this is the second time in a row this has happened. I throw all of my table scraps and stuff in my chicken coop. On several occasions I've had crows trying to get through the netting on the top to get this stuff it's 45 yards or so to the coop from where I can safely line up on it. Once over the summer and then again today I've taken crows off the top of the netting. And both times they jump to take off just before they get hit like they see the pellet coming at the last second. Anyone else experience this before?
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I think crows can see pellets coming
- Thread starter Jedediah
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They do seem to have quick reflexes.We used to shoot them across rice fields years ago with rimfires and they would take off almost telepathicly on squeezing the trigger. Shotgun was a different ballgame.
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I have only had two occasions related to crows. I have been told after my first kill as a young man that it was really bad luck to shoot a crow by my Aunt who I always believed to be a real witch. I think she attempted to cast a spell on me for killing that first crow. Years past and a farmer asked me to help rid him of some crows that were total pests at his farm. This was my second encounter with crows since I was a young man. Now this was pest eradication. I had little success because they seemed to know I was out to get them and would scatter any time I got close enough for a set up shot. Thinking out of the box, farmer Brown gave me a crate filled with Dynamite and told me that they all congregated in an old tree way out in the pasture. I left the farm but heard the blast. Needless to say the entire flock of renegades disappeared later that evening in a blinding flash along with the tree. I can honestly say that it was effective. The last thing Farmer Brown said to me as I was leaving was keep your head down because it is going to get real noisy. Farmer Brown was later arrested and paid some rather large fines for dispensing a huge flock of red winged black birds that were eating his freshly planted seeds. I have taken his advise though and properly keep my head down which has saved me under many adverse conditions when it appeared it was going to get real noisy.
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How many fps do you get with your rifle? Because 45 yards is not that much of a distance and I really can't believe that crows can see the pellets. It is more likely that they react to the sound but still at 45 yrds they wouldn't have much time. 
I use a silencer and at 60 yrds they have no idea what is going on.
I use a silencer and at 60 yrds they have no idea what is going on. Upvote 0
They can see them coming! When they do, they will at least start to fly away, and if the distance is far enough, you will miss! I've even had them duck away from a 3,000 FPS bullet, assuming they saw the muzzle flash, but I'm not that sure.
I personally don't shoot crows anymore, and haven't since they fell under fed protection. While you can shoot them under certain conditions, those conditions don't apply much here in the area I live in.
...under federal regulations, individuals may kill crows without a hunting license or permit when the birds are found committing, or about to commit, depredations on agricultural crops, or when concentrated in such numbers and manner as to constitute a health hazard or other nuisance (16 U.S.C. Sections 703-712).
I personally don't shoot crows anymore, and haven't since they fell under fed protection. While you can shoot them under certain conditions, those conditions don't apply much here in the area I live in.
...under federal regulations, individuals may kill crows without a hunting license or permit when the birds are found committing, or about to commit, depredations on agricultural crops, or when concentrated in such numbers and manner as to constitute a health hazard or other nuisance (16 U.S.C. Sections 703-712).
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Good shooting and nice video davecole! I have been shooting magpies in the back of late, because if you center the shot in the back in the middle of the wings, you will break their spine and avoid the wings, works like a charm. The only drawback is that I feel like a low life back shooter in a western movie lol
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In IL it is specifically forbidden to shoot a crow with an airgun. Because crows are so special, I suppose.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rp-2_dAJ0kTed has a video where another bird, not a crow, ducked a pellet. It got caught on camera. I'll see if I can locate it.
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My experience has been that a bird's reaction to the pellet or report, from the airgun, is proportional to their size. Small birds (sparrows, etc) are prone to react much more than medium birds (collared doves, Eurasian doves) and even less than large birds (magpies, pigeons, crows). The few crows I've shot, have never seen it coming with the Edgun, Marauder, or shot gun. I have a lot of scope cam video, which more clearly supports this, than what the naked I can pick up without the advantage of high frame rate & slow motion along with the ability to video review.
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My experience has been that a bird's reaction to the pellet or report, from the airgun, is proportional to their size. Small birds (sparrows, starlings) are prone to react much more than medium birds (collared doves, Eurasian doves) and even less than large birds (magpies, pigeons, crows). The few crows I've shot, have never seen it coming with the Edgun, Marauder, or shot gun. I have a lot of scope cam video, which more clearly supports this, than what the naked I can pick up without the advantage of high frame rate & slow motion along with the ability to video review.
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My dad has always told me the reason crows sense the threat of danger is because their a$$hole twitches. From years of hunting them, crows have a very high sense of danger around them but I'm not sure if it's their eyes, ears, or their a$$hole. The best way I've found to hunt them is by finding where roost
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I've seen birds catch insects in mid flight. Their ability to see in the ultraviolet spectrum is thought to be better than their ability to see in the visual light spectrum.
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The speed of sound is 1125 feet per second. Most of our guns shoot under that. Say you are shooting a tuned gun in the 870fps range.
At a hundred yards, the pellet will likely be travelling at around half that (Chain gun says my 18.13 would be at 500 fps at 100 yards. The average speed would be around 685 fps. Let's just use that as an example. If you want the real team time of flight for your gun/pellet combo, setup a target at 100 yards and measure the time from firing to hitting the target.
So 100 yards/300 feet at an average of 685 fps. 300/685 = .44 seconds for the pellet to get to 100 yards.
Your report moves at 1125 fps. so 300/1125 fps = .26 seconds
.44 - .26 = .18 seconds of time where the crow heard bang. If their reactions are good, that's how long they have to duck.
If I shot at him with my 10M pistol which is 500 fps and we do the same math (end speed from chair on on an 8.3gr at 100 yd is 275fps)
300/387 = .77 seconds
.77-.2 = .57 seconds to duck.
At a hundred yards, the pellet will likely be travelling at around half that (Chain gun says my 18.13 would be at 500 fps at 100 yards. The average speed would be around 685 fps. Let's just use that as an example. If you want the real team time of flight for your gun/pellet combo, setup a target at 100 yards and measure the time from firing to hitting the target.
So 100 yards/300 feet at an average of 685 fps. 300/685 = .44 seconds for the pellet to get to 100 yards.
Your report moves at 1125 fps. so 300/1125 fps = .26 seconds
.44 - .26 = .18 seconds of time where the crow heard bang. If their reactions are good, that's how long they have to duck.
If I shot at him with my 10M pistol which is 500 fps and we do the same math (end speed from chair on on an 8.3gr at 100 yd is 275fps)
300/387 = .77 seconds
.77-.2 = .57 seconds to duck.
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Alan, the 16 U.S.C. Sections 703-712 that I found was from 2009 and refers to migratory birds. I don't think crows are such but then Canadian geese here never go home. I am not a game warden though either.
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In Ohio we only give them 2 months off. We have a ten month crow season (weekend shooting only) with get-as-many-as-you-can bag limit
http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/hunting-trapping-and-shooting-sports/hunting-trapping-regulations/season-dates-and-bag-limits
http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/hunting-trapping-and-shooting-sports/hunting-trapping-regulations/season-dates-and-bag-limits
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