18 replies to this topic

[crazyhorse]

This was at one of the horse ranches where I've been dinging squirrels. I was set up under a pepper tree and seen 3 crows land on top rail of a horse arena...lasered one at 42 yards. Dropped him with my Umarex 850 .177 hitting him in the chest....he fell and a few minutes later, about 60 crows swooped in and buzzed the pepper tree...it took over 30 minutes for them to settle down...Video clips...

[mackeralboy]

Well done Rich! I'm surprised you weren't able to get your 2nd and 3rd crow too with all of his budies hanging around.

[MikeNC]

Nice shot. Crows have always been a fun target to chase after. Lots of folks don't give them enough credit until they try and put the sneak up on them An airgun shotgun would have come in handy for his 60 buddies

[crazyhorse]

After the first one,none landed anywhere.....in fact the next morning went back,parked car,grabbed my rifle and about 20 of them came by squaking like crazy...they made my squirrel shooting a chore as the squirrels reacted to the dang crows...Going to try for one with my 1377C next week...I'll use .177 Beeman Crow Mags...lol...

[MG34]

I thought we just had ravens around here.

[ShooterJohn]

There are both throughout California but Raven's are much bigger than crows. You wouldn't have Ravens carrying on and diving about like that.Good shot Rich. Crows are one if not the smartest of the Corvid family. Crows live by the saying: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."

[jawbreaker]

Look at the crow sounds for your e-caller, I've put them on my fx-3 and it really gets those rats with wings going.

[ShooterJohn]

Rich, do you use a crow call or decoys of any sort? I have some killer crow sounds on my FoxPro and I usually use decoys. But then I normally shoot them with a shotgun so it's a bit different. I used to have some cheap paper mache dove decoys that I cut the tails on and spray painted black. Then I splattered them with some small white dots from a paint brush. They made great starling decoys and we used them at a farm to reduce the starling population. Before we used them you'd get a couple of shots max at the birds. But after we employed the decoys the numbers went way up.

[THE KNOT]

Crows are so smart and learn fast i consider them a great kill with airguns . I have learned to only take solo's around the house if possable so knot to spook them . Nice work C horse you have some gig 2 farms and lots of critters a grown boys dream second shot gets the heart rate going

[crazyhorse]

Rich, do you use a crow call or decoys of any sort? I have some killer crow sounds on my FoxPro and I usually use decoys. But then I normally shoot them with a shotgun so it's a bit different. I used to have some cheap paper mache dove decoys that I cut the tails on and spray painted black. Then I splattered them with some small white dots from a paint brush. They made great starling decoys and we used them at a farm to reduce the starling population. Before we used them you'd get a couple of shots max at the birds. But after we employed the decoys the numbers went way up.

I don't have any crow calls...Thinking of getting an owl decoy...these crows fly from roosting near the one ranch in a big valley every morning and return each afternoon...in fact,their route is over my house 3 miles away from the ranch...there are hundreds of them....often,they land in small groups occasionally at the ranch to feed....but if I blink, they fly off..so the pepper tree is a great hide to work from...I may try some crow calls on my property...that would be a real hoot....but my shooting zones are very limited as my property goes uphill behind the house and then levels off....

[VarmintAir]

Crows are a real hoot. I used to live two houses down from a guy that was into falconry. He would tether his birds out in his backyard so they could get some fresh air and sunshine. The crows would go nuts. I had a huge American Elm tree in my backyard that the crows would gather in and launch their attacks on his hawks. I would sometimes get five or six out of that tree before they figured out what was going on. Can they make a bunch of racket or what. Nice shot.

[MikeNC]

Hey VarmintAir....Please tell us that your neighbor launched his falcon after them crows on ocassion...Please let it be so...that would be a fun watch You just know that falcon wanted some revenge on them noisy & teasing rascals

[VarmintAir]

Hey VarmintAir....Please tell us that your neighbor launched his falcon after them crows on ocassion...Please let it be so...that would be a fun watch You just know that falcon wanted some revenge on them noisy & teasing rascals

He never did, but that would have been prime time for sure. Every time I would drop a crow out of that tree, they would swarm his hawks like a bunch yellow jackets. They were pretty smart though, because it didn't usually take too long for them to figure out that when Bubba 1, 2, and 3 pitched over and did a beak plant in my backyard, the hawks were still tethered to their stand two houses away. Somebody would let out a loud squawk, and they would all bail out of that tree like it was electrified.

[mackeralboy]

I have three Light/power poles that surround my property. When I moved in a few years ago I had crows all over them squaking up a racket at first light every morning. About two dozen crows and a few well placed pellets later they now fly a big arch around my house. I had one memorable double kill. I shot one that was roosting on the power line and he droped like a rock. In true crow fashion his buddies all started circling around and making a bunch of racket. As they didn't see what had actually happen to their buddy, curiousity got the better of a few and they roosted in the same spot as the first. Pop! Crow number two goes dead but he does the death grip onto the wire with his feet so now he is swinging back and forth upside down. He stays like this for about two minutes until the muscles in his leg relax and he falls on top of crow number 1. At this point all the other crows still can't figure out what is happening to their companions but realize that the area is not safe and vacate post haste.

[MikeNC]

he does the death grip onto the wire with his feet so now he is swinging back and forth upside down

Was that any chance a neck shot on the hanger? I have found many times a clean neck shot will not only hang them up, but stretch their wings out as well. and spiral down when they finally do let go

[mackeralboy]

Don't know about the neck shot. I was aiming dead center chest. When he flipped upside down he kept both wings tucked in tight next to his side. He kind of looked funny like some sort of arcade target that flipped upside down.

[ShooterJohn]

They drive me crazy when they circle overhead.

[crazyhorse]

Here are some circling yesterday...I've ordered some decoys...maybe I can get a few down...

[ShooterJohn]

This is the decoy you need if you want to pull them in.http://crowmart.secu...com/shop/?cat=4Here are some crows over my place when I turned on the e-caller.They get very upset when they hear one of their buddies is getting beat up.