Advanced Use of Motion

The use of motion to attract wild game has really exploded in the last decade or two. Modern hunters are using duck decoys that swim, kites that fly like geese, turkey decoys that peck the ground, wounded rabbits that shake, and even deer decoys with moving tails. Why? Savvy hunters know that movement greatly increases your chance of attracting game animals, especially in heavily hunted areas. So lets take a look at how the crow hunter can make use of this technique to increase their hunting success when chasing the "Black Bandit".

How It Was

Back in the "Golden Era" of crow hunting, relaxed hunting regulations allowed the serious crow hunter to use live decoys as attractors when setting up at a calling site. They knew back then that the more realism that could be added to a decoy spread, the more likely the birds would respond. The use of both live crows and owls was common and extremely effective. These "Judas" crows, as they were called, not only moved perfectly, but could often be trained to call crows. Live owls were very effective as well. One hunter had two pet owls that were placed at a calling site and given frozen dead crows to feed on during calling. Any crow that witnessed this scene was driven nearly insane with anger and called every other crow within hearing distance. Unfortunately, the use of live crows and owls is now illegal and modern crow hunters must resort to other methods to add that realistic touch to a calling site.

Low Tech Solutions

When hunting crows, adding some motion will greatly increase your chances of luring crows within gun range, especially heavily hunted birds. Some motion is always better than no motion, so here are a few ideas that are low cost and can be employed by most hunters.

Hanging Decoys - Placing decoys in surrounding trees is always recommended when setting up a crow calling site. A good way to add movement to these decoys is to tie a piece of monofilament fishing line to the tops of a pair of decoys and suspend them over a branch or limb, making sure that they hang freely and clear of any other branches. Even the slightest breeze will cause these decoys to spin. While this may not appear realistic to human eyes, the movement doesn't seem to spook the crows, in fact, just the opposite. Care should be taken to adjust the length of the line so that the decoys do not spin wildly.

Falling Decoys - It is commonly known that the sight of crows diving into a fight will attract distant crows. This effect can be mimicked by taking pieces of black cloth (about the size of a handkerchief) and tying a small stone in the middle (a rubber band works well). When crows are within site, throw the cloth decoy as high as possible and let it fall into your other decoys. Approaching crows will think their fellow crows are diving or falling. Periodically retrieve your decoys during a break in the shooting. Dead crows can also be used, but generally will not travel as far and can be a bit messy.

Pet Decoys - This method is not for everyone, but can be very effective. Crows will become highly agitated at the site of certain predators such as a fox or house cat. This can be used to a crow hunters advantage. If you have a house cat as a pet and can convince your spouse to go along with the idea, staking a cat in a field can drive crows crazy. Note: We are in no way suggesting any animal abuse, and every care should be taken to safely and humanely use this method. In fact, giving the cat your first kill will make it a pleasurable experience for him too.

Commercial Solutions

In the past few years a few products have hit the market that will very effectively add motion to your crow hunting setup.

Basically this is a small crow that has battery powered realistic flapping wings. They can be used in a field feeding set-up, hanging from a branch in a fighting set up with an owl, hawk or other crows, or near a gut pile. They are especially effective on the ground in a fighting setup and will convince any crow within visual range that one of their brothers is wounded and can't fly.