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Out on the Crows


MarcMaxus
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For what its worth .

Im sure motty is bound to disagree 😣

I think that often crows are shot at further than you think as a carrion is a big bird and often appears closer than it actually is .second its easy to miss infront of a crow as they fly slowly .

Allowing for this can sometimes make you miss behind . (I find jds a bit easier to hit as they usually fly a bit faster. ) 

And thirdly .when was the last time anyone shot a crow of any sort at 30 plus yards and had a load of feather come out like a pigeon does ?? 

It doesnt happen unless they are in close .

They are tough birds and do often take multiple shots to kill ,An english no6  at 40 yds isnt gonna drop them well irrespective of choke imo.

I use gb black gold no5  on the carrion and these are actually  a no4 shot in size .sorts them out with 1 cart out to 35 yds .

As for a roof on a hide .its optional obviously. But the crows in somerset always fly over high and hardley ever decoy in .at ground level .

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2 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

Im sure motty is bound to disagree 😣

 

Surely not 😁

+1 on your comments. They are ‘tougher’ and appear better able to cope with shot when compared to pigeons.

I was probably a bit strong on the ‘must’ roof part - the essential point was there though! 

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I’ve lost count of the numbers of corvids we’ve shot over the years from a hide, but none of us wear gloves or veils, though we do wear caps. The secret is to keep movements to a minimum; if you glance up to see where they are when you hear that call, they will see you. The best method is to just keep your head down and let them drift into your view, and then move. 

I have had great success with the Primos crow caller, and mostly use whatever cartridges I have to hand ( mostly sixes ) including fives and sevens through full choke. One more thing....those crows which seem to be just hanging there motionless, aren’t. Have fun. 

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I remember a hide my mate and i had made for pigeons.

Without a roof .for which it was fine .

But we noticed any crows coming in high (as they do ) did a massive uturn about 50 yds out. 

So we put a clearview net abive us with a small shooting gap upwards at about 45 degree .

And the crows came in fine flying and hovering over us .

Worked a treat. 

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23 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

For what its worth .

Im sure motty is bound to disagree 😣

I think that often crows are shot at further than you think as a carrion is a big bird and often appears closer than it actually is .second its easy to miss infront of a crow as they fly slowly .

Allowing for this can sometimes make you miss behind . (I find jds a bit easier to hit as they usually fly a bit faster. ) 

And thirdly .when was the last time anyone shot a crow of any sort at 30 plus yards and had a load of feather come out like a pigeon does ?? 

It doesnt happen unless they are in close .

They are tough birds and do often take multiple shots to kill ,An english no6  at 40 yds isnt gonna drop them well irrespective of choke imo.

I use gb black gold no5  on the carrion and these are actually  a no4 shot in size .sorts them out with 1 cart out to 35 yds .

As for a roof on a hide .its optional obviously. But the crows in somerset always fly over high and hardley ever decoy in .at ground level .

Some valid points UltraStu and if you're happy using bigger shot that's fine but 1oz 7s are genuinely adequate for the job as well in my experience. :good:

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30 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

For what its worth .

Im sure motty is bound to disagree 😣

I think that often crows are shot at further than you think as a carrion is a big bird and often appears closer than it actually is .second its easy to miss infront of a crow as they fly slowly .

Allowing for this can sometimes make you miss behind . (I find jds a bit easier to hit as they usually fly a bit faster. ) 

And thirdly .when was the last time anyone shot a crow of any sort at 30 plus yards and had a load of feather come out like a pigeon does ?? 

It doesnt happen unless they are in close .

They are tough birds and do often take multiple shots to kill ,An english no6  at 40 yds isnt gonna drop them well irrespective of choke imo.

I use gb black gold no5  on the carrion and these are actually  a no4 shot in size .sorts them out with 1 cart out to 35 yds .

As for a roof on a hide .its optional obviously. But the crows in somerset always fly over high and hardley ever decoy in .at ground level .

Strangely enough, I do disagree. Crows can be easily be killed at 40 yards with a no.7. I take it you didn't watch the videos.

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Crikey! Some decent info to digest!

Was my first outing today just on the Crows. Hide was just a double skinned 4 pole affair, newt fancy. Left the ghille suit and just stood the deeks out in what I thought was a decent pattern.

It's been an education for sure, both in the practicle sense and taking on-board all the tips. Apprecaite all that have taken the time to give advice. For my next outing I'll take heed on what's been said. I may mix up the 6s with some 7.5s etc. Interesting comment regarding bird size, it's very possible I may have misjudged the distance (I obv gauge of the size if a pigeon)

Either way, thanks for all your tips. I really appreciate it and it just goes to show what an informative forum PW is.

I'm up to Isle of Skye now for a week so I'll check in on my next shoot after holidays.

Happy hunting folks!

Edited by MarcMaxus
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Just now, motty said:

Strangely enough, I do disagree. Crows can be easily be killed at 40 yards with a no.7. I take it you didn't watch the videos.

Hi motty. Thought you would .😂

I think ive seen them before but just  watched the first one .

It looks like your taking those crows at around 20 - 30 yds .which is perfect and your lucky that your in a ditch with what is a hide that doesnt stand out much.

I also find my best crow days have been when im set up in a very open area with a very well hidden hide in a low hedge .

The crows can see everything and feel safe .so come in lower and more confidently (like in your vid ) 

But of im nearer trees or more cover like bushes  barns etc .they fly over looking for trouble first .its when this happens against a white sky its hard to judge range and shots can be around the 40 plus mark .

 

Ps good shooting in the vid.

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22 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

Hi motty. Thought you would .😂

I think ive seen them before but just  watched the first one .

It looks like your taking those crows at around 20 - 30 yds .which is perfect and your lucky that your in a ditch with what is a hide that doesnt stand out much.

I also find my best crow days have been when im set up in a very open area with a very well hidden hide in a low hedge .

The crows can see everything and feel safe .so come in lower and more confidently (like in your vid ) 

But of im nearer trees or more cover like bushes  barns etc .they fly over looking for trouble first .its when this happens against a white sky its hard to judge range and shots can be around the 40 plus mark .

 

Ps good shooting in the vid.

The second video is where I was using an ounce of 6.5s and an ounce I 7s. A fair few on that video were further than 30 yards. Your load of 4s is nigh on a goose load.

Edited by motty
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2 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

 

I also find my best crow days have been when im set up in a very open area with a very well hidden hide in a low hedge .

That's my next plan. Given how twitchy they are, my plan is to get in a dyke that runs adjacent to an open feild. I figured the extra cover being low down may pay dividends. Some good natural wood behind too

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Just now, motty said:

The second video is where I was using an ounce of 6.5s and an ounce I 7s. A fair few on that video were further than 30 yards. Your load of 4s is high on a goose load.

It was only recently that i discovered that a gamebore blackgold no5 .isnt 2.8 mm 

Like the rest of the gamebore on 5 

But is 3 mm so more like an English no4 

Wondered why they stuffed the big crows well .

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8 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

It was only recently that i discovered that a gamebore blackgold no5 .isnt 2.8 mm 

Like the rest of the gamebore on 5 

But is 3 mm so more like an English no4 

Wondered why they stuffed the big crows well .

Just bought a slab of BB. Hopefully just the job ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just an update folks. It seems to have been me all along. I've been a few times since the original post with much better results. I think I had been misjudging distance. By holding off as long as possible seems to have corrected the issues. I'm shooting much later than I would a pigeon. Even with 7.5s no issues. Farmers happy I'm keeping them down too so getting up there quite regular and they keep on coming to the decoys! Getting in the ditch below the ground level of the feild helps too, they seem to come in more confident and low.

Edited by MarcMaxus
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On 12/03/2019 at 20:27, Ultrastu said:

I remember a hide my mate and i had made for pigeons.

Without a roof .for which it was fine .

But we noticed any crows coming in high (as they do ) did a massive uturn about 50 yds out. 

So we put a clearview net abive us with a small shooting gap upwards at about 45 degree .

And the crows came in fine flying and hovering over us .

Worked a treat. 

I've found that too.

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