Crow Shooting Help Needed

[gurus5000]

Hi All,

 

I have recently picked up a permission which seems to have a problem with crows. I have never shot pigeon or crows etc before so I need some help in the following areas;

 

1. Where to set up in the field

2. What Decoys to use

3. Should I wear camo

4 How best to set up a hide with camo netting etc?

 

I know these may seem basic questions so sorry for this.

 

Thanks in advance

[soreshoulder]

if you havent already get yourslef the basic setup - some hide poles, a net and some decoys, 4 - 5 decoys usually does the trick on crows, and keep adding them as you shoot them. Much like pigeons i find that crow seem to have flightline, these may also be from a roost or back too a roost, as for whereabouts on a field to set up - look where they are feeding and then set up there and be sure to have a good hide as they have fantastic eyesight, some say its best to go at first light however ive shot my two best bags of crows by getting to the fields at 10am and 2pm so nothings set in stone. Try different things out, you'll soon know if what your doing is working or not

[gurus5000]

Thanks for the reply thats really helped I think I need to go & buy a few bits to start.

 

Thanks

 

if you havent already get yourslef the basic setup - some hide poles, a net and some decoys, 4 - 5 decoys usually does the trick on crows, and keep adding them as you shoot them. Much like pigeons i find that crow seem to have flightline, these may also be from a roost or back too a roost, as for whereabouts on a field to set up - look where they are feeding and then set up there and be sure to have a good hide as they have fantastic eyesight, some say its best to go at first light however ive shot my two best bags of crows by getting to the fields at 10am and 2pm so nothings set in stone. Try different things out, you'll soon know if what your doing is working or not

[soreshoulder]

you dont need anything fancy, just what'll do the job, you can alway upgrade your stuff later. Countrywide ofter do a small selection of decoys but not nets, i think these days your better off trolling the net for bargains. Search for army surplus sites and get some ex MOD woodland net

[Henrik]

In sweden it is very common to set up a big owl decoy on a large pole next to a tree, and then hide in a camouflaged blind or something beneath it and just wait for the crows to get really ****** of at the owl.

 

Works very well if the pole is high enuf for the crows to see the owl from a far.

 

 

/H

Edited August 18, 2010 by Henrik

[RAMMER BURT]

In sweden it is very common to set up a big owl decoy on a large pole next to a tree, and then hide in a camouflaged blind or something beneath it and just wait for the crows to get really ****** of at the owl.

 

Works very well if the pole is high enuf for the crows to see the owl from a far.

 

 

/H

this method works well were i shot i use an owl on a pole then put this in the middle of a hedge

[the running man]

As well as ure decoys u wanna be well camed up,no flesh showing,if u think that's rubbish,then get ure mate cammed up across a field the get him to take his gloves and face mask off and you will see how much our skin looks out of place. I keep hearing about use of an owl as a ruse to lure in crows,does it work immediately? Do I need to take the decoys in and just use the owl? Or use both in unison? Anyone got a close up picture of one so I don't buy a plastic budgie by mistake!

[RAMMER BURT]

As well as ure decoys u wanna be well camed up,no flesh showing,if u think that's rubbish,then get ure mate cammed up across a field the get him to take his gloves and face mask off and you will see how much our skin looks out of place. I keep hearing about use of an owl as a ruse to lure in crows,does it work immediately? Do I need to take the decoys in and just use the owl? Or use both in unison? Anyone got a close up picture of one so I don't buy a plastic budgie by mistake!

hi fella you ither use an owl or crows as decoys only, if you have both out its a no go their very quickly see whats going on, and yes it works very quickly indeed i have had some realy good shooting using this method biggist bad was 87 in 4 hours

[the running man]

hi fella you ither use an owl or crows as decoys only, if you have both out its a no go their very quickly see whats going on, and yes it works very quickly indeed i have had some realy good shooting using this method biggist bad was 87 in 4 hours

hey that's good,put a good dent in the population! I did wonder if it were a case of bring in the decoys,the crow are pretty switched on. So just attach the plastic owl to a pole,must it be positioned on the very highest branch or u know high enough that it looks like he's surveying the land?

[Fatcatsplat]

You need to shoot one crow and leave it dead in plain sight - The others will then tend to "pay their respects" to the dead one in a flypast where you can knock 'em off as they come past - I had 10 on the trot in this way last week. As has been said before though, they are not dumb and cammo and concealment is all.

[RAMMER BURT]

hey that's good,put a good dent in the population! I did wonder if it were a case of bring in the decoys,the crow are pretty switched on. So just attach the plastic owl to a pole,must it be positioned on the very highest branch or u know high enough that it looks like he's surveying the land?

i just put the owl at the highest point along the hedge with some commo net to conseal the pole/stick i sometimes put the owl next to the hide so i can twist the pole around so it looks like the owl is moving

[Browning GTS]

Ive tried my owl a few times now with no luck, but reading this see where i could be going wrong so will be taking my lofting poles out tomorrow to give it another go. Nice one lads

[stubby]

recently doing some mole control for a landowner, he asked me to sort out the crows roosting beside his house, he has a large well kept lawn that the crows come down onto each day pulling up worms, and a small line of evergreen bushes/tree's to the side, I simply set up an ambush for them, setting my hide on the fenceline/bushes, and placing 6 crow deeks on the lawn, they were coming down with their backs to me, a very simple pest control job, that kept him happy, and me too, as I got payed for it, as stated, leaving shot birds where they lay, made them come down even more

[RAMMER BURT]

went out today to do some crow shooting with dead crows as decoys instead of the owl shot 3 straight away then a buzzard entered the field jesus christ i had magpies and crows going mental at this buzzard to the point were i stould outside the hide shooting at them their were so wound up by this bird that they completely forgot about being shot at and killed never seen this behavier from crows/magpies before it was madness for 20 mins until the buzzard just gained 300 feet up and ******** off

[steve_b_wales]

One thing I would advise you to get, is a Primos Power Crow Call, Used correctly, these calls are brilliant for crows/rooks and jackdaws.

[monkeyboots]

a flapper is deadly for crows ive a mk4 and its a real puller for the crows

Edited August 19, 2010 by monkeyboots

[RAMMER BURT]

out of interest has anybody tried crows on a magnet keep meaning to do this but as of yet i have not (more like cant be bothered) ?:hmm:

[TJ91]

out of interest has anybody tried crows on a magnet keep meaning to do this but as of yet i have not (more like cant be bothered) ?:good:

 

when i used to do alot of crow shooting we used to stick out 5 crow decoys and put 1 on the bouncer

tried the magnet, it is same as with pigeons, some days it worked well, other days it didnt, but i dont bother with it anymore, they have well wised up to it now and keep well clear.

 

5 decoys and a good hide in the right place does the trick

 

or even just get under the flightline camo'd up in a hedge