add the external 12v batteries so I am not paranoid of the call going dead, this is a dreaded fear of mine.
Thanks for the info.
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"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be wise enough to be crows." Thoreau.
Good post and I agree on the "whizz" statement. I do enjoy the sounds of a good shoot! One thing I will add is I think when your hearing the whizz and making sure after the shot your not going to be hit is you have done your homework and set up in the "zone". Gotta love those days.
