Link to Crow Hunting Thread on another forum outside of AR.



If you read the first two threads you will see where a live wounded crow was used as a decoy. If you look in the upper left hand corner of the thread just to the right of the date and time you will see "attachment". You can click on that to see the photos.

Moving on to the topic at hand I guess I take major issue with using a live wounded crow as a decoy. I find it to be cruel and not only that it gives fuel to the PITA movement and I dont like giving those bastards any legitimate ammunition as they find plenty of ammunition to make up that usually based on conjecture. What are your thoughts on this as varmint hunters?

Like I said in my post I do not hold either crows or coyotes with a very high regard, but cannot advocate letting an animal suffer

If any of you fellas agree with me on this issue don't be shy about registering on that forum to voice your opinion.

I don't guess it would bother me. If I thought it would work, I'd try it. I've fished with minnows and worms, and they don't die a swift and painless death.

If its a personal decision to not do it yourself due to your own vaules more power to you.

But making a decision based upon what your enemies think of you, you fucking deserve to lose your guns.

What such hunters don;t seem to realise is that anything relating to them 'owning a gun' makes them look like a 'terrible killer'anyway

The public can't tell the difference between shooting bambi and using live crows to shoot something else.

Next they will be just as happy to blame 'baby fur seal trapping', 'poaching in Africa' ,'bear traps' and the hole in the ozone layer and a million other things you can't control on you anyway.

One of the antis best methods is to get you guys fighting each other for differences in hunting ethics.

The bow hunter against the muzzleloader against the autoloader against the guy who uses dogs to hunt cougars to the guy who uses live crows as decoys.

Draw a line in the sand for yourself and sell any else above you out.

Be divided and conquered.

Karl.

I don't see anything wrong with it. If it fell someplace where you couldn't retrieve it, it would be going through the same thing for no useful purpose. Just because the crow is wounded, that doesn't mean it is suffering. A wound that doesn't kill them merely prevents them from flying. Crows are tough.

However, you have a valid concern about public perception. I don't think the crow hunters intend to brag about their methods. Rather it is as casual and accepted to them as the fishing bait comparison.

Plinker

Used to do it all the time back in the 60's wing a crow tie it out let it yell. Worked great.

As anybody knows who has hunted crows, they are extremely adaptable. Once they have spotted what you look like, what car you pull up in, what clothes you wear etc etc, they are out of Dodge! So hunting crows can a bit of a challenge.

If you want to decoy them, and you are not into the live crow option (I probably would not be, certainly not if it was wounded), try an owl (decoy). Crows DON'T like owls, and often you can get a whole bunch to harrass the owl - swarming all over the place. During which time the wily hunter can pick off a few with a shotgun from his blind near by. You have to be unseen in the blind, though - trust the crows, they'll spot you otherwise.

This hunting method used to be practiced in Europe with live owls, but that practice has been prohibited for quite a while - at least in the parts of Europe I'm familiar with. Still works with an owl decoy, though.

- mike

I always try to wing one with my first shot. Get him on the ground, yelling, and sometimes you can kill several more.

My best to date was a set up several years ago. The crows were mobing an owl sitting in a small apple tree about 125 yards from the road I was on. One made the mistake of flying up in the tree, and sitting there barking at the owl. I hit him low with my Hornet, but it flipped him back into a fork of the tree where he hung. The owl departed, but the other crows just kept landing in that tree. I killed 9 in about 3 minutes and would have killed more if I had more cartridges. But as stated earlier, they adapt quickly.

People will not believe it when you tell them that crows will recognize your truck from a quarter mile away and will take to flight. All you gotta do is switch off to your wife's car once in a while and then you can hammer 'em.

There is no unethical way to kill crows. Dynamite, shotguns, rifles, lasers, or even nukes are perfectly acceptable.

My father in-law used to swear that hooking them to a string with a safety pin through their ass was the best method. One tug would get them squaking. Of course he also said the very best decoy was a yellow cat.

Jeff

Alvinmack: I have shot a lot of Crows (and various other black colored birds!) in my time and I have never found it necessary to intentionally use a live - wounded - Crow for attracting more Crows.
Now I have, on many occassions, seen what the other live flying Crows will do when a wounded and squawking Crow is visible on the ground! It is unbelievable! The other live flying Crows will loose all caution and swarm around the wounded bird and sometimes land on the ground near the wounded bird! I have witnessed this, like I said, on many occassions but it only lasts until I or my Hunting partners were able to proceed to the wounded creature and dispatch it!
The shooting is good enough with just the Crow calls and or the electronic calls. I always used an Owl decoy in conjunction with my few Crow decoys when Hunting by the calling of Crows method.
I agree with your feelings regarding animals suffering. They should be dispatched as humanely and quickly as possible.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

If you are not inclined fine but I agree with the poster that discussed live bait fishing. Why is a crow's discomfort somehow more important? If you hunt, you are a poster boy for PITA regardless of the degree of your personal ethic. Get over it.

quote:

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Originally posted by VarmintGuy:
I agree with your feelings regarding animals suffering. They should be dispatched as humanely and quickly as possible.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

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I couldn't get to the link, but I agree. No reason to give the ANTI's ANOTHER REASON TO BITCH.

Next you will see Peter (go back to frickin' Canada) Jennings doing an expose on the 6 o'clock news...beautiful...

The anti's will complain no matter what we do. If it is legal,and you want to do it,or anything else, do it!!! we have to stand our groung. A few years ago when we were told to cover our legal game animals when we were driving home I said NFW..i'm proud and I'm legal, and they will gripe anyway..P

Any Anti that says that using a wounded crow as a decoy is cruel has never been in a lambing paddock seeing the black barstards pecking the eyes out of live EWES.I use what ever means avalible to me to protect stock.My prefered methord is a owl decoy .The owl being the nateral preditor of the crow (hense crows being black as a nateral camoflarge against owls).I do admire your morel stand in what you belive and more power to you for taking it

Yes I use them all the time. Try to get the first one on the ground to temp the rest to come on in. In my experience nothing is unethical when hunting crows as they are incredibly adaptable.

If I set out to kill something, I believe it's my moral obligation to do the job as quickly and cleanly as possible, and to minimize suffering. The whereabouts and opinions of the nearest PETAphile is irrelevant.

I don't force my viewpoint on others, but I do tend to avoid the company of those who either thoughtlessly or deliberately inflict unnecessary pain on other living creatures.

This is my personal opinion only! I don't suggest it as a model of behaviour for others.