crows and attempts to shoot-foiled

[Joe Maisto]

This is a bit different in terms of topic. I dislike crows quite a bit inspite of some good they can do. Predation on songbird hatchlings is one topic. But this is digression. I have on more than one occasion tried to pop a few ground based crows at fairly good distance 300 to 500 yds with occasional success. There's not a lot of crow inside that ball of feathers!. Any how afer youve shot one crow and inthe future when you get a good sight picture of a crow stalking bugs or hatchlings on the ground and you start to squeeze the trigger the crow thats wearing the cross hairs will freeze for an instant and immediately take flight. Then you swing to crow number 2 that is marching around the field and it will do the same thing. Stops walking or focusing on the ground, stare at you intently for a fraction of a second then immediately take flight. This takes place at a range that is generally > 300yd. If you have not shot at any in recent history they dont usually take flight, just keep hunting. I have sighted on as many as 6 crows at one time and all have taken flight, but only the one you focussed on , one at a time.That population seems to be sensitized for the season after one is either shot or missed. You can stalk in fairly good cover but they respond to the crosshairs almost like a 6th sense. Its difficult shooting since they only give you a second or so before taking flight when the crosshairs are on them
I know crows are credited with excellent eye sight and above normal inteligence. I also know if you look through the objective end of a scope sight you get a well enhanced view of the focused eye.
Im guessing that the crows respond to my bloodshot eyeball focussing on them- the image is very narrowed field of view and I dont believe more than just 1 crow can focus on more than 1 eyeball at a time. Are they that intelligent that that eye focused on them is a conditioned warning that they are going to be fired on when they spot that eyeball. 6th sense would be another putative theory also.

Opinions and observations?

A most interesting read. I would not dispute anything you have written about this topic. It may be co-incidental, but it does make one wonder. A 6th sense in everything alive cannot be disputed until proved otherwise. And who in fact... is qualified to prove that?

 

[Joe Maisto]

One thing is for sure, they definitely know the difference when I'm carrying a shovel or a Remington 870, and that's a fact!

If you could cut the handle off a shovel, turn it pointed down and tape it onto the BOTTOM of your 870...that might give you an edge... for a little bit !

 

[ARW]

If you could cut the handle off a shovel, turn it pointed down and tape it onto the BOTTOM of your 870...that might give you an edge... for a little bit !

Yes that would probably fool them, but that's a lot of work for only one shot cause they would only be fooled once, lol. Smartest birds in the US in my opinion.

 

[Brians356]

Smartest birds in the US in my opinion.

I'll give the IQ edge to the Raven. Same genus Corvus, but a larger brain. Where I grew up in N. Idaho the woodsmen call 'em "Potlatch turkey".
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[rogn]

You do better calling them in and using a shotgun. Those darn things move around all the time. Most of the time i miss with a rifle. Most does not mean all but the percentage of hits at longer range is rather low.

Occasionally you get one that is very unlucky. The late and legendary Elmer Keith was at a party and spotted one in a tree at around 1,000 yards. He had a 22 rimfire rifle, used a short and ... it fell DRT.

Yeah my brother's cousin in law's wife's nephew's second wife was there and saw the whole thing. Actually I had loaned Wilfred, the nephew, my Benjamin .177 pellet gun that we tried a different oil in the pump. Anyhow he,EK, sa the crow and decided to give it a try. Went to eleven pumps, a little over maximum. He aimed and touched it off, took a good hard looked pumped it up to 12 pumps this time . After another 7 or 8 seconds passed that crow just fell straight down. That started a big argument over whether it was a "one shot kill" or two shot. Some of us figured the pellet took so long to get there, that gave him time to reload and fire. but the crow got hit by the first pellet since it took so long to get there. The rest of us figured that the first pellet plain missed but the second one finally caught up to the crow. Oh and iron sights.!

 

[Ackman]

Back in the 80's Orange Co. in So. Calif. I knew a guy who had it figured out. There were lots of malls around - mini malls, strip malls - all with dumpsters and early morning dumpster crows. About daybreak he'd make the rounds in his truck with a pellet gun, just really did a number on the crows. After a few weeks there was a writeup in the paper about dumpsters and dead crows under suspicious circumstances. It's really funny story and more to it than just that. But for awhile he laid waste to a whole bunch of those things.

And then there were the times during squirrel shoots..............

 

[Brians356]

Back in the 80's Orange Co. in So. Calif. I knew a guy who had it figured out. There were lots of malls around - mini malls, strip malls - all with dumpsters and early morning dumpster crows. About daybreak he'd make the rounds in his truck with a pellet gun, just really did a number on the crows. After a few weeks there was a writeup in the paper about dumpsters and dead crows under suspicious circumstances. It's really funny story and more to it than just that. But for awhile he laid waste to a whole bunch of those things.

It's not unlikely a link to that story can be found in online archives, starting with the newspaper's web site (if they're still viable.) I'd love to read that.
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[Ackman]

It's not unlikely a link to that story can be found in online archives, starting with the newspaper's web site (if they're still viable.) I'd love to read that.
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Orange County Register. I didn't see the article, he told me about it years later

 

[swimster]

A buddy and I would drive roads spot crows in the a field. We would slow down ,just keep the truck going fast enough one of us could jump out in the ditch. On the opposite side of the truck from the crows. Keep the truck moving slowly to keep the crows attention. While the shooter pulled off the shot worked quite well.

 

[Ackman]

Early 80's I had good shooting on a friend's alfalfa farm in Nevada, near Yerington. No squirrels but crows were everywhere. Just after cutting and before baling, crows would be out there eating bugs and not paying attention to the roads along the irrigation ditch. You could stop and window shoot them pretty easily.

Also after shooting a bunch of squirrels or pd's in an area, I've come back later and being sneaky with cover, shot them when they were busy eating gutpiles. Every dead crow feels good because of all the times I've been outsmarted.

Best ever crow shooting was on a late 80's squirrel trip to alfalfa country. Every so often there was a stand of trees and each one had nests. The timing was just right... young ones were full grown but not quite ready to fly away and leave the nest so they'd just hop around in the trees. We'd back off about 75-100yds and have at it with AR's. It was beautiful. Daddy and mommy crow were circling around a couple 100yds above us, cursing loudly while we clobbered everything in the trees. Great fun.

 

[AckleymanII]

rogn, you are taking too long on your shot, get your azz in gear and pull the trigger!

 

[Mudcat]

You can always call them in with a baby crow in distress call. set up inside some forest with a thick canopy where they have to fly in before they get chance to see you. By the time they see you, you have unloaded a 12ga on them. Crow for dinner.

 

[mensajd]

Shot one with an alr rifle. The rest of the flock did a short fly-over lap while squawking loudly. They seem to be smart but I don’t tolerate them.

 

[JFrank]

This is a bit different in terms of topic. I dislike crows quite a bit inspite of some good they can do. Predation on songbird hatchlings is one topic. But this is digression. I have on more than one occasion tried to pop a few ground based crows at fairly good distance 300 to 500 yds with occasional success. There's not a lot of crow inside that ball of feathers!. Any how afer youve shot one crow and inthe future when you get a good sight picture of a crow stalking bugs or hatchlings on the ground and you start to squeeze the trigger the crow thats wearing the cross hairs will freeze for an instant and immediately take flight. Then you swing to crow number 2 that is marching around the field and it will do the same thing. Stops walking or focusing on the ground, stare at you intently for a fraction of a second then immediately take flight. This takes place at a range that is generally > 300yd. If you have not shot at any in recent history they dont usually take flight, just keep hunting. I have sighted on as many as 6 crows at one time and all have taken flight, but only the one you focussed on , one at a time.That population seems to be sensitized for the season after one is either shot or missed. You can stalk in fairly good cover but they respond to the crosshairs almost like a 6th sense. Its difficult shooting since they only give you a second or so before taking flight when the crosshairs are on them
I know crows are credited with excellent eye sight and above normal inteligence. I also know if you look through the objective end of a scope sight you get a well enhanced view of the focused eye.
Im guessing that the crows respond to my bloodshot eyeball focussing on them- the image is very narrowed field of view and I dont believe more than just 1 crow can focus on more than 1 eyeball at a time. Are they that intelligent that that eye focused on them is a conditioned warning that they are going to be fired on when they spot that eyeball. 6th sense would be another putative theory also.

Opinions and observations?

Crows can identify YOU after killing their buddies you may have to move