CROW hunting?

**freddy g** · October 30th, 2011, 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by 18mm

The Johnny Stewart caller is the best. There is a crow and owl fight, a crow and hawk and the speaker has a 25' cord and radio shack has connectors that allow you to make a 100' cord if you want. My digital caller really brings them in but they're not stupid, once the shooting starts they'll haul ass. I lay on my back with a bed sheet over me but it hurts like hell to have a shotgun go off against your shoulder when you're on the ground.

I was wondering where i could get the plugs to fit that cable! I have not looked at this post in a while and i was just thinking about getting a longer cable for my johnny stewart crow caller,the western rivers E caller is E-garbage the crows laughed at it! I have been turning on the john rivers and running back to the blind then they come and look towards the caller and never see me till 1 or 2 are down,then i pack up and move to another location and do it all again!

**abner13** · October 30th, 2011, 06:37 PM

When I was growing up , ya could even hunt crows on Sundays. Don't think they're considered game birds , but pests. Had a big field near our property that I used to spread with cracked corn. Shot hundreds of crows (and occasional pheasant for dinner) with shotgun , rifle and handgun(rim and centerfire).

**tabasco_joe** · October 31st, 2011, 11:33 PM

Current crow season is any Friday, Saturday, and Sunday except in April, May, and June.

Wear full camo and use an electronic caller. Shotguns are the way to go. If any crow spots you going to the area you set up the caller they won't come in to gun range. Find a spot where you can enter heavy woods and move to a setup location. Standing corn is also a good cover. My brother, son, and I have a circuit we rotate around spending the whole day at various locations. Used to be we could knock off 50 a day but West Nile virus killed over 90% in many areas and they are just now coming back from that.

Use an owl crow fight and they come in fast and furious. You must kill the scout who comes in first or they will wise up fast.

**WWGunslinger** · November 5th, 2011, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by kel ruger man

electronic caller a must. you can use anything you want to shoot them with. all they are is rats with wings...fun hunting and not easy...smart little bastards

heck yeah, i've tried to shoot some crows around the house and they always seem to know i'm coming for them.

**herplover** · November 6th, 2011, 09:40 AM

If you have ever been small game hunting and had crows flying towards you and suddenly they changed direction it was probably due to the orange.they see color and are extremely smart.Definately have to wear camo and depending what cover you are using a gili suit(i know its spelled wrong) would be a good idea.

**yard** · March 14th, 2014, 02:59 PM

Obviously, Pennsylvania specifically allows hunting of crows as a nuisance. I was just doing some research about what it would require to own a crow as a pet - licenses etc., since I know native animals are generally banned as pets. I have owned macaw and cockatoo, which are similar sized animals and are similar to care for. The best I found was info on non-native raven species for sale, they are in the $2,000 range though.

Then, I came across information on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which specifically mentions American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos and
Common Raven, Corvus corax. It reads that even a feather in possession is a crime.

My questions, to those wiser and willing to share are:

Are the above animals the crows in PA?
Are they migratory? I didn't think so.
A friend from way back said they make intelligent and rewarding pets, but have to be hand raised as hatch-lings. Does anyone else have insight?

In the mean time, I'm going to try out this Olt call that I got from another old-timer and see if my Saiga 12 can meet the task.

Thank you in advance for those willing to offer insight.

**yard** · March 16th, 2014, 11:28 AM

After reading up some more, I understand why no one is dignifying my idea with a response.

It's cruel to own a crow. My father captured our cockatoo in a New York cemetery. It had lived with crows for months and he knew it wouldn't survive the winter if he left it out there. We found it tame, even friendly - but with many crow mannerisms. It learned to speak as we trained it, but would revert to a crow-like caw often. When it heard the local crows outside it would join in, and sometimes it would caw and I would notice crows showing up outside and their numbers sometimes got into the dozens.

Well, I wanted to share that background. I didn't mean to thread-jack and resurrect this old thread just for nothing. I have read on and on about the social and family habits of crows and realize that it would be ridiculous to supplant that short of as part of a larger rescue program.

In case you're thinking, like I did briefly, that it would be a good idea:

http://birds.cornell.edu/crows/babycrow.htm#injured

A Cornell professor breaks it down to why we should hunt or admire these birds, or otherwise leave them alone.

The Olt caller drew some in, by the way, but they wised up to me before I could get them to close in to lethal range. With the choke, my Saiga can probably take a crow to 30 yards - but I still don't know if I can hit one!