The three and a half day deluge/monsoon finally ended and Colt and I set out to whack some crows. The forecast called for a Southeast wind which would just have to do, I needed some crow therapy. The morning fog was thick in the air as we set out the decoys and made ready our position. The crows where a little late to breakfast this morning, I assume it was the fog causing this. Around 7:30 they began responding to my hand calling and the party got under way.
For the first hour or so the fog was thick as soup, which made for some interesting shooting. We could hear them coming but couldn't see them until they where nearly inside shooting range. This worked in our favor for the most part and I was sad to see the fog lift. It was pretty neat watching the Black Marauders appear out of the fog. The shooting was steady until 10:00 and got pretty spotty from then till 11:30 when I called it.
We ended the hunt with my counter reading 52 and Colts reading 25 for a TPC of 77. My protégé had a little trouble this morning getting the rust knocked off his 20 gauge. After missing several dead ringers and Old dad given him the appropriate amount of crap he got his swing going and started knocking them down.
Highlights of the morning
The best and most obvious one is getting to spend the morning shooting crows with my son.
I also got a nice triple and colt got himself a double.
But the one that takes the cake; I sent Colt out to gather up the birds that had fallen to far outside the kill radius and of course, he makes it five yards from the blind and here comes three crows. I told him to freeze and went at my mouth call. Two of the three didn't make it out alive.
He had a blast. For the most part the birds cooperated and got within range for him to warm his gun. The ones that didn't had to deal with me and that A-400. I figured you might take notice of that gun. I threw the Briley full choke in this morning knowing I would be taking some longer shots playing clean-up. That baby ran like a fine sewing machine.
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"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be wise enough to be crows." Thoreau.
Well done, Dale and a very nice report. Agree that nothing tops hunting with your son. Also, seeing crows emerge from the fog is a really cool experience...especially when it is so close to Halloween 🎃.
And that A-400 is a rare piece. Not only was it owned by the one and only Bob Aronsohn, but not too many people would ever part with their A-400! It would take a lot for me to give mine up!
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
I went out Saturday on my first hunt this season. I had not picked up a shotgun in 9 months, good thing the birds were soft shots that morning. I killed 130 crows with 162 trap loads in number 8 shot. That afternoon setup in a different spot and shot 64 crows with 101 trap loads. I was starting to flinch since my shoulder is not toughened in yet this season! The morning hunt was conducted in the middle of a prairie dog town and after all that racket with the shooting and caller going the prairie dogs probably moved to a different location saying "there goes the neighborhood"
I was lucky enough to get the chance to purchase it and that was a no-brainer for me. Plus, I was able to add to my Berretta collection. I will let him tell you his reasons for parting with this specific gun. The best part of buying the gun from Bob was getting to meet the man who has worked on Bob's guns over the years. His name escapes me right now but it was a interesting conversation.
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"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be wise enough to be crows." Thoreau.
Sounds like you knocked the rust of quite well and had a good season opener. That was some good shooting on your first set up also. I bet those ground hogs where just happy they didn't have to drag any of their fallen comrades back in the den, or put another way happy you weren't hunting them.
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"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be wise enough to be crows." Thoreau.
Good report. Sounds and looks like you and Colt had an enjoyable morning. I especially like seeing pictures of the countryside from different areas. That foggy morning sure turned into a beautiful clear day, with a pile of crows to boot. Rare is the day we get to shoot crows in shirt sleeves, so I envy that a bit.
On a side note, whenever I see or hear the phrase, "Once Upon A Time...", it reminds me of one of my all-time favorite the motion pictures, "Once Upon A Time in the West". Top five on my list.
I went out Saturday on my first hunt this season. I had not picked up a shotgun in 9 months, good thing the birds were soft shots that morning. I killed 130 crows with 162 trap loads in number 8 shot. That afternoon setup in a different spot and shot 64 crows with 101 trap loads. I was starting to flinch since my shoulder is not toughened in yet this season! The morning hunt was conducted in the middle of a prairie dog town and after all that racket with the shooting and caller going the prairie dogs probably moved to a different location saying "there goes the neighborhood"
That's darn good work Bob. Have the crows shown up in full force? I haven't had a chance to look hard, but there's not many around here yet.
