Crow Hunting- anybody do this regularly? What works?

[tlbradford]

 I use #4 shot.  They can take a load like a late season pheasant.

I listened to ol' Bob Aronsohn on the Predator TalkCast, and he recommended 7 1/2 and 8's. He felt the greater pellet density is important for the small body the crow has, relatively speaking. He is an amazing character to listen to. He has shot over 100,000 crows, by actual count.  He's had a number of stands where he has taken over 200 birds.  I find that incredible.

That is way more than I have shot, so I would listen to the expert.  I wonder what type of choke he is using?  Maybe a skeet choke?  Remember those aviaries that he gets to hunt back east may hold thousands of birds.  The one I hunt regularly probably has a couple of hundred.

[ivarhusa]

He said he used modified cylinder, or improved cylinder at times.

I highly recommend listening to the talk cast, when you get about 80 minutes to spare.

He told of warning one companion about the consequences of shooting with 1.5 oz of 6-shot. They tookd down 400 crows that day, and the guy's shoulder was very sore.  Bob recommended 7/8 oz loads.  He also uses a recoil pad in his shirt.  No wonder!

[lewy]

I made a bunch of decoys out of 7/16 ply and painted them black. They worked great! To add realism you can tip over a gabage can and scatter some trash around-no kidding this works awsome!

[Heavy G]

There is actually a season for crows.  I want to say October to December of something like that. 

A season for flying rats?

[ivarhusa]

From what I read, crow harvesting is governed by international treaty.  Seasons can only be about 120 days (or fewer), and not during the breeding season.  That said, there is a predation exemption (as perhaps someone else mentioned.  Indeed, the Washington season typically runs OCT-JAN.

Too bad, as that is prime coyote season for me.

I probably will make some profile decoys as lewy suggested.

Ivar