"Airgun Hunting for Crows" By Yours Truly

Crows and Airguns
A lot of folks ask about good methods for taking crows with airguns. Most people take crows with airguns when they are walking the woods as an opportunist and a stray crow will get caught in the gun sights quite by accident. Also, crows will come into bird feeder where many have been taken by the bedroom window sniper. That's all well and fine but it isn't crow hunting.
If you are going to take crows successfully you are going to need the right tools. These include and owl decoy, crow decoys and a crow call and some decent camouflage clothing. You are also going to have to use your eyes ears and instincts. If I finished this article now by telling you all to stick the owl decoy on a pole and start calling I would be doing you a great injustice. There is more to it by far.
First, you are going to want to find "Fly ways" these are routes that crows take to and from a roost or feeding area. Of course if you are able to gain access to a feeding area go for it. Stay low and out of sight and you can shoot them all day. But if you are like most of us you can't gain access to farms and private property and we'll need to find an alternative spot to setup. So how do you find a flyway? You are going to want to watch the skies just before dusk. If there are crows in the area you should see them flying high and heading in the same direction day after day. When you see this you can guarantee they are flying to their roost. The roost will contain 1,000 birds or more so you should see quite a few pass over in-group after group. Then get in your car and follow them. It may take a few tries to locate the roost, as you will not be able to drive "as the crow flies". Eventually you will find the roost and you'll know it's the roost by all the black bombers in the trees. If the roost is in an area you can shoot on, bend over and kiss your lucky ass because you will have some of the best shooting of your life.
To shoot on a roost you'll need to get there before the crows come in and you will want to be very camouflaged. That means ghillie suit type of camo. You must not be seen as you shoot. The trick is to take as many birds as you can in stealth, wait til dark then walk out of the woods. You don't want the crows to know their roost isn't safe or they will find another place to sleep. You also will not want to go there very often as they will pick up and move if there is too much disturbance.
Back to the "fly ways". So once you know where the roost is you can determine which flyways are used to get to the roost and which flyways are used to leave. You will need to find a spot along these routes to setup. If you were shotgunning it's easy, as you will be dropping them from the sky. But, as an airgunner you are going to find a bit more of a challenge, as you need to get them to land. And you are going to need the right terrain for that as well as the right shooting situations.
Your spot should consist of a mid range of brush and scrub or short pines. It should also have some big trees that make for good vantage points and landing spots for the crows. A single big dead tree with a lot of scrub in the area is optimum. You will want to get your owl decoy on a treetop or a tall pole at least 12 feet off the ground and in plain site. Attach a piece of clear monofilament fishing line to it so you can give it a wiggle once in a while to attract attention. You will also want to scatter 2 or 3 crow decoys around the owl decoy as if they are checking him out. I like to place one high above the owl and one on then ground so it looks like he might be hurt. Now you need to hide.
You can hide in a blind under a bush in the grass but remember you cannot be seen when you shoot because they will be gone for the day once they see you.
Start calling. Don't just blast away on the call. I like to give a young birds help call that sounds like 3 caws caws caws. Then lay off and see if any answer or come in. You want to call as little as possible. The first bird you see will be a scout. He is the bird that will check things out with a very cautious fly by. Do not be seen by this bird or your hunt is over. Let him fly over and come in. I like to let him come in and if other birds are with him I let 2 come in before I shoot. When I shoot I take the first bird to come in because that bird has had more time to figure out what is wrong. The second bird will see his buddy drop and spook away but if he hasn't seen what caused his friends death he'll be back with more friends. Continue until you are tired or they spot you. If you do this right you should be able to take several birds and get an hours worth of action. The key is never to be seen or really blow a bad one on the call.
In order to learn how to call you will want to listen to crows. In addition, many manufacturers have training CDs that you can practice with or use in a boom box if it's legal in your area.

I hope this is enough to get a few of you started. The most important thing is to keep learning and reading and trying new things and figure out what works best for you.

Happy hunting