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Wing-shooting adventures targeting crows can be an exciting outdoor pastime
Tom Lounsbury
Tue, 21 Feb 2023 11:50:19 EST
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Wing-shooting adventures targeting crows can be an exciting outdoor pastime.
By: Tom Lounsbury
The American crow is a very unique bird I truly admire. It is extremely intelligent, has eyesight as sharp as a hawk, a very good memory and has a real clannish nature with its own kind, often involving large flocks, wherein there is a good network of communication with a variety of vocalizations. It is also often vilified, usually justly so, because it likes devouring the eggs and even the young chicks of other bird species, including ground-nesting game birds and waterfowl.
I remember a lady complaining to me about crows invading inside city limits. It turns out she had a robin's nest on a bush in front of her kitchen window, and she enjoyed watching the robin parents feeding their freshly hatched young. Then the crows suddenly appeared, and while some crows harassed and distracted the adult robins, other crows flew in and snatched up all the baby birds, much to this lady's horror. But that was a prime example of a crow's way of life and it is highly adaptable in surviving near humans, even in urban settings.
Crows can also be a nuisance to farmers by converging on freshly planted grainfields and eating seeds which have just sprouted. A friend of mine had a wildlife food plot he had just planted with soybeans last spring which, being a compact size when compared to larger fields, was quickly destroyed by a large flock of crows as soon as the seeds sprouted. Bean sprouts are obviously a crow delicacy, not to mention other grains, which led to the creation of "scarecrows" way back when, to deter crows from eating the profits.
Crows have been implicated in the spread of the mosquito-borne West Nile Virus (WNV), but are not vectors, and instead they are the first victims due to scavenging on dead birds infected by WNV. Hawks and owls are implicated as well, due to feeding on sick prey (birds infected with WNV are lethargic, tilt their heads and have tremors, and die soon after). Research in this regard is continuing.
On the good side, crows eat a lot of grubs and harmful caterpillars. I also truly enjoy listening to crows vocalizing with each other and look upon the presence of crows as natural part of the outdoors.
My first close interaction with crows occurred when I was a kid, near the large orchard behind our farmhouse. I knew crows had a large nest (built with sticks) in top of one of the apple trees, and I was on my way to the barn when I could hear the crows making a commotion at the edge of the orchard. That is when I noticed a young crow lying on the ground, which was just learning how to fly and was none too good at it, yet anyway.
That is when I got the sudden brainstorm that a young crow would make a great pet, and I took off on the run, and quickly caught up to the young bird which was scrambling and futilely trying to perform a takeoff. It was making hissing noises intermittent with crow-screams for help, when I picked it up, and I suddenly had a flock of crows flying just above me and screaming out their complaints as well. That is when a couple crows, probably the parents, became real aggressive and started strafing the top of my head. They didn't make contact, but were close enough I could feel a breeze from their flapping wings and one crow just missed my face. Well, folks, there comes a moment when you either hold or fold, and I realized a "pet crow" wasn't such a good idea after all, and I dropped the young crow and made a fast retreat, with the pair of crows continuing to strafe me, but they soon backed off. The whole flock kept making a loud ruckus for a bit afterwards, I guess to make sure I stayed away, which I did!
The American crow is Federally protected and can only be hunted during a couple set timeframes. Here in Michigan, the early crow season is August 1 - September 30, and the late crow season is February 1 - March 31. This allows crows to have a successful mating and nesting period, and the hunting seasons are set in place to control crow numbers, and crows at times, can definitely be "nuisance critters", especially in areas where they are abundant.
As you may have guessed, folks, I dearly love crow hunting and look at it as being a superb wing-shooting experience using a shotgun, right on par with duck hunting. In fact, duck hunting and crow hunting share the same features such as camouflage, blinds, decoys and calling, and the atmosphere in a crow blind is identical to that found in a duck blind. Hunters can converse and joke amongst themselves right up until birds are being lured into range. Then the action can become fast and furious, so to speak. I have found crow hunting with a shotgun is an ideal way to tune up and sharpen ones wing-shooting skills. Incoming crows can make very challenging targets!
Crows aren't very shock resistant and are usually quick to cash in the chips to proper hits. I've dependably taken crows during the early season when shots are relatively close due to leaves still being on the trees, while using a 28 ga and 7.5 lead birdshot, but number sixes are probably the best for most situations. I've also taken crows when encountering them while using a .410 for squirrel hunting in September (I always carry a crow call during an ongoing crow season). I've shot crows with every shotgun bore size except 10 ga, and my favorite all time "crow shotgun" is a vintage 16 ga double barrel (choked modified in the right barrel and improved modified in the left barrel). A modified choke is my favorite for crow hunting.
Even though I enjoy using mouth calls, electronic callers are allowed for crow hunting and I must admit they certainly do a fantastic job. It was some years back when I purchased a Johnny Stewart electronic caller which used different cassettes for varmints, and even crows. The early crow season hadn't started yet when I took the electronic caller out on my back deck and turned the crow cassette on just to see what the reaction with crows in my neighborhood was going to be. I didn't have to wait long and the crows must have been having a family reunion nearby, because a whole bunch of crows were suddenly swarming overhead and cawing loudly. I can only wonder what anybody driving by right then might have thought was going on at the Lounsbury homestead!
In case you are wondering, crows are edible, and I've been told they taste just like duck and that any duck recipe will work fine. Well, folks, I do like to eat ducks (woodies and mallards are my favorite) but I draw the line when it comes to "eating crow". I do believe in controlling crow numbers and I respectfully give them a proper burial after a hunt.
As I mentioned before, I truly admire crows for being the unique birds that they are, and in their distinct way, how they enhance the great outdoors.
For more information on crow hunting, go to
www.crowbuster.com
