everygoodnamewastaken Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 Sadly there the only things i can shoot now as the field of barley stubble is'nt visited by pigeons anymore. The only real chance is when they are flighting :thumbs: but they are usually too high and so far i have only got one outa the sky and that was about 50+ yards out. i was wondering if i put a rotor out with two crow deecs on it (seen any about? need to buy some first) it would bring them down to investigate?? And maybe an owl somewhere and the scared crow call? What you's think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazza Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 I enjoy shooting crows, & have used decoys, dead birds on rotors, & callers. I used a magpie & a crow on a rotor & along with a caller, this worked really well. After a while the rotor began to spook the birds, so I took it down, & just used the shot dead birds & the caller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 hi egnwt I have had some good days doing exactly what you suggest. stick out a few crow deeks and another couple on the rotor, but try and get set up before first light, any disturbance and you wont see them for dust Also if you can get hold of a dead rabbit, slit it open and spread its inards around and leave it near the deeks ,as im sure you know crows and maggies are always on the look out for carrion. The next thing is build a good hide with a roof on and as camoflagued as you can, they can spot something is not right for miles, and finaly when you spot one homing in, give him a couple of calls and sit very still untill your sure he's in range and bingo. The other trick to bringing em in is to stick a sandwich in your mouth pour out a cup of tea and have a fag half rolled , never fails that one. good luck sutty :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGhost Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 Had some small luck putting crows on the rotor, I made a bail hide at the side of a stack they aways flew over the stack so we both saw each other at the last moment. Exciting :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new to the flock Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 Suttys advice about the camaflage is spot on. We hunt alot of crows over decoys, and all of our gear is camoed out including our guns. A camo sock works great if you don't want to paint out one of your guns. Two more tips to add are make sure you wear a face mask, and take the first crow you scratch and place it at the bottom of your owl decoy. This drives them nuts as they believe the owl has just killed one of theirs. Also remember not to blow three caw's in succession on your call as this will be interpited as a danger call. Crows have a very complicated language with , I think it is 14 different calls all meaning different things. If your really interested in killing crows and what to do with them afterwards check out these two web sites: www.crowbusters.com and www.predetorxtreme.com. Predetorxtreme is strictly varmit hunting, and covers crows,coyotes,fox,bobcat,gophers, guns, bullets,, and anything else to do with this great pastime. One other thing to remember is that if you are going to elevate your owl decoy on a stake keep a couple of crow decoys higher than it in the surrounding area. Another great trick is to tie a tennis ball inside 2 feet square of black cloth. Tie the ball into the centre of the cloth. Now tie approx. 30 yards of heavy fishing line around the cloth where it ties around the ball. By holding the end of the line and throwing the ball (which now looks like a wounded crow when you throw him) you can let it land in the open and jerk it around to act as a wounded crow. This works really well if you have birds holding off to the side. Good luck and have fun, I'm sure you will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everygoodnamewastaken Posted February 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 I cant make a whole day of it because i cant get to the farm myself and my dad works durring the day and there aint that many crows about durring the day. It'd just be when there flighing back to there wood or where ever they go at night. They fly in there hundreds over this bit of land and i can usually get away with hiding behind a bush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergame Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 Wait until the wind is strong, just as you would for pigeons. you should do well enough then and the noise will be minimal from your shots which will prevent the birds becoming as wary as they would on a windless day. We used to shoot loads of crows up on a fell in Penrith. If the wind was strong they would just keep comming for the last hour of the day as they went to roost. Sounds like good advice from New to the Flock, I'll be trying some of his tricks myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everygoodnamewastaken Posted February 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 Cant shoot in there flight wood as i cant find the owner :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergame Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 So the stubble field it is then. Like i mentioned earlier just pick the right day and you shouldn't have a problem. Leave some dead bunnies out on there backs with their bellies cut. I suppose your gonna tell me the fox will get them first, this may be true but not if you get the fox first. :thumbs: Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 I do like the idea of the tennis ball in the black cloth. I bet not many crows in the UK will have seen that trick. :*) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everygoodnamewastaken Posted February 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 The farmer dont want foxes shot for some reason, i think it's to keep the bunny population down which it is doing very well.....no bunnies at all. i put eggs out and that seemed to work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quercus Posted February 17, 2003 Report Share Posted February 17, 2003 Are we talking carrion crows here or rooks? A lot of very experienced sportsmen struggle to tell the difference. Certainly in the South it is unusual to see large flocks of crows feeding together, although sometimes in the autumn they will come together in loose flocks. Our crows have been paired up for some time and are starting to become territorial, it will soon be time to break out the larsens again :thumbs: As for the rooks our old maize game crops are black with them, struggling to shoot a decent number though, one shot and they all move on What calls are you guys using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everygoodnamewastaken Posted February 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2003 I just wemt and got a Acme crow call and its ****, Sounds more like a dog's squeeky toy :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazza Posted February 17, 2003 Report Share Posted February 17, 2003 lol..........you have to practice with them mate!..... :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Pieman Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 EGNWT, my shepherd's whistle took me 6 weeks to master! Patience and practice are the order of the day :( :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everygoodnamewastaken Posted February 18, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 God im just impatiebt! Does anyone else use this brand of call? I think it's getting a bit better though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Pieman Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 By next week you'll be posting saying how your call is the best on the market :( Practice, practice, practice :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everygoodnamewastaken Posted February 18, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Well, i have been practicing and i can do the sort of cluck sound they make and the cawh but that needs a bit of work :laugh: :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Pieman Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Practice practice....... :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new to the flock Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Three thoughts for you: 1 place a tape recorder about 25 feet from you outside, do this away from any buildings, now blow your call and record it. When you play it back you will know exactly how your call sounds. I've had some calls that sounded awful to myself when I was blowing then inside and outside for that matter, but when I checked them on the recording they were fine. 2 If this is a two piece call (I'm not familiar with this brand) open the call up, and using a pen mark where the read is. Now you can try to tune the call by moving the read back and forth.If this doesn't help you can always return to the factory setting at the pen mark. 3 Sometimes it helps if you shave the reed. Do this with a razor blade, but remember one stroke with the razor put it together and try the call. This is something that I find most factory duck and goose calls need. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaser Posted February 19, 2003 Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 I use old bread from the baker the crows love it and after a few days you can shoot at them. I put some dead birds on the bread and it works very good. It works in Denmark,but maybe your crows is different in taste....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new to the flock Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 Everygoodnamewastaken; How's the calling coming along? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Pieman Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 Don't know about the different tastes - I haven't tried eating Danish or British crows. The bacon is good though :thumbs: :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJ Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 Question. I'm crow decoying tomorrow for the first time. I've got the decoy and the broken egg, the field is mapped out, and I'm confident my hide will conceal me adequately. Do I leave the dead ones where they fall, as I do with pigeons, do I set them up on cradles, or do I nip out and pick them up? Any views and/or advice will be much appreciated. :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergame Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 Now you know how poor old Oscar the ferret felt. :thumbs: :( Sorry couldn't resist that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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