Never killed a crow- need suggestions

S

skunkhunter

New member
I've been trying to kill crows for 3 weeks now. I have a Lohman gold series call, 2 homemade decoys, and a 12 gauge. I can call the crow in but they won't land or allow a good shot. Any suggestions for luring them closer...electronic caller, etc.? I was also wondering if the homeade ecaller from this site was loud and worked well.
 
Greetings -

Sounds like the crows have been called to & shot at before! They are more wary than most people give them credit for. After calling in one place, don't go there again for 2 or 3 weeks. You need to find other areas to hunt so each place can have a rest between sessions.

Wiley
 
What kind of set-up are doing?Crows are very smart,and will fly off if they do not like what they see.What type call/recording was used?The decoys have to be realistic as crows have great eyesight.A good hawk-n-crow fight call is a must here.I have found that crows only come to the call 1-2 times after that they get wary of calling.There's always exceptions to this.Most times not all but only one or two will come to investigate the call,this is where good decoy set-up comes in.Shooters must be well hidden,and stay hidden,not shooting the first to arrive.A hawk or owl decoy is a good idea when using the fighting calls,if they can't see what all the fighting is over they will leave.A good crow mouth call helps to excite them and bring'em on in.Good luck.If at all possible to get a shot,and wound one,well you've got the best decoy there is.The other crows will go wild over the injured crows cries for help,esspecially if you can get your hands on him.
 
If you are not already, you must be in complete camo including your face. Do not move at all when they are coming until they are in range. They have incredible eye sight and any movement will cause them to flare. Another good setup is to get in a tree line under the highest tree in the area. They will feel safer approaching that tree and you will get some shots. Also using hay bails in the middle of a field is effective but again you can not give yourself away before they are in range. If you are hunting a flyway there is no reason to change locations. If you are hunting a local flock then you will need to move alot and change calls as well.
 
Sounds like they are busting you, take Riccur's advice, they have incredible eyesight. If they are coming in, you are calling OK, just camo better, and don't move till they are well within range. E-callers work better, because you can get multiple crows fighting, but a mouth call works OK if you do eveything else right. Homeade decoys work OK as well. If you get a cripple on the ground you need a lot of ammo. Don't overcall in one area, they learn real quick. There are many topics about it on this site, do a search and read away! Good Luck!!!
 
Skunkhunter? Does the name tell it all? LOL. Welcome to the site. All of the above info is good. I have found that an ecaller works the best for me. I will also use a mouth call along with the ecaller for added excitement. I have had success with both friendly and fight set ups, but I have had killer success with the Johnny Stewart tape "Death Cry of a Crow". As a matter of fact, I like it so much, that I have downloaded part of the tape onto my Predation caller. Those Crow just keep coming in for more punishment. I have a homemade Cripple Crow decoy for this type of set up. Check this site out: www.crowbusters.com and www.crowmart.com They will help you out considerably. Good luck.
 
eh buddy dont listen to those guys tellin ya to use crow calls...ya they work and me and my family use them sometimes but if we wanna call in some crows for a 90% chance of shootin we just use our cottontail and jackrabbit distress calls that we'd use for coyotes.

we started usin mainly just rabbit distress calls after having crows circle and land on the same tree one of use was leaning against while waiting for a yote to come in pretty much every time.

so...next time ya go out use a cottontail or jackrabbit distress call and just sit against a tree and dont look up until your redy to shoot cuz thats wen they see your face...unlesss ya wear a full face camo mask thingy...ya gotta be able to use your ears wen huntin like this.

just try it out....and who knows...maybe u will get a yote or 2 to come in while yer tryin to get a few crows...hutn like this yer basically huntin for predators and crows at the same time.

ch312
 
CanadianHunter is right. I myself have called in Crows with a rabbit call. It is effective. Guess it just depends on were you are at. Death crys just work for me.
 
Absolutely true The rabbit call works great, but I don't use it. After you call, the crows almost show up instantly so if you've got #4 or #6's in your shotgun, are you gonna change out to #4 buck and wait for a coyote. You only have about a minute to make up your mind. Crows gathering over head is a good thing when your calling preditors. I've wrestled with this one for a while. Once you call in crows with a rabbit call and shots fired, your busted, there done and any coyote that is on it's way is gone to. you may drop 1 or 2 but it's over And you've educated every critter within ear shot. It works but I don't use it.
I think that everyone will testify that leeding crows is an art in it self. expecially when there excites and trying to locate the sound. There flying 50 ft per second and they turn up or put the brakes on. You have to read them, and that takes some time to get. I get rusty if I have'nt gone for a while. I'm sure you'll get it.
Oh ya, one other thing. When i use my e-caller I set up and wait till I hear a crow before I turn the caller on. I run it for about 15 seconds and then turn it off. usually they'll show up imediatly, If you hold off a little they'll land in the tree tops, hopfully were your setup and watching, BLAST-AWAY and then turn the caller back on 5- 10 seconds and then off again. They'll come back around again and again. I use a hand call with the e-caller sparingly maybe 2 cawls and then 3 cawls. I never try to talk to them. I don't know why it works so good but it really brings'm in and they are excited.
Good luck and don't get busted!
 
I'm terrible at calling anything in... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

So I learned to compensate with precision accuracy at extended ranges.

I bust crows before they ever see me, at 300 to 400 yards... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Dan
 
Can you say you are addicted to killing the winged rats yet? Hope so /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif . Good job on the crow.
 
Skunkhunter,
Here are a couple tips I have learned about handcalling crows. First, heavy cover rocks. Pine trees are the best. The closer you can get to the birds the better (heavy cover helps hear also)
Second, I don't mean to bad mouth youth call but I absolutely had the Lohman Gold series. The best cheap crow call I have used is the Hammering Crow made by HS Strut. Sounds good straight from the package and with a little tuning it sounds excellent.
Matt
 
I hunt with both the Lohman Gold and the H.S. Strutt, got 5 in a half hour with the gold and an owl decoy, and got 25 in a few hours with the H.S. and a few different sets.
 
I was over crowbusters the other day and the guys were talking about how to make that "gluck gluck gluck" sound crows make. I guess you gargle into the call! One guy said you got to buy a video -how- to tape and practice for about 6 months. Any of you know how to do that?
 
I have Bob A's hand calling casette. When I bought mine they were 5 bucks shipped. For the serious crow hunter they are worth 10 times that much. Bob is the best bar none when it comes to crows and he always gives great advise. Listen to him and you will never be steered wrong when it comes to crows.
Matt
 
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