[crowbeaner]

Note my nom de plume. They are one of my favorite pests. They can and do make a mess of seedling corn. They eat carrion. They hate owls, and will harass them mercilously. My old 222 has many black feathers to it's credit. No, I don't eat them unless SWMBO is listening. They carry several diseases among them West Nile virus. They are extremely intelligent, and have over 25 different "words" in their vocabulary. They can live 25 years or more if they stay out of my rifles' range. They have a better union than I had when I was working. They can only be hunted 4 days a week here. Ravens are MUCH bigger, and have a different sounding voice. My son and I use crow calls to locate each other while deer hunting, and we have little trouble getting them to answer back. Any crow that lands is in dire danger from me, and I've shot them with BB guns, 22, 222, 22-250, 308, 30/06, and 12 gauge. The 22/250 is deadly medicine out to 400 yards if the shooter knows his rifle and load. I prefer the Speer 52 gr. original HP flatbase above all others for explosive feather dusting. The only other bullet that has a large cavity is the 55 gr. Sierra Gameking BTHP. Hunting methods vary, and if I told you my favorites, I'd have to kill you. Owl decoys are a great way to locate and whack a few, but they learn quickly that the owl is DOOM and soon leave. They will go to a dead crow on the ground, and scold them to get up. Shoot another one, and they will convene a quorum or union meeting to pick a new steward. Funny birds. To keep them close, shoot the lookouts first, and they will stay on the ground until they select new lookouts most times. Have fun, and take no prisoners. They converge on Auburn, NY every year, and have tried to take over Tokyo. One even pecked the crown prince of Japan on the head while he was golfing! CB.