# Crow hunting



## jkehl (May 22, 2012)

Hey does anyone have have any advice on crow hunting, i have a remington 870 20ga. and does anyone know what is a good choice in chokes and ammo what type,shot size and should i use a blind or just sit in a feild with some camo and what calls i have a e-caller thanks to Ed/PrairieWolf thanks for the info.


----------



## ebbs (Feb 7, 2010)

If it were me I'd prefer a 12 gauge for the reach but a 20 would do you just fine. Since it's the 20 I'd recommend some 3" duck type waterfowl loads and a full choke or a modified if you plan on being closer. You'd be surprised at how far you can poke a bird that size with a full choke!

Otherwise the closer the better. You could go with some pheasant loads but I wouldn't go any lighter. Crows have heavier feathers than typical small game birds so it can be tough to break through if your loads aren't heavy enough. Best way to go is try what you like and if it doesn't work adjust. Experience is the best teacher.

In terms of call I wouldn't be much help. I used to shoot crows from 100 and 200 yards prone with a 17 HMR.


----------



## ebbs (Feb 7, 2010)

jkehl said:


> Hey does anyone have have any advice on crow hunting, i have a remington 870 20ga. and does anyone know what is a good choice in chokes and ammo what type,shot size and should i use a blind or just sit in a feild with some camo and what calls i have a e-caller thanks to Ed/PrairieWolf thanks for the info.


Also, Skip (Swampbuck) is obviously a pro at the crow killing game. Check it: http://www.predatortalk.com/topic/14472-dead-crows/


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

http://www.predatortalk.com/topic/13364-raining-crows/page__fromsearch__1

They're tricky devils and after 35 years, I'm still learning. Here are the basics: 7 1/2 shot or 8 shot, improved cylinder, crow in distress call, flapping wing decoy or crow kite, don't over-lead. No heavy shot, because you need multiple hits (Minimun 4 to 5) and let 'em come in. Stay concealed as much as possible and just shoot through windows of opportunity. If they see you, it's game over. Here's another link with a bit more detail: http://thinkingafield.org/2012/03/raining-crows-2.html

And, another: http://thinkingafield.org/2012/02/no-business-like-crow-business.html

And, another: http://thinkingafield.org/2011/09/testing-crow-hunting-techniques.html

PM me if you want more info, but this should get you a Rainmaker gig.


----------



## bones44 (Jan 7, 2011)

Glen and Skip are the pros at getting those buggers. Haven't had a chance to hunt them this year but still have a few days. Good luck !!

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Beets (Feb 7, 2012)

I use a benelli super black egale 12 gauge with a kicks turkey choke ( I also use this choke for skeet) # 6 or 4 shot and works very well I can reach out and touch them at 60 or so yards. I almost always shoot though a turkey choke just my preference.


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

While it's certainly true that the heavy shot and tight choke will carry farther and bring a crow down at longer ranges (sometimes), my kill rate has increased _dramatically_ since I gave up my extra-full turkey choke and 3 1/2-inch, 12-gauge loads of 2 1/4 ounce of #6 shot. I didn't care how much the shells cost; I just wanted to kill more crows. I have since switched to Winchester game loads containing 1 1/8-ounce of the smaller shot. When my crow-hunting buddies saw me punching out more than twice the crows they were killing combined, they switched, too.

The right setup will bring 'em in close, where the open chokes and lighter shot shine.

Attached is one page from the book *The Varmint and Crow Hunter's Bible *by Bert Popowski. Nobody's killed more crows than Bert (some 90,000 or more, but who's counting?)

From the book, _"Because of their small body size, they are best shot and most cleanly killed with dense patterns of small-sized shot pellets, which give them little opportunity to slip through the occasional crow-sized "holes" that appear in all shotshell patterns at the longer ranges. Any time I hear a crow hunter, be he novice or veteran, claim that crows are tough to kill, I know that he is shooting them with shotshells loaded with the coarser sizes of shot. Thus, for crow hunting, I would rather use the density of pattern provided by number 9 shot in regular skeet loads...And, at long range, although the density of pattern has thinned considerably, the multiple hits produced by fine-shot loadings are still far superior to the few hits produced by the larger sizes of shots. Lacking number 9s, I go to number 8s, or even 7 1/2s. But, unless I'm using a shotgun that patterns some specific size of shot sensationally well, I have never found any reason to shoot game loads of number 6, or coarser, shot on crows."_

As for me, I actually purchased a Browning Silver shotgun in 12 gauge with a 3 1/2-inch chamber, just so I could blast 'em with the heavy loads. I've since learned that ol' Bert would have laughed me out of the blind.


----------



## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

A picture tells a thousand words for sure. Thanks for the info.


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

No problem, YD. I fell into the misconception of using heavy loads, after listening to others. Since everyone can't be right, I went with Bert. Just wish it got through my thick skull earlier.


----------



## Daamud (Aug 28, 2012)

Great info. Thanks for posting that.


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Now, if I could only learn to shoot better...


----------



## Paul-e (Sep 16, 2012)

Black rain falling this am! OK, maybe just a drizzle but still.. it was a riot! I used #6 with a full choke (switching to 71/2 tomorrow glenway), FX3 foxpro and a hawk decoy. Hunt lasted 20 seconds at most. ! hit, 1 miss


----------



## bones44 (Jan 7, 2011)

Very interesting. I was always on the same thinking pattern as you Glen.


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Paul-e said:


> Black rain falling this am! OK, maybe just a drizzle but still.. it was a riot! I used #6 with a full choke (switching to 71/2 tomorrow glenway), FX3 foxpro and a hawk decoy. Hunt lasted 20 seconds at most. ! hit, 1 miss


Hey, Paul, That one crow you got will keep you coming back for more. Just keep tweaking and learning.


----------



## nashoba54 (Sep 16, 2012)

Looking forward to to the first half of the Oklahoma crow season starting next week on the 10th. Need to stock up on some more ammo and get my decoys cleaned up and/or repainted.


----------



## Paul-e (Sep 16, 2012)

First crow season ended Sept. 30 here in Mich, but after a close look at the reg's, there's a side note that says "may be taken outside the open season...if causing a nuisance or creating a health hazard" Looks like it's open season again, as long as I only shoot the ones that are bugging me!


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

It's been awhile but you don't need anything fancy to shoot crows. I have a Rem 870 Wingmaster 12ga. 2 3/4" with a full choke "not threaded for chokes" from the 1950s. A couple of decoys maybe an owl decoy and a crow call and what ever shells you have, nothing fancy 7 1/2s, 8s, 9s. All you need is a few pellets in the noggin!


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Paul-e said:


> First crow season ended Sept. 30 here in Mich, but after a close look at the reg's, there's a side note that says "may be taken outside the open season...if causing a nuisance or creating a health hazard" Looks like it's open season again, as long as I only shoot the ones that are bugging me!


You got it Paul-e. No calling (by law), however. Our next go-round is February/March. Sure wish it would be open year-round like years ago. As far as I'm concerned, they're always causing a nuisance by their very being.


----------



## Paul-e (Sep 16, 2012)

Thanks for the good info glenway. I'll be looking forward to the Feb. opener. It's amazing how smart them birds are! They wouldn't come any where near the first spot I called 'em in. Maybe by Feb. they might forget being shot at.


----------



## Elad (Sep 16, 2012)

Wish we had some Crows in AZ. We have giant Crows but they call them Ravens and they are protected. I used to hunt a lot of crows as a youngster in PA and really enjoyed it.


----------



## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

We do have crows and theres even a season on them in the regs. But be carefull its awful hard to tell the difference from ravens


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

We also have Ravens in northern Michigan and they are quite a bit larger but without having them together for comparison, it is almost impossible to distinguish them. The calls are very different, however. Ravens produce a much more gutteral sound.


----------



## Elad (Sep 16, 2012)

Sometimes the Ravens have a bigger vocabulary than a lot of people I know! They have very large beaks and are a pain in the butt at the grocery store parking lots.and trash bins.


----------



## bones44 (Jan 7, 2011)

I'll send you some ! LOL


----------



## Elad (Sep 16, 2012)

Thanks Bones .....I think!!!


----------

