crow decoys.

[Cranfield]

Why don't Manufacturers make crow/rook shell decoys ?

You can get shells in just about everything else, but not crows/rooks.

 

I painted some old pigeon shells with matt black paint , but they looked a bit thin for crows/rooks, so I never tried them in the field.

Its something I might have to do, as I only have 8 full bodied crow decoys and they are a frightful price.

[J@mes]

I think a member on here has made his own recently from plywood - just cut-outs in crow shapes. He was going to test them soon, might be worth looking it up to see how they got on.

 

Maybe with crows being so much more "wise" manufacturers don't think that decoys would work?

 

Not sure to be honest - might be worth asking the site sponsor their opinion?

[AndyCM]

Why don't Manufacturers make crow/rook shell decoys ?

You can get shells in just about everything else, but not crows/rooks.

 

I painted some old pigeon shells with matt black paint , but they looked a bit thin for crows/rooks, so I never tried them in the field.

Its something I might have to do, as I only have 8 full bodied crow decoys and they are a frightful price.

 

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/ind...howtopic=131568

 

These worked around Woodchurch.....so same crows as yours ?

Cheers

AndyCM

[steve_b_wales]

I cut 8 of my crow decoys to make them into shells. A waste, I know, but it lightened the load and I could put more in the sack.

[Beretta28g]

I use frozen biords from the last outing.

[kent]

Gosh, the crows round here will come to dead birds far better than flock full body ones and bear black plasic is very much their poor relation in terms of pulling power. I don't think i should bother with shells personally for crows, plus you rarely need as many out. If i need a bit of extra pull like when using the rifle i should just put a pair out on some roadkill or similar and a few straglers behind in a loose v. Anything over a dozen is too many to have out IMO though i don't shoot over crops it has to be said

[Redgum]

Make yourself a cradle to put a floater on, old coat hanger or heavy fencing wire and sharpen the ends so it goes through the wings easy. I found that this adds a little movement and along with a call will bring em in from miles away, mind you sometimes it can take a while to get the first one to put on the floater.

[Lez325]

I use the flocked Rooks @around £6 a pop I only have 6 which I find is enough

 

I did read on here that people use a triangular piece of black bin liner tied to a small cane as a substitute for corvid deeks- not sure if that would work but it would give movement to a pattern with only a slight breeze- I may even give that a try myself- I'll get back on that one

 

Les

[Jimbo57]

One owl decoy stuck on a fence post will draw crows far more effectively than a dozen crow decoys.

[Cranfield]

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/ind...howtopic=131568

 

These worked around Woodchurch.....so same crows as yours ?

Cheers

AndyCM

 

Everyone on the Marsh knows that the Woodchurch crows are a bit thick.

Although it might be worth a try in case some of them have come my way.

 

I do use dead birds on cradles as soon as I shoot them, but at this time of year my freezers are very full and storing dead crows/rooks in them is low priority.

I also stopped using full bodied pigeon decoys quite a few years ago because of the bulk in lugging them about and 8 full bodied crows take up the same room as about 50-60 shells.

 

When I see large flocks of pigeons about, I find large amounts of decoys work very well.

On the same principle, some of the feeding groups of crows/rooks number well over 50 birds, so perhaps a few more decoys would also work well.

[Beardo]

Everyone on the Marsh knows that the Woodchurch crows are a bit thick.

 

Watch what you say about my mother!

[steve_b_wales]

I have found that the more decoys/dead crows in the pattern, the better it looks from a crows point of view. I have about 18 decoys, but always put dead ones out as well.

Two bits of kit that I find to be of excellent use, is the Primos Power Crow call, and a flapper connected to an intermittent timer.

I tried an Eagle Owl decoy once, but the crows were not bothered with it. Next time I go after crows, I'm going to use my lofting poles and put the decoy high in some branches.