"Ole Time Crow Shooting in the 21st Century"
by Drew Moore

I recently had the privilege to enjoy some fine Midwestern crow shooting with staff advisor Bob Aronsohn, and have his blessings to share the thrill of those recent series of hunts with you. Bob and I began planning a few days of crow shooting several months back and we wanted to have a hunt comparable to the one that Bert Popowski and Dr. John Phillips had back in January, 1949 when 1,941 crows were slain over a nine day period, with the added help of several other crow shooters who Bert was enthusiastically teaching the craft.

I asked Bob, "Do you think it's possible to get a hunt like that in modern times?" And he said, "Sure, if you get the right breaks". I wanted to believe a big shoot was still possible, but truly thought those days were long gone. Boy was I wrong. All Bob said after the first shoot we shared together was: "We got a damn good one today young blood. How does that feel? Are you happy?" Am I happy? We just shot 516 crows on the first hunt!. This is such a surreal experience for me that being happy just doesn't do it justice, you have taken me to another level Bob!

We continued together for seven days of glorious crow shooting, and racked up a grand total of "1,914 Good Crows". One of the seven days was used to scout because excessive winds kept us from shooting, so in reality this incredible score was accomplished in only six shooting days in the field! Considering the amount of time hunted and the number of birds that fell to only two guns, I believe that Bert Popowski would have indeed been proud. I credit our success to Bob's uncanny instincts, for those of you who don't know Bob it is very inspiring to watch him work in the field as he sizes up the situation, he has a very deadly sense of calculating about just where to be for the very best TBC. Bob has been at this game so long that he was quite casual about the tedious business of scouting while I was with him.

He would simply say after making up his mind, "This is where we need to be" and he was right on the money almost every single time! We only had to move once because we were in a bad spot, and all the rest of the shoots mentioned later in this article were from stationary blind locations, some we stayed in up to 7 hours and enjoyed great shooting. The decoys were for the most part "tree sets" and we also used four of the "Buster II Decoys" to add that extra movement that catches a wary crows eye and adds to the overall kill.

Even during the hunt on day #5 "The Hurricane Hunt" when winds blew at gale force gusts up to 43 mph, Bob managed a decent shoot by using available terrain features to shelter the blind, and that decision allowed a favorable outcome despite the long odds. Bob practically lives with the crows during the winter months, always monitoring and observing any subtle changes that might influence their behavior. The area that we hunted was a well established one that Bob has hunted for 12 years, so his familiarity of the area and thorough scouting proved to be very successful. There are no magic tricks or obvious divine intervention in the incredible amount of birds Bob racks up, just lots of hard work by a hardcore crow shooter who is both mentally and physically tough, and very intent on being the best of the best, and I have to say I have great deal of respect for the man because of that work ethic.

Here are how the hunts break down:

Day #1. "516 total crows killed". Bob killed 265 crows with 336 shells of combined 20 ga # 9 shot, and 12 ga # 7.5 shot, using a full choke for a 79% shooting average. Drew killed 251 crows with 360 shells of 12 ga # 7.5 shot, using a modified choke for a 69% shooting average. Note* Bob's plan of attack the first day was to set up in a feeding area and not move all day. We shot from one blind location for 6 hours and 10 minutes on a thrilling 516 bird shoot! The crows responded in small bunches for sustained and sporty shooting. After the hunt, I told Bob that if I drove back to KY right then the trip would have still been worth it, just for this one big shoot! Superb!!

Day #2. "249 total crows killed". Bob killed 134 crows with 179 20 ga shells in # 8 and # 9 shot, using a full choke for a 79% shooting average. Drew killed 115 crows with 157 shells of 12 ga # 7.5 shot, using a modified choke for a 69% shooting average. Note* on this hunt we shot crows returning to the roost from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The temperature was a mild 50 degrees, requiring only a light jacket for comfort. The sky was a beautiful clear blue, providing a perfect back -drop for silhouetting exploding crows and floating feathers. A very picturesque hunt!

Day #3. "No Hunt". Very Windy!!. Used the day to scout for crows.

Day #4. "194 total crows killed". Bob killed 105 crows with 142 shells of combined 20 ga # 8 shot, and 12 ga # 7.5 shot, using a full choke for a 74% shooting average. Drew killed 89 crows with 128 shells of 12 ga # 7.5 shot, using a improved modified choke for a 70% shooting average. Note* There was very little wind on this day and the crows waited until the last dog before heading to the roost! We shot from 4:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. and I used a tighter choke constriction than normal (Imp. Mod.) to reach out for some of the highest-flying birds of the trip. Bob scored an electrifying scotch double, and I killed my very first piebald crow.

Day #5. "91 total crows killed". Bob killed 49 crows with 69 shells of combined 20 ga # 8 shot and 12 ga # 7.5 shot, using a full choke for a 71% shooting average. Drew killed 42 crows with 97 shells of 12 ga # 7.5 shot, using an improved modified choke for a 43% shooting average. Note* Bob and I dubbed this hunt the "Hurricane Hunt" because of the extremely strong winds that made this hunt a real adventure. Bob had to tie down the blind to keep us from being blown away in the hellacious gusts! We shot a flyway from 2:00 p.m. until 4:15 p.m. Those crows were doing some aerial maneuvers on that wind I had never seen before, and my shooting average plunged to 43 percent! Bob plugged along as usual to average an impressive 70%. After that hunt I told Bob that kind of wind separates the men from the boys in the shooting department!

Day #6. "359 total crows killed". Bob killed 187 crows with 265 shells of 20 ga #8 shot, using a full choke for a 70% shooting average. Drew killed 172 crows with 252 shells of 12 ga # 7.5 shot, using a modified choke for a 68% shooting average. Note* Bob set-up almost 11 miles from the roost, and we shot from 9:45 a.m. until 2:45 p.m. Shooting mostly singles and pairs from a commanding vantage point, the blind was placed in a tree-lined grove perched on a hilltop. The shooting was so close and soft that Bob never even used "Big Brutis" (Bob's affectionately named 12 ga). Bob killed a piebald, and this shoot had a lot of sentimental value for me because it is one of Bob's favorite locations.

Day #7. "505 total crows killed". Bob killed 279 crows with 350 shells of combined 20 ga #8 shot and 12 ga # 7.5 shot, using a full choke for a 80% shooting average. Drew killed 226 crows with 376 shells of 12 ga #7.5 shot, using a modified choke for a 60% shooting average. Note* I could see the wheels turning in Bob's head before we set-up on this last shoot. Bob said: "We will shoot here all day if the God's are with us!". Well they must have been with us for sure, because Bob's instincts were right onthe mark again. We shot crows for a solid seven hours for a very dramatic finale! Punctuating a series of stunning crow shoots that were sandwiched between two mammoth 500+ bird shoots!

I am very happy to share the details of these hunts with you, and would like to thank Bob personally for his hospitality and kindness, both in treating me to some world class crow shooting and providing crucial technical support for this article. Great memories are with Bob and I now for a lifetime, and that's what it's all about! The overall shoot was the third largest that Bob has had over the years and falls right behind two other "Barn Burners" that he had previously shared with Boyd Robeson and Jim Lundquist. I learned a great deal from the #1 crow shooter in the nation, and the volume of crows taken on this hunt illustrates that "Old Time Crow Shooting in the 21st Century" is indeed a reality, and we can then write our own history, because the good 'ole days are right now!