Hey guys… New to crow hunting but not hunting… Lots of fun lots of shooting is what I like about it… Looking for good places to hunt in Central Florida to South Georgia… Just started and been going to my local management area with a low number of crows but I’ve had some success and lots of fun… Need some guidance from y’all
Welcome to the forum. Hope you get some good out of this site...I sure have over the years.
As I'm in SC and have only ventured as far as North Georgia, can't help you on spots or guides, but there are lots of pecan orchards and peanut fields in South GA (and probably FL) that can be hunted. Suggest you start networking to find farmers that may need help with eradication.
The biggest tip I can give you is to find where they are eating and do your best to go to those spots. In lieu of that, it is setting up a trail of several properties to string together for "running & gunning. Two different methods, both of which can be effective & fun.
Good Hunting,
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
Thank you Demi… Really appreciate the tips… I guess I’m gonna have to go up to the border of Florida / Georgia to find what you’re suggesting… I really would like to do that… Found a pecan Grove guide shooter but he apparently passed away two years ago... Jerry... I’ll keep looking... getting ready to retire and looking for a cooler climate with access to lots of crows
Jerry Tomlin was a legend in crow hunting circles. He got me interested in crow hunting and a group of us have hunted with him for over 15 years... two weeks every year. His death rocked our crow hunting world! He is still missed.
Good luck with your search. Wish I could help more.
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
If there was a guide in your area who's no longer with us, I'd suggest you try to find out where he did his gig and start knocking on doors. If no one has taken over for him or filled that need you may stumble upon a crow gold mine.
If there was a guide in your area who's no longer with us, I'd suggest you try to find out where he did his gig and start knocking on doors. If no one has taken over for him or filled that need you may stumble upon a crow gold mine.
I only wish it would be that easy! After Jerry's death I put thousands of miles and many days tracking down orchards in one area he hunting with us. Most hunting had been taken over by the local operation that managed these orchards. Others just had no interest in continuing the tradition. Ugh. It was yet another example of the hard work that Jerry had put in to making his guiding experiences good ones.
Now I'm concentrating on orchards & farms closer to home...and other things. Crow Hunting? Much less. The reality is that crow hunting is very hard work!!
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
It boils down to knowing where to look and then having the time, money and know how to effectively get good shooting. Scouting is very time consuming and you need plenty of drive if you want to know what the crows habits are in any given area. Those habits can change during the season and you have to be able to change with them or you're just wishing and hoping if your in an area that they no longer use.
I can see you’re right… This is my first season in Florida and as a beginner went to my nearest wildlife management area and started to figure it out... Anyway there’s no dominant food source and there’s water everywhere… So I only have been able to see and find family groups in 3 to 5…So I basically call it “trolling for crows “ ... I run the roads till Im on a sand hill with Long leaf pines... listening and looking and then calling… So I usually get into three or four groups during the day and get a half a dozen or so of crows as I’m shooting by myself with a sxs 20 and having a blast.... low numbers... embarrassing but true
Hey guys… Can you mix pigeon Decs with crow decs… got half a dozen both and don’t plan on hunting pigeons much… Do I need to paint the pigeon decs.... also have pigeon mojo.... no crow Moho....Any tips .... advice… Thanks
Any help on the decks… Crow season opens back up on Veterans Day so I’m planning to go have myself a veteran shoot… Need a little bit of an edge… Anybody got some advice for me on the mix of decoys? R
On the decoys, I have hunted with a small group of pigeon decoys used as “confidence decoys” but really couldn’t see much difference. Well worth a try, though. If you do use them, place them away from the crow decoys...mixing the two would be unnatural. About painting pigeon decoys black, don’t!! Crows are smart and have amazing eyesight...they will know.
JMHO,
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
Demi... thanks..
I just realized that my second set of decs are dove and not pigeon... just dug them out and realized the error..
I also have a mojo game dec with the fur strip, should I include that in the spread?
Demi... thanks.. I also have a mojo game dec with the fur strip, should I include that in the spread?
Motion inside your blind (barrel or head moving) is the kiss of death. Motion in the decoy spread is usually good as it keeps incoming crows distracted from looking at your blind. If it is the fur strip vs. a mechanical bird, it would be worth a try. The mojo crow decoys have mixed or poor results as they are not as realistic as say, a FF5 with a real crow.
Give it a try and report back to us with your findings. Good luck with the hunt!
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
Demi... I’ve been online looking for an FF5 and as you know better than I; they are made in England and the mfg is only shipping uk not to US... do you have a stateside supplier? Thx again.
It has been awhile since I bought mine, but I am not aware of a US dealer. Would suggest a call to Nick who is very helpful. It might be a problem with overseas financial transactions.
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
Hey guys… As you all know ammo is hard to find… I’m looking for cheap for crow shooting and I think I’ve settled on number sixes for my 20 gauge side-by-side… Any real difference in the hitting power of lead over the steel for Crow...Can hardly find lead and expensive...
Lead shot flattens when it comes in contact while steel goes right through. Lead weights the bird down and it drops. Steel on the other hand went through, and the bird flies away to dispose of itself. I noticed this in South Dakota as I was hunting on a high point in a cow pasture. I seen the birds flutter,seen the wad so I knew I hit my target. Yet he continued to fly like normal. He was the last bird in the air. I watched with amazement. But after a mile he went straight up about 50 foot then tumbled to the ground. Hopefully one of the Pros here will answer as I’ve only hunted Crow a few years.
Hey guys… As you all know ammo is hard to find… I’m looking for cheap for crow shooting and I think I’ve settled on number sixes for my 20 gauge side-by-side… Any real difference in the hitting power of lead over the steel for Crow...Can hardly find lead and expensive...
If the barrels are rated for steel, it won’t bother your gun. If not built for steel shot, your barrels can be badly damaged (barrel bulge, choke damage, scoring, etc). I’m sticking with lead for both kill power and shotgun longevity. YMMV
Demi
P.S. If killing crows is the goal, you may also want to consider moving to a 12 ga. pump or auto. More killing power, more shells in the gun and less movement for the birds to see when reloading. Also, 12 ga. #6 is much easier to find than in the 20 bore.
-- Edited by Island Shooter on Tuesday 10th of November 2020 10:15:27 PM
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
Demi,
Thanks… I favorite lead too... I‘Ve shot my bernardeli 12 gauge over under for 30 years and shot a lot of Canadian geese with it… I thought I would just scale down to a 20 gauge and become a better shot so it’s kind of like the sporting fun thing for me… But it was a surprise to me that 20 gauge ammo is more expensive than 12 gauge which I should’ve expected.
Do you favor 6’s? Or, what size do you prefer?
Richard
Hey guys… Need a little advice… Got myself invited onto a pecan Grove on the Georgia Florida line during Thanksgiving week… 160 acres was harvested last month and I missed that but they still have crows hitting this grove and neighbors Grove is being harvested now as well as peanut field along the side. Can I just set up a couple hides when I find the flyaways and leave the blind in place and come back to them or do I have to Break down and keep moving around to new spots. Also do crows recognize a call and start associating it with being shot at… Or can I use the same several calls over and over again?
Thx
Pecans and peanuts, sounds like crow heaven. If it was me I wouldn't worry so much about flyways in a pecan orchard. You should be able to call them to you from anywhere in the 160 acres and beyond with any decent call. I would also move my set up from day 1 to day 2 if you wanna have a decent shoot the second day. They will wise up very quickly to you calling and shooting them, and all this is dependent on how many crows are using the orchard and if they have been called in the past. This is exactly what Paul and myself did in videos I posted.
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"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be wise enough to be crows." Thoreau.
Hey Dale… Thanks very much for the insight… The owner says there is a couple hundred crows hitting it daily so who knows… I have not seen the property yet… I live six hours away and traveling up for long Thanksgiving weekend… I have four days available to hunt on it ..
. don’t know if the crows have been hunted before... would like to view your video.... can you send a link?
Thanks
Richard
Hey Dale… Looks like you had a great time… Some great shooting that video help me see what to expect… So would you just shoot it once a day till they stop coming in and let him rest till the next morning? Or would you have another set up for an evening shoot? I have four days to shoot it and I don’t wanna wear it out too soon... they have some coyotes around as well so I was thinking of shooting crows in the morning and calling coyotes and late afternoon early evening… Would coyote calling interfere or scare off the crows... bad idea..?
Just an FYI... I a solo shooter with a double gun
Thx
Yes, I would set up and shoot till they quit coming in, rinse and repeat for day 2. Two days and your welcome will be wore out more than likely and you will fare better with the yotes.
More of a man than I am shooting a double gun, I would throw that thing in the back of the closet or water hole and invest, borrow or beg for a semi auto or at a minimum a pump gun. Sarcasm intended of course lol
good luck.
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"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be wise enough to be crows." Thoreau.
Dale… Really thanks for the heads up… I’ll just focus on the crows Until they stop coming in and then try to shoot some totes… I’ve shot a 12 gauge 3.5 o/u for 30 years... shot some turkey and lots of Canadians and even some of thier geese (lol)... decided to down size to a 20 ga sxs to become a better shot this summer ( am hitting 20 on the trap range) to hunt upland game before I discovered the fun of crow shooting. So, if I get a lot of activity I may have to buy a reasonable semi for the next big shoot.
Do you pick up all the dead carcasses or leave them for a free for the fox and bobcat? What do the grove owners expect.
Definitely not a better man than you I really enjoyed your videos
Dale... I watch some more of your videos this morning… You’re an amazing shoot and crow Hunter… Your help and advice really did help me for my thanksgiving pecan orchard shoot… I’m guessing there were 120 birds and I called him 50% of those and shot 50% of those or around 40 birds over 3 days with my sxs 20 ga... missed a lot... definitely not up to your performance… only having shot crow in wma woods only seeing three flights of 5 birds. A day after 6 call only sets..... it was spectacular shoot for me to enjoy and experience... learned a lot from all my mistakes and had a blast... thanks for the help!!!
The reality is that crow hunting is very hard work!!