Spot and Stalk Crow

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moodyblues

moodyblues

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Sep 10, 2021
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Locust Grove, Oklahoma, United States
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First spot and stalk crow with an airgun. I’ve been attempting this for 20 years and finally got it done. I’ve called them in and successfully used shotguns and airguns. I’ve also stalked them while they were in fields and used rifles. This was in the woods while the crow had the altitude advantage. 18gr JSB running 900fps, shot was 65 yards give or take. 


Side note I was listening to Steven Rinella’s podcast MeatEater from today. They were talking about waterfowl nest success and how the predator population has had a very detrimental effect on duck numbers due to the decline in trapping. They also said that all corvid species have seen a %600 rise in population over the last 30 years, which has also had a very detrimental effect on duck numbers. They equated that with the amount of roadkill we see today.


Anyway I had to share this one. Sneaking up on a crow is no easy task, especially when there’s one in a tree. They really put your stalking skills to the test. Get to crow hunting gents!

Beau
 
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@moodyblues They aren’t easy animals to hunt or manage. They are highly intelligent and adaptable. As for hunting them I have noticed that various states allow it and some even have seasons. What I find strange is that I have read that they are federally protected. So I’m not clear on that aspect. In the region I reside they can be managed legally if they are problematic. If they present an issue, they’re out of there.


What did you do different to sneak up on this one? Is the ground wet or dry? Good shot from that distance. Which caliber and ammo did you take it with? What type of rifle is that?
 
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The wind is gusting probably around 20mph so I was able to get away with more sound and movement, probably my biggest advantage. Just standard stalking skills though and some luck on my part. Grounds wet but leaves are still crunchy. Kral Puncher Breaker with a little thammer work done and a lot of learn as you go airgunsmithing. 22cal 18 grain JSB at 900. Donny sumo on the end with marauder baffles in the shroud. Alpha6 scope.
 
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The Brits been doing this for a very long time. I know it’s not airgun but approach to get them close is the same. Crows or corvids in general are very hard to hunt.

https://youtu.be/dUDCQBQCdHc



corvids are too smart for their own good, this guy even wears ghillie suite!

https://youtu.be/GOaHESG3yIM



I got one in my tree a long while ago and they been avoiding my yard ever since. 











 
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We use to shotgun them out in western Oklahoma. Saw guys literally fill pickup beds with them. Getting hid in the woods and calling crows with an airgun as the weapon is the most exciting hunting I do. Spot and stalking them in the woods might be the most challenging. They’re just so switched on at all times and do a good job working together. The one I snuck up on was the sentry so he didn’t have anyone watching his six.
 
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>What I find strange is that I have read that they are federally protected. So I’m not clear on that aspect. In the region I reside they can be managed legally if they are problematic. If they present an issue, they’re out of there.



Interesting, so I just checked, and in MN crows don't require a license from march 1 to march 31, or anytime they are doing damage. However it is questionable whether an airgun can be used..I'll have to call a DNR officer if I decide to kill a crow.



https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/events/event.html?id=58588



However, I doubt I will. Seems futile. Also, I one time pointed my finger like a gun at some crows that were making noise in a nearby tree when I was camping, and the jerks tried to bomb me with their crap.
 
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@moodyblues Damn. Now that you mention it, I think we were both in a previous discussion about using e-callers on ‘em. Someone in the discussion described a flightline and crows roosting in an area by the thousands.Was that you? I’ve never seen anything like it and don’t want to. Y’all keep them up there. They do work well together.You ever notice any distinct calls they use just after you’ve been busted by a sentry?


@bd2021 😅 At getting dive bombed with crow crap. Haven’t seen that one. 
 
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Nope I’ve never been lucky enough to get in on roosting crows but I was in on that discussion, giving my two cents on calling them in. 

I believe they have a couple alert calls. The one I’ve been busted with really seems like they’re standing up there yelling at you. Caw-caw-caw-caw-caw little higher pitched than their usual caw that you hear.


bd2021: I’ve never had crows dive bomb me, had mocking birds and bluejays do it a lot though. I’ve always lived outside of town and the crows a pretty wary, I’ve never had one let me walk within 50 yards of the tree he was in.
 
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I used to go after them for years with air guns and have noticed some interesting behavior. And in all those years I experienced this poop bombing only twice. In both instances it was done by one crow in a group. It would fly in a very distinctive tight circle above my head and you can actually see it trying to control its flight path to stay directly above you while it bombs you with a shower of small bits of poop. Almost as if it has a special way to scatter it in little pieces to cover a larger area around you. In both instances I had to sprint a few yards to get out of the "line of fire". The other very rare behavior I've noticed is when one of them would position itself high and directly above you then fold it's wings and dive straight down at you , pulling out of the dive not too far above your head. All this behavior happened in a suburban area where they seem to know that I cannot retaliate by shooting at them. Actually happened as I walked to work and back. However anytime I stepped into a small wooded are or a tree lined alleyway they quickly backed off.
 
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i generally dont try to find an excuse to kill something .. if its a pest to you i get it, they get along with my chickens fine, find it hard to buy theyre out head hunting ducks lol .. ive dusted a couple of them pecking melons in my garden .. they know better than that crap now lol .. this is what it looks like when something is fixin to buy the farm around here .. all i got is time if something is tooling around out there .. theyll mess up, then its time to pay the fiddler lol 

IMG_20220314_153736.1647287421.jpg

 
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@Moodyblues Interesting. I’ve had the opportunity to observe them a lot. I’ve gotten after them on a few occasions, but we generally seem to have an understanding. I can get close sometimes, but for a time after killing some they stay away and have a distinct call pattern when they see me. It doesn’t matter if they see me patrolling a section of a ranch or if they spot me heading towards a post in the woods in the vicinity of an area I’ve worked to alter problematic behavior. At home if I open the door they will take off. If I come outside, any remaining in trees take flight before the door closes. This is a problem when I have a garden. At that time they even take off at the sound of a window being raised. It’s the call patterns that interest me. I wonder if they have a developed language. I’ll have to look into that some time. 


Do you get after them often?
 
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Dizzums

I enjoy the challenge and excitement of hunting them, I understand not killing needlessly though. On the ducks. They had a waterfowl biologist on I can’t remember which state, Midwest I believe. He said they they were putting radio transmitters on freshly hatched ducklings, someone killed a raven that was raiding nests and they got whole nest full of transmitters out of his stomach. They also had a picture, which I can’t find, of a cache a raven made of duck eggs and I guess it was a substantial pile. Wasn’t saying save the ducks though more pointing out that corvids have had a %600 increase in population.
 
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Dave

in all reality these days I might go out targeting crows ten times in a year. Haven’t bagged more than 8 in a year since I was a kid. I haven’t got to sit and watch/listen to them much, their vocalizations are damn cool though. They’re so much more intelligent than most people give them credit for and they live a long time. Awesome critter.
 
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From what I've read in the past, crows and ravens aren't head-hunting ducks - it's the eggs their after. Swarms of crows or ravens (depending on the area) can descend on hatching areas and destroy hundreds, if not thousands, of eggs in a day's time. As with many predator-prey relationships, everything would run in cycles but balance out over time historically. However, the extreme influence of humans in the last couple hundred years has really skewed that balance. That's where the role of the wise conservationist comes into play.

A former co-worker told me stories of essentially having a crow as childhood pet in Pennsylvania. Most times when he'd go outside, the crow would show up and closely follow him around. I think he was even able to feed it from his hand.


 
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A couple interesting bits from the CFR listed above:

1) Regarding required use of non-toxic ammunition:

However, this prohibition does not apply if you use an air rifle or an air pistol for control of depredating birds.
Click to expand...

It's good that air rifles/pistols are specifically mentioned, and by implication the lead pellets that are commonly used.

2) Regarding the illegality of selling the birds or bird parts, though they may be transferred to educational or research institutions:

If not transferred, the bird and its parts must either be burned, or buried at least 1 mile from the nesting area of any migratory bird species
Click to expand...

Why do you suppose they have to be burned, or buried at least a mile away? I can see if concerns over pathogens or disease transfer was an issue, but no mention is made of that.
 
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Blackpaw 

Get you a caller and a good hiding spot, about the most fun you can have with a gun. If your rifle is real quite you will get multiple shots, and they go pretty crazy when you drop one. Exciting hunt.



TN_Yankee

”Why do you suppose they have to be burned, or buried at least a mile away? I can see if concerns over pathogens or disease transfer was an issue, but no mention is made of that.”


I don’t have the slightest clue. It almost seems like a superstition thing. They’ll eat a skunk butthole that’s been rotting for two weeks so in my mind they’re not worried about pathogens. May be a flawed way of thinking.





 
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