First crow of the season!

[Master Carper]

First crow of the new year @ 96 yards -

Having 20 pounds of SR4756 on hand, I have been working on a new long range load for shooting crows and the results actually beat my favorite Longshot load.

Both loads are just over 1,500 fps..

The Longshot load has a working pressure limit of 10,800 psi...

The SR4756 load has a working pressure limit of 9,800 psi...

With all the pattern testing being done at 90 yards using the SR4756 loads, there is an average of "6" #2 magnum lead pellets in my crow targets. And, with the crow posted above, I skinned it out after taking the picture and it had 6 holes in it!

Still using the same hull, wad nitro card, shot and buffer, and changing primers and powder, the lower pressure loads seem to be more consistent, plus the felt recoil is less, making shooting prone or from my shooting table more comfortable.

I also added a red dot sight to this particular shotgun, which allowed me to sight in at 90 yards, with red dot being centered in the tightest part of the pattern. Now, I don't have to guess at how high to hold. Just center the red dot on a crow and squeeze the trigger!

 

[Bocephus123]

I finally did it - I managed to kill my first crow @ 100 yards with a shotgun!!!

100 yards 1 ft. and 3 inches to be exact!

Crows were baited this morning with the caresses of two large rotisserie chickens, with over 20 crows coming in to the bait about 45 minutes after set-up.

After watching the birds for about a minute, one of the crows fly away from the rest of the group by a couple of yards with a piece of chicken in it's beak.

Since I am not going to "flock shoot" and take a chance on wounded birds running or flying off, I decided to try and take out the single bird. Lining up the front and center bead and putting the front bead 4 feet over the top of my chosen target, I squeezed the trigger. A split second later, my intended target made two flop's and played over.

I skinned the bird out after taking a couple of pictures and all I could find was a single magnum #2 lead shot pellet through the eye.

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thought you sold that bag and rest let me know if it is still up thanks mike.

 

[Master Carper]

thought you sold that bag and rest let me know if it is still up thanks mike.

I sold the rest a week or so ago to the only serious inquiry I had for it.

 

[Bocephus123]

I sold the rest a week or so ago to the only serious inquiry I had for it.

O ok thought they were up as a pair i like that rear bag

 

[TeamTomlyn]

Man what a shot!!!

 

[Master Carper]

Another crow this morning @ 96 yards.

I had set up a new driveway alarm where I put out bread for the crows, and it started chiming 45 minutes after having everything set-up.

I slipped out to my new blind, which is a 10'x20' military netting, got set-up on the shooting table with shotgun on sand bag, and about 5 minutes later, dropped the hammer!

Addendum:

About 4 hours after killing the first crow this morning, I was finishing up some paperwork, getting ready to go out on another welding job, when my "crow alarm" started going off again.

I looked out the window and saw 4 crows eating on the bread that I had put out earlier.

Again, I slipped out to the blind, got set-up, and dropped a second crow a few inches shy of 98 yards!

In setting up the driveway alarm "crow alarm", I just set it on the ground about 4 feet away from the bread I put out. The crows didn't seem to pay it any attention and it worked like a charm.

 

[thaHooligan]

I don't know much about hunting crows, but I have several on my feeder almost daily. Are you allowed to shoot them with a rifle? and can they be shot while on the ground or sitting in a tree? or is it in flight with a shotgun only?

 

[Master Carper]

I don't know much about hunting crows, but I have several on my feeder almost daily. Are you allowed to shoot them with a rifle? and can they be shot while on the ground or sitting in a tree? or is it in flight with a shotgun only?

It is legal to shoot them with a rifle.

They can be shot in a tree, on the ground or in flight.

I choose to use a shotgun and shoot them out to 100 yards while sitting on the ground.

If I lived in a more open and less populated area and did not have to worry about a bullet traveling a couple of miles and potentially striking a person, animal or building, I would be shooting a rifle.

I greatly enjoy wing shooting crows and go out a couple of times a year with friends hunting in pecan orchards. 5 of us can usually kill 100+ crows in about an hours time.

Learning from top shotgun shooters in other countries, we are able to consistently kill flying crows from 60-90 yards with very few misses between us. Our shotguns and loads are more specialized specifically for this type of shooting.

I shoot crows on the ground with a shotgun at long range around the house and at a couple of neighboring farms, but have to be extra careful of where I shoot because of cattle, houses and farm equipment. A magnum #2 lead pellet traveling over 1,500 fps. is easily capable of breaking a house window out to several hundred yards, or blinding livestock with a pellet to the eye.

By shooting on the ground, and watching what's well beyond my intended targets, I don't have to worry as much about hitting and destroying something I am not supposed to.

Keep it safe and enjoy busting a crow when you can...

 

[thaHooligan]

It is legal to shoot them with a rifle.

They can be shot in a tree, on the ground or in flight.

Good to know, thanks for the info. Maybe I'll try and pick some off. I have a crow call somewhere around here. We use to call them in years ago just for the fun of it and occasionally the call would work to call in coyotes if we used it right.....or wrong maybe now that I think about it. lol

 

[Master Carper]

Good to know, thanks for the info. Maybe I'll try and pick some off. I have a crow call somewhere around here. We use to call them in years ago just for the fun of it and occasionally the call would work to call in coyotes if we used it right.....or wrong maybe now that I think about it. lol

I prefer to use Haydel's TC-87 crow call and always carry two of them with me whenever I am wing shooting crows.

I have called in several coyotes over the years when calling in crows, and called in a big bobcat last year using a crow call. Fun times indeed!