hunting crows with a rifle

GJ2nd,

I still love that little CZ 17 HMR. It is so accurate and flat-shooting; just what the doctor ordered for crows. It's not as loud as a centerfire, and it does a great job on crows at the distances I shoot them. I've killed a bunch of crows with this little rifle.

I have used a Marlin 22 magnum also for crows, but it is not as accurate in general for the shooting I do, plus the trajectory is not as good as with the 17 HMR. The magnum shooting Remington 33 gr. V-Max is devasting on crows, and starlings too.

Other than an outside cleaning and wiping down with oil, I have not cleaned the barrel inside yet. I haven't observed any decline in accuracy so far. Generally I don't clean the barrels on my rimfires, except years ago when I shot a lot of lead ammo. Now I shoot only copper jacketed and stay away from the lead stuff.

I have actually shot tighter groups at 100 yards
than this target shows. Still, this shows the
potential of the 17 HMRs. Notice the bullet
impact between 50 and 100 yds., with no change
to the scope settings. Sighted roughly dead-on
at 50 yds. it takes care of most any crow I will
be shooting at within reasonable ranges.
CZ17HMRTarget2.jpg


CZ 452 American 17 HMR - This scope is a Leupold 3x9 Vari-X 2. I have
since put a Vari-X 4x12 A/0 on it.
Crow2.jpg


Rimfire fun isn't limited to crows. I shot these starlings with a Remington 541-S (top)
shooting Federal 22 L.R. hollow points, and Marlin 22 magnum. I use Remington
33 gr. V-Max in the magnum - devastating.
mangled1.jpg
 
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Sounds like an excellent way to draw seagulls. They live at McD's.





Guess where the chicken patties at Mickey D's come from?
 
Well...

Don't let "06"s modesty fool you.

I happen to know that "06" takes his crow shooting VERY serious - he went to Africa to shoot crows!

Everyone else there was after efalants.

Beat that one if you can!

.
 
I use 20 oz soda bottles painted yellow like corn cobs and a few small black plastic bags and a owl deke along with a crow turkey locator call staked about 40 yards sitting in a box deer stand. Lots of fun with my Henry 22 lever mag !!!
 
take a bottle of ketcup out and pour in in the snow to look like blood( helps the crows find the pile faster). Throw some bread crumbs and any other table scraps on it. Sit and wait. Sit a few crow decoys close to the bait pile and you'll be shooting crows until the cows come home.
 
For crows and starlings I have found that if you pop a bag of popcorn and dump it out somewhere they find it rather easily, and it makes for a really good bait.
 
Can't shoot crows with a rifle in Wisconsin (shotgun only)
What a joke of a state!
Don't come here the taxes are horrible too!!
 
Quote:
Bigbronco,

I've been reading through several posts here and thought I would bring your's back to life.

As Catshooter said, there is nothing like using a rifle for crows. I grew up crow shooting with a shotgun, but have since found that crows are really a lot of fun with a rifle. I've used a lot of small caliber stuff - 223, 218 Bee in a # 1 Ruger, 22-250, but I've probably had more fun with the 17 HMR. I generally shoot them with the 17 at distances of around 75 - 100 yards; my furthest was 110 yards.

I have found that it's a good time to hunt with a rifle when you have a good snow and cold spell. The crows tend to sit longer and don't fly off as easily, I suppose because they don't want to waste a lot of energy if they don't have to. If you have access to farms, sitting up near a barn that has trees nearby is a good bet. I have shot them with a 22 magnum too, but like the 17 HMR better. I use 20 gr. CCI Game Points.

Crow3.jpg


Crow1.jpg


Crow5-2.jpg


Crow4.jpg


They are fun with a shotgun too
CrowHunt2.jpg


What GRN round were you using in your .22 Mag?? I use to have a 17HMR but traded it. Thought about using 30-33 GRN Ballistic tip in .22 mag. but not shur as to them being Rickochet Proof like 17 is.
 
Nightsniper,

In the 22 magnum I used a Remington 33 gr. V-Max load. That's the most accurate load I have used thus far. It's devastating on stuff like crows and starlings.

Yea, Catshooter knows about my South African crow shooting adventure. They have pied crows there - lots of white on them. I went out one morning with Gary Laubscher. I did the filming (video) while he pulled the trigger. He put 13 crows on the ground in short order.

Crow shooting, wherever it's at, is just plain fun.

CrowShoot-1.jpg

 
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I can't say that I've ever had one ricochet. I guess most any bullet could ricochet under the right circumstances, angle and surface, but my experience with V-Max is that they are very fragile and go to pieces. It's the most explosive bullet I have ever used personally, not to mention accurate. I load V-Max in about three or four different rifles, and the results are all the same - devastating. Without applying rocket sicence technology, I would say that if I had to choose a bullet in hopes that it wouldn't richochet, it would be a V-Max. Don't know what others might say about that or what experiences they might have had.
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gifThank you,just what I wanted to know..Jeff /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
First post here and am really enjoy this forum.
I have been hunting crows for over 20 years now. I have studied this very intelligent adversary and they have gained my respect. Busting 1 or 2 crows per setup is something we all can do, but regularly taking large numbers with a rifle is only for those who have done their homework and studied their behaviors closely. I have not accomplished this with regularity yet but have been able to stumble across a number of setups which really produce.
I hunt in the south where we have millions of acres of managed pine plantations. Large areas of pines grow, all the same size. Often you can see for great distances. This is where I discovered my favorite setup, see if it works for you.
I like to use an electronic call, crows fighting owls or hawks. Best time of the year is spring, just after nesting. I find 10-20’ tall trees with an occasional tall dead snag. This is important, when crows fly in they will usually land on the tallest tree around. Place your call in the thickest patch you can find. You don’t want them to be able to see the ground. Confusion is your best advantage. Place your decoys appropriately. Locate at least 50 yards away where you have clear view to the taller snags or trees and have good cover.
BUSTEM! If you miss one, or they come in to fast to keep up, they will fly out to 200-300 yards for a tall snag or tree. From there they will draw in every crow that comes in after that. This is why I use a 22-250. If this happens, I get a second chance. If not, the gig is up, time to move.
 
Check state laws because baiting crow might be illegal in some places. I love shooting them with my Marlin 17.hmr but shotgun is a blast too. No pun intended. Crow hunting is more addicting than anything you can get.
 
sscoyote,

I used a mouth call for many years when I was growing up. My mother ordered me a P.S. Olt crow call. It cost $1.75 of hard to come-by money as I recall, but I put crows on the ground with it, and with an old Iver Johnson single shot 12 guage. But, once I got an electronic caller (the old record player type - Burnham Brothers) my success rate skyrocketed.

In April 2007 while hunting in South Africa, Gary Laubscher and I went on a crow shoot as I mentioned above. I watched him use a Fox Pro and he supplimented the sound with two different mouth-blown calls. It was a good combination and produced 13 crows on the ground in short order. Send me a personal with your name and address and I'll send you a video of that shoot.

As to an electronic sound (record & cassette), I have used Johnny Stewart Crow and Owl Fight as my main, go-to sound. It's a good one.

I have another photo that Gary recently sent me, of 35 crows he shot on one outing, using the same method. Some fell in the deep gully behind him, but he got 35. Here's a photo of my first electronic call, and of Gary's crows.

Burnham Brothers Game Call, 1967. It was about as heavy as an anvil, but really worked.
BurnhamBrosCall.jpg


Gary Laubscher and some of his 35 Crows
35crowsapril2008.jpg
 
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I was wondering, when hunting with a rifle on a stand, how long do you wait, while calling before you move to another stand?, in other words, generally, how long does it take before the crows land for a rifle shot?
 
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