Crow Decoys??

Status
Not open for further replies.

Sniper66

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
3,467
Location
NE Kansas
I'm hunting crows again this year when the season opens and want to try decoys. In the past I just call them and get a few shots, then move to another location. My questions are: Do decoys work? If so, which decoys? I've seen different types and some look very flimsy; more like decoration for a Halloween party. Your thoughts?
 
You bet! What I do is buy a half dozen crow decoys and an owl decoy. Put the owl up on a 10 foot piece of PVC pipe to make it seen for a long distance. Augment your decoy numbers with black work socks. The more it looks like a fight happened the better. Toss some socks around like they got beat up by the owl. Use a mouth blown call or electronic call to make it sound like a lot of excited crows. As they approach, taper the calling off, and flick off your safety. Don't waste, crows aren't bad to eat, if not, your pooch would appreciate the protein.
 
I was messing around the other day and turned on my coyote caller that has a juvenile crow distress call on it. It pulled in crows from everywhere. Might help you. I don't intentionally hunt them because on my farm, if I can get a shot when I'm hunting anything else, I'll take it.
 
Yes, I use an electronic caller....a Primos Alpha Dog, which works OK with new batteries. As batteries age the sound is distorted and crows notice. Have called them with a mouth caller, which I carry to use when the squirrels aren't running. I'm planning to invest in some decoys and wondering which ones work best.
 
Yes, I use an electronic caller....a Primos Alpha Dog, which works OK with new batteries. As batteries age the sound is distorted and crows notice. Have called them with a mouth caller, which I carry to use when the squirrels aren't running. I'm planning to invest in some decoys and wondering which ones work best.

I wouldn't spend a ton. The Flambeau is a good bet.
 
I've had luck with a decoy that has a built-in crow caw. It worked one time on the crows around my house. Before that they stayed away since I shoot them every chance I get. If you vary where you call from (different crows), it should help you.
 
You bet! What I do is buy a half dozen crow decoys and an owl decoy. Put the owl up on a 10 foot piece of PVC pipe to make it seen for a long distance. Augment your decoy numbers with black work socks

Growing up in WV our neighbor bud had a huge live owl. We would find a crows nest with young in residence. We would hang the caged owl in a tree nearby and start making a racket. The owl would start hooting, the young crows would start their fearful cries, and the sky would be thick with crows.
 
I use them a couple of different ways. In the warmer weather I find where the crows are roosting for the night. I will set up within a couple of miles, typically in a field or opening of some type, before first light. I put an owl decoy in a tree with an upside down crow decoy beneath it. Then I start calling with both the owl and crow calls just at first light. Do not shoot the first one that comes in. Thats the scout. He will go back to the flock and report. Then all hell breaks loose and your shooting as many shotgun shells as you can cycle. Best done with a buddy because it's a one time deal for that flock, and that day. In the cold months I set up a crow decoy in the middle of a cut cornfield. This decoy is on its side with a couple of more scattered around upright. As there is usually snow so I spread some red food coloring around horizontal decoy. I then position myself on the field edge with a varmint rifle a couple of hundred yards away and call. This is a one bird at a time tactic. Both tactics require complete camouflage as crows have excellent eye sight.
 
Try using crow hawk fight and switch between it and dieing crow if you have them.
Also camo all the way even your face with scare them.
 
You bet! What I do is buy a half dozen crow decoys and an owl decoy. Put the owl up on a 10 foot piece of PVC pipe to make it seen for a long distance. Augment your decoy numbers with black work socks. The more it looks like a fight happened the better. Toss some socks around like they got beat up by the owl. Use a mouth blown call or electronic call to make it sound like a lot of excited crows. As they approach, taper the calling off, and flick off your safety. Don't waste, crows aren't bad to eat, if not, your pooch would appreciate the protein.
Bring plenty of shells!
The best crow decoy is when you just break the wing of the first one you shoot.
So true. Charliefrank's methods work well, too.
 
Is there any compelling reason to shoot crows? I have moved to a farm in northern Florida, and we are up to our ears in crows. Are they doing something bad I don't know about yet?
 
Is there any compelling reason to shoot crows? I have moved to a farm in northern Florida, and we are up to our ears in crows. Are they doing something bad I don't know about yet?

If you are a duck hunter, crow hunting is the best practice you can get. On top of that, I just hate em.
 
Is there any compelling reason to shoot crows? I have moved to a farm in northern Florida, and we are up to our ears in crows. Are they doing something bad I don't know about yet?

I think like any animal, it's just a matter of controlling their numbers so as not to become a nuisance. For most folks, it's just something else to shoot. In my state, up until a few years ago, it was illegal to shoot crows unless they were, by law, congregated in numbers large enough to create a nuisance. Kinda a vague and subjective definition. The local warden years ago was a good friend of mine and when asked what constituted numbers large enough to be a nuisance, he would just smile and say, "when you have more than one circling above you, making noise." The original thought was, being scavengers, they would clean up roadkill, gut piles and carcasses left in the woods and thus prevent the spread of disease. Few years back they made crow hunting legal, with a caveat on wanton waste. Thus, you can shoot them legally, but you have to use them for something, not just throw them in the woods or garbage. So, it's either crow pie or garden fertilizer.

That said, a few decoys and a good caller(I just use my mouth) is really all you need. Get a few and prop them up with a stick. Also illegal here to use live decoys or to let a bird/animal suffer(like the broken wing suggestion). Owl/hawk decoys work well to, but I generally will wait to shoot till they are roosted in the trees around the decoy to start shooting....gives you more opportunity a more than one. Regardless of good the decoy or the caller, crows learn fast and will soon ignore even the best set-up after a few shots are fired. It may work to come back later to the same spot, but it won't work as well as it did the first time. Once you have shot a few birds and the rest of the birds stop responding, it's time to move on to a different spot, a good distance away and start over.
 
I don't have a crow call. I bought a squirrel call the other day and tried it. Lots of crows showed up. Squirrels...not so much.
 
I have a squirrel "whistle" which has worked once or twice. But, it has called crows several times. When I'm nearing the end of my squirrel hunt I'll often do some calling. Usually they come but only offer flying shots. I have occasionally gotten lucky though and a slow-witted one will light...then he's history.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top