Salop Matt Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Folks as there seems to be little in the way of pigeon about in my area currently am going to have a bash at the corvids insted. I figuer that all i need is a decent hide, a good crow call and a decoy or decoys so what i need to know is: * How many crow decoys should i use and how should i put them out (i currently have a single flocked one? * What is the best manual (blow) crow call on the market ? * My normal game load is 30-32gram of 6`s or 5`s in fibre, will these be okay ? Any other tips would be much appreciated ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Get as many decoys as you can afford, and carry. Get yourself a Primos Power Crow call, and learn to use it. Many people buy one and then say how rubbish it is, just because they can't use it correctly. I use mine with great results. I can call Crows, Jackdaw's and Rooks. Anyone who has been out shooting with me can vouch for the quality and realism of the Primos. Put your decoys in a random fashion, but make sure they are either facing the wind, if any, or side on to it. You can add extra equipment as you go along. I have floaters, flappers, two rotators, as well as 30 decoys. You are using a good choice of cartridge, number 6's are fine, but number 5's are a bit more hard hitting. Corvid shooting ranks as my #1 favourite, and the Crow is a very clever and wary bird. If there is the slightest thing that does'nt look or seem right to a Crow, it won't come near you.Make sure you are as concealed as possible, and keep your movement as still as possible.Crows have excellent eyesight, far better than Wood Pigeons. Jackdaw's are something else, they are very easy to decoy. Good luck with your shooting. Any other questions, just ask. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedd-wyn Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 As said by Steve b really. Most of my shooting time is spent trying to get the better of these clever birds and I have found that I get better results when I set up before the break of dawn. I like to have everything set up and plenty of time to hear the world come alive with a coffee and a ciggy before the sun comes out. It's a kind of ritual I've picked since staring to shoot. I feel that I have failed if I get there after the light. It's also important to make your hide look as natural as possible, crows are very clever birds. So you'l need to camo yourself to the teeth and use surrounding foilage to hide the edges of the hide, and keep as still as you can. IMO you can't beat corvid shooting, I must admit I have a passion for it and enjoy watching them as well. Good luck to you fella, and remember to post some photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 As said by Steve b really. Most of my shooting time is spent trying to get the better of these clever birds and I have found that I get better results when I set up before the break of dawn. I like to have everything set up and plenty of time to hear the world come alive with a coffee and a ciggy before the sun comes out. It's a kind of ritual I've picked since staring to shoot. I feel that I have failed if I get there after the light. It's also important to make your hide look as natural as possible, crows are very clever birds. So you'l need to camo yourself to the teeth and use surrounding foilage to hide the edges of the hide, and keep as still as you can. IMO you can't beat corvid shooting, I must admit I have a passion for it and enjoy watching them as well. Good luck to you fella, and remember to post some photos Agreed. First light is the best time to get the Corvids. I too, am all set up, sitting in the hide ready for the birds to fly off the roost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 I agree with Steve about the Primos power crow-its excellent! You do need to practice the calls and you dont blow it like a trumpet either.You kinda growl into it,but do take the time to listen to real crows so you can replicate their calls. Decoy wise,i find scattering as many as possible randomly works best with no particular order with how they're facing.Something else,take some broken eggs shells and a little rubbish from your bin (crisp packets,bread crusts etc) and place this near the decoys-crows are natural scavengers and this adds more realism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockercas Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 (edited) leave 3ft between decoys . i borrowed 2 of swiss tony and shot 12 in a couple of hours also dont worry about sticking the 20meters into the field like pigeon decoys, but stick them close to the hedge but 15-20 meters left or right of the hide. that way the focus is off the hide. Edited May 3, 2012 by cockercas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salop Matt Posted May 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2012 Guys did any of you buy your primos online ? If so where did you buy from as am looking to buy also ! Regards Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codit75 Posted May 7, 2012 Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 Yes, Uttings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchieboy Posted May 7, 2012 Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 I have tyo agre with everything that has already ben said, in fact it is hard to add to it! I use a Johnny Stewart Crow caller which, with practice I believe is just as good as or if not a very close second to the Primos caller once you have learned to use it properly! Another tip that I can offer if it hasn't been mentioned already is to put one or two of your decoys on a fence or gate post - If you watch crows feeding they will usually have one or two "sentries" on the look out! As for decoys, if you are limited in the amount of crow decoys you have but have a few spare old pigeon decoys you can spray them matt black and mix them in your decoy pattern. Another useful bit of equipment to carry is a pack of bamboo kebab skewers - I use them to mount the crows in a reasonable lifelike manner that I shoot which I constantly add to the pattern - They are light to carry and take up no room at all, and reusable. I carry just 3 crow decoys (I could really do with another half a dozen, I know but I am a bit of a "tight a**e!) and 6 pigeon decoys painted in matt black. This works for me, i.e. Yesterday I went out late morning (I had been let down by someone that I was surposed to be meeting earlier so I was later going out than planned), set up with my hide behind a wall so that I was concealed from any birds that came in from behind and shot 26 birds (Mixture of crows and jackdaws) for 31 cartridges in just 2 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karpman Posted May 7, 2012 Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 Hey mate. Staying still right to the very last second helps even with a hide there so quick to pick up on movement, I like my crows facing the same way only ever start with 4 decoys and add dead birds on cradles as I go along. I tend to place my crows in a couple of wavy lines if that's makes sense. Karpman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted May 7, 2012 Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 From what you say, you're used to shooting pigeon. Consequently, don't be fooled as crows/rooks are bigger and size for size you may end up shooting too soon while the birds are still out of effective range. Initially, I made this error and eventually used a range marker stick until I'd got the difference sorted. The difference is appreciable but it only takes a couple of sightings to adjust once you've twigged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr williamson Posted May 7, 2012 Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 These guys seem to know exactly what they are doing. Ive been shooting corvids for the last couple pf years for local farmers in my area and iv learnt that flocked deeks and good planning of were your going to build your hide and were the birds are likely to be or pass is esesential. As for decoy paterns i cant realy say 1patern works better than another because i dont think they do. As long as u leave a gap in ur pattern to get them where u want to shoot at them (kill zone).i Dont be fooled into putting ur decoys way out when i say way out 30yards is to far. My closest is 5 -10yards and furthest is 20-25yard Stay stil until the very last second to maximise ur killinv rate, as missed bird seem to slow the days shooting down and try not tp fire at large groups as this has the same effect. As for cartrdge i use 30grm 5s. Hope all our advice gets u a good days shooting mate. These guys seem to know exactly what they are doing. Ive been shooting corvids for the last couple pf years for local farmers in my area and iv learnt that flocked deeks and good planning of were your going to build your hide and were the birds are likely to be or pass is esesential. As for decoy paterns i cant realy say 1patern works better than another because i dont think they do. As long as u leave a gap in ur pattern to get them where u want to shoot at them (kill zone).i Dont be fooled into putting ur decoys way out when i say way out 30yards is to far. My closest is 5 -10yards and furthest is 20-25yard Stay stil until the very last second to maximise ur killinv rate, as missed bird seem to slow the days shooting down and try not tp fire at large groups as this has the same effect. As for cartrdge i use 30grm 5s. Hope all our advice gets u a good days shooting mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salop Matt Posted May 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 Well uttings are out of stock and am going to I've the a fortnight to notifie me that they have tock and then I will look else where ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 (edited) Send me your address I've got a primus crow call I'll mail u ! As for deeks I love the new silosocks super black and quick to set up. The hypa flap is good too on bouncer poles. You don't need millions I was shooting pigeons today and stuck out three crows in case. The crows decoyed real well shot 16 and only 6 pigeons!!!! I normally use 16 crows though and a couple of hyper flaps. Edited May 8, 2012 by utectok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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