Innundated with Crows---What to do?

[Socrates]

Keep in mind, crows mate for life.
I've shot a few, and wish I'd come up with a better solution, that doesn't leave a dead bird. 22 short, CZ 452. If you don't miss, the bullet isn't going far.

The distress cry after shooting one takes all the fun out of it, for me, anyway.

S

[JJB2]

i shot a crow last week in one of the trees behind my place with my rws mod 34..... the 17 cal pellet took him out pretty fast from an est 40 yards away... i just happened to be in my backyard shooting my steel bowling pin swinger when he showed up and started making a racket...... yep the rws is good medicine for that problem ........


LIFE IS SHORT..............

[steveracer]

...buy about 500 Aquilla Super Colibri rounds. They work wonders in my CZ-452 Scout, and the impact of the bullet is louder than the report from the rifle. These things are QUIET!

[FrontSight]

Why not use bird lime in a brown paper cone with bait in it? Read that in an old book, when men were men, lol.

[littlmak]

Bottle rockets are a fun and effective

[Benonymous]

My Dad once told me a story about crows. Dad is an electrician by trade and he was working for a company that installed shearing equipment in Western Queensland in Australia.

Sometimes the work slackened off for one reason or another so the installers would amuse themselves in various ways. No Aussie sheep farmer would ever curse you for killing crows so Dad and his mates used to have a crack at them when they got a chance.

As others have posted, crows can recognize a threat so after you've shot one or two, they figure out what's going on. Dad and two mates were shooting the crows from an out-building that was close to their quarters. They walked up the first time and shot a crow through the window in the shed. No crows came around after that. So they trooped back with the rifle and waited.

Eventually more crows showed up they went up and shot one. No more crows. Given time, the crows came back again but as soon as the three of them started up to the shed with the rifle, the crows flew off. Smart. When the crows came back. They walked up to the shed without the rifle. Crows stuck around. "Hmmm", they thought, "The crows know what a rifle is now"

They thought about it for a while and came up with a plan. One guy walked up to the shed with the rifle and left it there. The crows flew off when they saw the rifle. They waited until the crows came back and then strolled up to the shed with a broom. The decoy fooled the crows and they flew off. Then two of them walked back with the broom. The crows saw this and soon after the two reached the quarters with the broom, the crows laded back in the trees. The one left behind with the rifle popped a crow

They repeated this method over and over. My Dad analyzed the situation this way "Crows might be smart but they can't count!"

Sorry if this was a bit long winded but I always liked that story.

[dfaugh]

A .22LR bullet can go 1.5 miles. I'd say if a .223 isn't safe, neither is a .22LR. In fact, a .223 would probably be safer than a .22LR if you use a light fast varmint load since the bullet will tend to break up rather than ricochet.

Yes and no....I understand what you're saying, but if I could show you the situation, you'd see the problem. If they're in the back of the yard, I've shooting at a downward angle, into the ground(maybe 15 degrees), from my enclosed porch... And lots of trees between me and the thruway, shih would stop any possible ricoches pretty well, and the bullet wouldv'e lost alot of energy at that point. Not sure I'd gamble that one witha .223. (which I don't have anyway, currently all my rifles are .30 and up)

Additionally, if I start touching off Centerfire rifle, would DEFINITELY get a negative reaction from the neighbors (like a nice visit from the cops, which I really don't need). As far as .22 ammo, I've got this "tuned" to Wolf Match Target, and can hit a quarter about 9 times out of 10 or better (at 100 yards), and the 10th will be real close. Shooting off my enclosed back porch, they're loud, to me, but I doubt the neighbors can hardly hear them.

Eventually more crows showed up they went up and shot one. No more crows. Given time, the crows came back again but as soon as the three of them started up to the shed with the rifle, the crows flew off. Smart. When the crows came back. They walked up to the shed without the rifle. Crows stuck around. "Hmmm", they thought, "The crows know what a rifle is now"

Yes, this is my experience also....you can trek through the woods without a gun, and they'll let you get fairly close, but if they see a gun, they're not gonna let you get close. This is one of the problems I'm having. And I'm not looking to shoot every Crow in the area, as I know they'll stay away once I "bust" enough of them, just want them to stay away.

P.S. for those who suggested fireworks, they are illegal here, and, other than 4th of July will DEFINITELY get you avisit from the local police.

[littlmak]

Are you any good with a slingshot? How's local law on that? Quiet, cheap, a decent amount of skill challenge...

[Savage Sam]

Is there any cheaper way to attract them within shotgun range, other than an owl decoy? will they eat anything you leave out? the reason i'm asking is I had some hanging out just beyond shotgun range today.. if i'd had a rifle i could've nailed at least one.

[FirstFreedom]

I've called them in with a tape game caller here in the city and shot them with a .177 pellet gun. But those is dumb city crows. If anyone gets a crow with a slingshot, please post and I will bow down, as that is hard to do! Benonymous; great story, thanks. Smart, but can't count, lol. Yes, they are extremely smart. They will sit on the roadside dining on roadkill all day long as cars whiz by 5 feet from them at 75 mph. But stop your car and get out within 300 yards, and they're gone.

[Big Don]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread, especially since I have a love/hate relationship with crows also. I admire their brains but the blasted things drive me crazy.
The broom story hit home with me. Used to head to the San Diego desert area for fun and shooting and would have crows show up sometimes. They learned very quickly what my shotgun looked like and veered off path, well out of range. However, when I came out of the house and pointed a broom stick at them, they laughed and kept right on course.
I've used CB caps in the urban setting and found them to be very effective. I shot a crow out of one of my trees and he never made a sound, except for the thud when he hit my roof. Within 30 seconds, the sky was swarming with his buddies, all screeching and squawking about their dead buddy. Oh, if only I could have hauled out the shotgun then!
Shooting CB caps out of a single shot, bolt action .22 rifle with a long barrel makes less noise than most air rifles I've shot. Neighbors never even know.

[deerslayer79]

get some crow decoys,and one of those anti-air mounts with quad 50cals on it.

[harleybabe69]

Rice works great also. They eat their fill then drink water, swell up and die - something about the rice soaking up the water and expanding - cuts off their air supply

[FrontSight]

Alka-seltzer works too! Put it inside some bread, so that they eat it, and then blow up!

[Socrates]

Well, I may have to rethink the hate crows thing. Two days ago they start making all kinds of noise, at 6:30 am. They do that when a cat, or predator shows up.
We live on a golf course, with deer, and, I've scene one fox, crossing the road, late at night. We also have a skunk that's been in the house (a couple of glasses of wine, and my girlfriend thought it was a Tuxedo cat that lives upstairs). Coming right at our house, was a beautiful fox. I ran to my room, grabbed the telephoto lens, and some clothes, and, tried to take a picture through the window. No joy. Went out the other side of the house, circled and crossed the golf course, and went up into some trees I know the deer hang out in. Walking along, big as day, on the next hole, is the fox. Got two pictures off, but, I decided to try for a tree rest, and get some better shots. He or she, saw me, at about 120 yards, easy to figure distance on a golf course , and bounded off, into thick brush, and was gone.

Much as I'd like a watchdog, crows do work... I think they also go crazy when people start walking around where they shouldn't.

May just have to put up with em...

S

[swmike]

I believe you will run out of ammo long before the supply of crows ends

[skeeter1]

I began leaving a dead one laying in the yard wings spread out and the others will avoid my trees and ones close by.

We had a crow problem in our garden when I was younger. I shot one at about 100yds with a .22, and my dad layed it down with the wings extended, and the other crows stayed away after that.

Those birds may have a brain the size of a peanut, but they got the idea.

[Benonymous]

The size don't matter! It's how it's wired up. Jumping spiders can work out strategies to catch prey. Imagine how small their brains are

[CobrayCommando]

Yeah, an owl decoy makes for a lot of entertainment. Set it out in shotgun range. Leave the dead crows on the ground. Lotsa times, other crows come for the funeral and eulogies.

You guys sound like the Viet Cong.

[UniversalFrost]

yeah but that technique works. I have even had a fox come within range once to check out the ruckus.

[hpg]

A really good pellet gun will handle the ones in your neighbors tree's...hpg

[Wilyote]

Yep, I agree with the pellet gun. I've rid myself of lots of vermin while living in the city limits dropping, tree rats, starling and crows. Trust me here. Crows are so smart that once you start dropping a few, they move to safer havens in a hurry.
I dropped a lot of crows.. it was so bad they thought the west nile virus was in my neighborhood. Turns out the local pathologist said they died of high speed lead poisoning. The bottom line is the crows don't come around here any more.

[stevelyn]

Another vote for the Aguila Super Colibris. A lot of things die within my reach with them on my property.

[dfaugh]

Well, the do seem to be smart...

I zapped 2 at about 100 yards with my .22, and all of a sudden, there's no crows within a 300 yard radius. They're still all around me, in the distance, but they're giving my propery a wide berth.

[rr4406pak]

I loved Pointer's second post about dynamiting the trees!
Was that actually done?
What I'd give to see a sight like that.
And the cops are worried about stupid firecrackers?
Imagine taking them back in time to deal with sticks of dynamite going off. Holy Moly!