That’s what I heard. The lack of peanuts resulted in a lack of crows.
Interesting...
I have deer hunted in a couple of different areas over the years that had 100+ acres planted in peanuts and never saw the first crow in any of these fields! Go figure.
The area was also a natural roost for the crows in their migration.
The addition of peanuts around harvest time quadrupled the attraction.
My Dad went to college in Weatherford in the early 70’s, and he talked about the crow hunting and duck hunting being pretty ridiculous around there at that time.
I saw a episode of Outdoor Oklahoma a month or two ago and they were wiring one of the roost sites with explosives.
Man what a sight, dead crows every where. My dad said it was something to see all of ‘em back then.
We used to hear the crow cannons, we called them crow guns, you’d hear them 24 hours a day in the peanut fields.
Man what a sight, dead crows every where. My dad said it was something to see all of ‘em back then.
We used to hear the crow cannons, we called them crow guns, you’d hear them 24 hours a day in the peanut fields.
I have heard of the cannons and explosives used there over the years...
I would have given anything to have been able to shoot crows there back when they were there by the millions. That could probably match the excitement of shooting doves in Argentina.
I had two calls late this evening, with both guys wanted to know why I used such an odd powder like SR4756 instead of something else like Blue Dot, 800X or Longshot powder.
From "my" reloading standpoint, here is why:
1 - SR4756 is a single base powder...
2 - Depending on loading components used in a particular load, SR4756 is a relatively low pressure powder, as compared to the other three powders listed...
3 - SR4756 is kind of a bulky powder...
4 - Most importantly, SR4756 has a long pressure curve and builds pressures more gradually down the barrel, as compared to powders like Blue Dot, 800X and Longshot...
5 - SR4756 has a wider range of "workable loads" as compared to the other powders listed.
The only downside to using SR4756 powder, is that with it being a single base powder, you have to be mindful of the outside temperatures. Once the temperature drops below the freezing mark, this powder will leave a lot of unburnt powder in the barrel, and as such, velocity and pressure will drop down dramatically, depending on the exact temperature...
So, when the temperature starts getting close to the freezing mark, I'll switch to my 7/8 oz. high velocity load using Red Dot powder, which does very well in freezing temperatures. This load is also loaded with copper plated #6 lead shot and for a relatively light load, this load does perform very well!
From "my" reloading standpoint, here is why:
1 - SR4756 is a single base powder...
2 - Depending on loading components used in a particular load, SR4756 is a relatively low pressure powder, as compared to the other three powders listed...
3 - SR4756 is kind of a bulky powder...
4 - Most importantly, SR4756 has a long pressure curve and builds pressures more gradually down the barrel, as compared to powders like Blue Dot, 800X and Longshot...
5 - SR4756 has a wider range of "workable loads" as compared to the other powders listed.
The only downside to using SR4756 powder, is that with it being a single base powder, you have to be mindful of the outside temperatures. Once the temperature drops below the freezing mark, this powder will leave a lot of unburnt powder in the barrel, and as such, velocity and pressure will drop down dramatically, depending on the exact temperature...
So, when the temperature starts getting close to the freezing mark, I'll switch to my 7/8 oz. high velocity load using Red Dot powder, which does very well in freezing temperatures. This load is also loaded with copper plated #6 lead shot and for a relatively light load, this load does perform very well!
First pattern with new crow load!
Remington 870
34" Hastings Wadlock barrel with factory flush mounted full choke
First day of crow season, but no time to hunt today
Pattern was shot @ 40 yards.
12 ga. load has 210 copper plated #6 pellets / load is buffered
100% pattern @ 40 yards with ALL pellets well inside a 20" circle
Front and back of pattern shown
This would make for one heck of a turkey load if I had a place to hunt them.
Time permitting, I will shoot a modified choke tube and see what kind of pattern I get with that.
The full choke that I used for this testing shoots way too tight for pass shooting crows!
If the modified choke tube shoots a tight pattern at 40 yards, I'll shoot a second pattern at 50 yards and see what that looks like, as most crows will be shot somewhere between 40 and 50 yards at the places I will be hunting.
I'll post pictures of the modified choke tube tests as soon as I can get a chance to shoot them.
As a side note here, this is the first time I have shot a cupped wad without petals, and I am more than a little surprised that it shot such a tight pattern at 40 yards with a standard full choke!
This barrel is straight rifled with polygonal rifling, and the only thing I have done to the inside of the barrel was lengthen the forcing cone to 2" and put a micro polish on both it and the chamber.
Remington 870
34" Hastings Wadlock barrel with factory flush mounted full choke
First day of crow season, but no time to hunt today
Pattern was shot @ 40 yards.
12 ga. load has 210 copper plated #6 pellets / load is buffered
100% pattern @ 40 yards with ALL pellets well inside a 20" circle
Front and back of pattern shown
This would make for one heck of a turkey load if I had a place to hunt them.
Time permitting, I will shoot a modified choke tube and see what kind of pattern I get with that.
The full choke that I used for this testing shoots way too tight for pass shooting crows!
If the modified choke tube shoots a tight pattern at 40 yards, I'll shoot a second pattern at 50 yards and see what that looks like, as most crows will be shot somewhere between 40 and 50 yards at the places I will be hunting.
I'll post pictures of the modified choke tube tests as soon as I can get a chance to shoot them.
As a side note here, this is the first time I have shot a cupped wad without petals, and I am more than a little surprised that it shot such a tight pattern at 40 yards with a standard full choke!
This barrel is straight rifled with polygonal rifling, and the only thing I have done to the inside of the barrel was lengthen the forcing cone to 2" and put a micro polish on both it and the chamber.
I decided to knock off early today, and took time to shoot two patterns.
The pattern at 40 yards is 100% and 24" x 24"...
The pattern at 60 yards is 100% and 32" x 38"...
The same modified choke tube was used for both patterns.
Pellet holes were marked as they were counted on the 60 yard pattern paper to get an accurate count.
Pattern may be a little on the tight side for shooting crows inside of 40 yards, but from 40-60 yards, I believe I would be looking at either a clean kill or a clean miss at those distances. Anything inside of 40 yards though, a crow would be shredded to pieces or just flat missed, and I'm good with that!
The pattern at 40 yards is 100% and 24" x 24"...
The pattern at 60 yards is 100% and 32" x 38"...
The same modified choke tube was used for both patterns.
Pellet holes were marked as they were counted on the 60 yard pattern paper to get an accurate count.
Pattern may be a little on the tight side for shooting crows inside of 40 yards, but from 40-60 yards, I believe I would be looking at either a clean kill or a clean miss at those distances. Anything inside of 40 yards though, a crow would be shredded to pieces or just flat missed, and I'm good with that!
