The crows started showing up the last week of October and we were getting antsy. The group we were after was only accessible from one side and the wind wouldn't cooperate. So, on 2 Nov. we went to plan B. It was a limited number, but the weather was nice and the set up easy. We started at about 3:00. It was slow, but the crows came in nicely and we had about thirty by quarter after five and we thought we were about done. Not sure where they came from, but the last forty five minutes was good action and we ended up with 62.
We got 57 on 7 Nov. A nice afternoon with a 10-15 mph breeze and fifty degrees.
On 18 Nov. we got 31 as things didn't go as planned. Another nice afternoon, but we couldn't set up where we wanted as a guy was clearing brush at our preferred ambush site. It was really slow to start and we were beginning to think the flight had shifted further north and out of call range. The crows were about forty five minutes late and there was plenty of them. But they landed before they responded to the call and then came in large groups. 50-100 plus. In hind sight, we shouldn't have hunted that day and waited till we could get where we needed to be.
The day after Thanksgiving was chilly and we hunted from morning until about 3:00. It didn't get above freezing and we had a favorable, steady 10 mph breeze out of the north. Pretty steady shooting all day and we ended with 110.
Good to get the season started. As nice as the weather was I should've gotten more and better pictures. Got one of a Red Tail who came flashing in to dispatch a hopper. He hit with a thud and a splash of dust. Unfortunately, the picture isn't very good as his back was towards us the whole time. Had the same thing happen last hunt. He was facing us, but I'd left my phone at home.
That's a good looking setup. Glad to see you went over 100 on the clicker. That should keep you warm ! The speaker on the pole reminds me of the tornado warning sirens we have in Oklahoma, bet they can here that a mile away. Glad you're getting after them. Paul.
We've sure had some nice weather to hunt in this fall. We scouted and built blinds on Tuesday 28 Nov. in preparation for hunts the next two days. There was 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground and we found a couple good concentrations of crows. Temperature was in the single digits that morning, but warmed into the thirty's. It was to be even warmer, with a light breeze the next two days and the snow would be melted by the next afternoon.
We set up for a field hunt on the morning of the 29th and the first one went down at quarter to seven. The shooting picked up as they trickled in to feed. It was quit fast paced at times and we had 100 at a few minutes past ten. We had over 140 shortly after noon and made the decision to move.
We set up to ambush a flyway and were ready to shoot before three o'clock. We picked up a few before the flight started, but the fast paced shooting didn't get going until about three thirty. We had a bit of a cross wind and a few more difficult shots than the morning hunt. The last forty five minutes we were shooting as fast as we could re-load. I found myself with both guns empty several times. It was done a few minutes after five and we picked up in the dark. Luckily we'd only had to walk a hundred yards or so from the truck. We ended up with 228 downed.
Again, the first crow went down at quarter to seven on the morning of the 30th. The temperature would rise another ten degrees to above fifty on this day. The breeze would be turning during the day, making it favorable for both the morning and afternoon. Although not as fast paced as the morning before, we had steady soft shooting. Seems like we had 69 down around noon and decided to get something hot for dinner.
We resumed calling between two and two thirty. Once again, the shooting was slow to start, but gradually picked up. By four o'clock we were shooting just about as fast as we could. It was over at 4:30 and unlike the evening before, I got the decoys out of the trees before dark. We ended up with 165.
Two fun days of hunting cooperative crows. Both of us got quads the second day. Almost makes a guy forget about battling the call-shy educated ones that are sure to come.
I'm having trouble getting pictures sent from phone to computer. Some gibberish nonsense about a password I've never seemed to need before. When I get that resolved I'll post them.
Those are some serious numbers there, You must have them figured out pretty well. Isn't it funny how the clicker can get to triple digits super fast before you know it when they cooperate . congrats. Paul.
Good report, even without all pictures. Those numbers are what we dream about around here, but at least we can take comfort in hunting during more comfortable weather!
Keep pounding on them!
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
Granite Jaw,any comment on the rather large Crow Robo in the pictures.Ive had limited success with them in the past.
Hey Mattie,
That's a Mojo Crow. It was a Christmas gift last year and we've only took it out twice.
Can't say whether it's effective or not and had heard mixed reviews. Shot crows when it was on, shot crows when it was off. Who knows?
I do know we won't take it unless we can drive to our spot. The motion decoy I might trust is the FF6 flapper. Some good crow hunters say it can be a game changer, but we haven't felt the need to spring for one.
Thanks for the reply Granite Jaw.I was thinking about pulling my Mojo crow out of moth balls and adding it to my FF5 flapper. The FF5(now the FF6 with all the bells and whistles) is definitely a game changer as the crows seem to concentrate on it and not on you in the blind.Only time will tell the become wise to it as the ducks have to the spinning wing decoy.I also agree about being able to drive to your hunting site with all the goodies we have to help us hunt crows.Good hunting!
Well, I didn't get my issues with getting pictures transferred to the computer solved, but jumped through some hoops and got them posted. They're from the last four or five hunts, in no particular order.
Our last two hunts were on 19 and 20 Dec. The first day started out chilly, in the mid-teens. It warmed up nicely and it was fifty by the second day. We downed 113 on the first day and 44 the second. We took our beating that day. Good shooting for the most part, although the second day in the afternoon was kind of tough. A combination of us missing the flyway and the crows being wary.
I tried to get a photo of a crow after he was hit. I thought I took it when the shot was fired, but must of jumped the gun, then over led him on the way down. Anyway, the photo is an instant before death.
Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. Happy New Year to all.
