Why hunt Crows?

Except for the handful of recipes for preparing crow, why in this day of rampant animal rights fanaticism, should we continue to hunt and kill an animal that has no real value? The reason is that the crow continues to exhibit behavior that ranges from simply annoying to highly destructive. In agricultural areas, be it the pecan plantations of the south or the cornfields of the mid-west, crows continue to account for extensive crop damage, including the nasty habit of pulling up sprouting grain in the spring. Western crows have the worst reputation for crop damage, especially because of their habit of congregating by the thousands to feed on cultivated fruits and nuts. Often, they end the day by raiding a nearby watermelon field in order to save a trip to a distant watering place. Under such conditions, total crop loss can occur. Remember that these scenarios only happen in grossly over populated areas of the US.

WEST NILE VIRUS

Recently crows have been identified as a carrier of the West Nile Virus that has killed at least 155 people to date. Crows have been found to be prime carriers of the mosquito borne disease because of their highly sensitive nature to the virus and their roosting habits in areas of water. Blood tests are currently being conducted throughout the infected areas, but this disease will continue to be a concern due to the crow's migratory nature.

INTELLIGENT AND HARD TO HUNT

I believe the crow deserves our admiration and should be considered more than just a nuisance bird by hunters. The crow is the most intelligent of all birds in North America. As such, they can be a challenging and worthy adversary that, kept under control, are a welcome part of nature's complex tapestry. Based on the outcome of man/crow conflicts throughout history, the crow will no doubt continue to be a source of many frustrating hours afield for those of us who hunt crows! This makes for a great hunting experience.

HOW TO HUNT'EM

This is how I have discovered to bag a few crows. You can either buy an owl decoy and crow decoy or make it a project and build your own decoys. I made my own decoys out of 4 Styrofoam balls and black and brown feathers. After a few days of plugging in feathers and rigging a spring system with fishing twine and nails I was in business. Why use an owl decoy? Crows despise them and owls hate crows. Crows will gang up in a bird fight. It is the survival of the strongest. An army of crows will defeat one individual owl. In conjunction with the two decoys I have an electronic call of an owl crow fight that calls in crows. Dynamite! This thing calls them in like flies on crap. Then stake out your two decoys and make them shake and replicate a fight on the ground. Weapon of choice is any shotgun and shot from 7.5 to 4 shot. Full camo is really recommended cause these guys can see good! Also you need 2 or more hunters to turn the odds your way.

The pic is of a few crows me and my buddy called up. He shot these two. I hit one but not solid and missed one also. However I was running the call and wiggling the decoys at the same time. It can get pretty intense!


Good Shooting!