Sunny and 97; The Saga Continues..

**David Rearick** · #1 07-23-2007, 10:01 AM

2007 Hunting Journal Entries

DATE: July 20th-22nd, 2007

LOCATION: Western PA

SUNRISE/SUNSET: 5:55 AM

WEATHER: Clear and Sunny

TEMPERATURE: Low 80’s

WIND: Mild

EQUIPMENT USED: Greenhead Gear® FFD Lookout and Aggressive Caller Crow Decoys, Avery® 12-slot Decoy Bags, Avery® Mud Case, Avery® Finisher Blind Bag, Avery® Sportsman’s Camera Bag, Avery® GameHog Strap

HUNTERS: Zink® Field Staffer Erik Nilsson and Avery® Pro-Staffers Rick MacFarlane and David Rearick

With three great weekends of crow hunting behind us and upcoming shows, scouting, and preparing for September goose in front of us, Erik and I decided this weekend we’d pull a three day shoot and try to get as much practice in as possible for the upcoming duck and goose season. “E” put in some extra scouting efforts on some of his go to farms and I lined up a few near the house for a quick hunt on Saturday, things were looking promising for a big shoot.

Friday July 20th

With little time to hunt before heading to work, we made our way to a farm we have hunted the three weekends past. After setting out a dozen FFD crows and getting settled into the corn, the birds started coming. We managed to get a few scratched down early, then decided these birds had seen enough of us over the past four weekends and high-tailed it to our next spot. When we pulled into the farm, things looked dead. No crows in the air and nothing on the ground. Just as we stopped the truck to get out, 10 plus birds lifted from a hidden freshly cut wheat field in one of our favorite goose spots on the farm. Nothing was said, we both made a mad dash for the gear and headed to the field. Much to our surprise another one of our feathered quarry was also sharing the field. A small flock of year olds and 2 adult canadas were in the field gathering up the leftover grain and even with the crows starting to come back in, we both took a moment to refresh our memories and enjoy the birds as they lifted to the sky.

Back to the task at hand we set out a dozen dekes in waited. The mob that had lifted had disappeared over the tree tops, but soon after stragglers started coming back in to the decoys. With some good shooting and some great decoying birds we made quick work to get a few and get out. 12 Birds laid before us as we headed out of the field before 8 o’clock and we were happy with the quick hunt to start the weekend.

Saturday July 21st-

While the plan for the weekend was to hunt for three days, the birds I had found up this way for a quick morning shoot before I headed off to my grandparents 60th anniversary were peanuts compared to what “E” had found on a new farm. Since I had little time to hunt, he decided to head over to the farm with one of our hunting buddies, Pete. A phone call in the afternoon revealed an astonishing number, Pete and “E” had shot 40 crows and 2 Pigeons in under 2 hours over 2 dozen GHG FFD’s. He commented on how well the FFD’s worked on the birds with little to no calling and how many of the birds were in the decoys on the ground before they even realized it. Needless to say we were pumped to get aback out after them Sunday and I was kicking myself for trying to squeeze a few extra minutes out of the morning for the shoot.

Sunday July 22nd-

We had been seeing about 200 crows on a particular farm, but had never shot there in the morning, plus we had a good second shoot planned, so hopes were high. Things were looking good as the alarm went off at 4 AM. If nothing else, it would be another good day to get my mind and body acclimated to the lack of sleep and hauling of gear that sometimes catches me off guard September 1st. Today “E” had invited Avery® Pro-Staffer, Rick MacFarlane, along to partake in the crow shoot, and after a quick stop by the “5-0” for a little speeding, Rick was at the meeting spot and loading in to the truck. After a short run to the field, we set out a magnum spread of three dozen FFD’s and waited for the sun to rise. When legal hours were upon us we started picking them off in singles and pairs. Our shooting was interesting, but we managed to do our best. With a freshly cut field in front of us, crows weren’t the only thing hitting the field. Flock after flock of geese were coming to the field along with hundreds of pigeons, so things were looking good both for September goose and the day at hand. Being opportunistic and with yet another bird attracted to the soft look of the FFD crows, we decided to try for some pigeons while we were awaiting crows. As many of you know after the first shoot pigeons become acrobats in the sky and follow up shots are something of an art rather than a skill. After 1.5 hours of hunting and many, many unscheduled misses, we had 10 pigeons and 12 crows in the bag. Not quite the amount of crows we had hoped for, but had we passed on pigeons we could have had at least double the number.

Heading to our next spot we had some good laughs and talked about the upcoming season. When we pulled into the field, nothing was around. Erik had mentioned it slowed down about this time the day previous, so we were still optimistic for the day. We unloaded the three dozen decoys and quickly set them in the field. After getting settled in three rows deep in head high corn, we were concealed and ready for action. It started off slow and after an hour we had 7 crows in the bag. Then it broke lose! The next hour was complete mayhem. Without the aid of the call, crows would appear over the decoys some coming from over a thousand yards locked on to the decoys. Small flocks would carelessly and effortlessly commit to the decoys and ignore the three moving men in the corn. As we have expressed in the past, we have both had some good crow shoots, but none as effective as hunting over the GHG FFD’s. Even in direct, bright sun; the birds still would come to the decoys with ease. It seemed as though the birds were spaced just right to allow the dogs (“E” or Rick) to get back to the corn before the next batch came in. When we were worn out and almost out of shells for the day, 33 crows laid before us, brining the count to 45 crows and 10 pigeons for the day, the best shoot to date. Never before had either of us experienced such great success hunting crows over decoys. It appears as though the flocking does more than just reduce glare, it emulated the feather detail and reflection of a real birds feathers. With crows having some of the best eye sighting the bird world, it is easy to understand why the flocking on geese is so effective on harvesting wary and shy birds. “E” summed it up best with one simple word, “Unbelievable.”

The tally for the weekend came to 97 crows and 10 pigeons, bringing the total for 6 days of hunting to 152 crows and 12 pigeons. While we all wanted to try and break 100 for the 3 day weekend, we were more than satisfied to head home for the day after the amazing shoot we had just participated in. While these can be beaten in the fall during the migration, for the summer time, this was nothing short of a great shoot. Not only were the numbers good, these birds have been hunted in the same fields for the past 4 weekends. Saying they are educated is an understatement. If the GHG FFD’s work this good in the summer, I can’t wait to put it to the migrators come fall.

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