Carroll County, says Harry Brennan, is Maryland's top crow-hunting spot.
"I've been an avid crow hunter for close to 45 years and have
seen some mighty good shooting in that time, but the areas around Taneytown and up to Littlestown (Pa.) are just about the best you will find anywhere. For years. I gunned crows up around Midway and around Frederick County, but this spot always pulls me back, and I end the day wondering why I ever waste my time at other places."
Brennan and I spent a couple of hectic hours of crow shooting last week at a favorite spot of his east of Silver Run. Jack Packard, a longtime hunting partner of Brennan arrived about an hour into the afternoon's shoot but more than made up for lost time.
"Jack's about the best crow caller I know," Brennan confided, "but it would half-kill me to let him know it. He does just fine thinking I believe yours truly is the best crow talker."
Most bird experts believe crows to be the most intelligent of all birds. John Terres, author of the definitive "The Encyclopedia of North American Birds," writes that "they have the ability to count up to three or four, are good at solving puzzles, and have astonishing memories. They have the ability to quickly associate humans and/or unnatural movements with danger."
It has been proven that these birds have developed a language. By mastering a few calls, the hunter has the ability to lure the birds into shotgun range.
Brennan and Packard believe that you need to master five calls to be a successful crow talker.
The "Come here call" consists of three long, evenly spaced calls (cawww-cawww-cawww).
The "Comeback call" is two short and two long calls
(caw-caw-cawww-cawww).
Make the "Fighting call" in a very excited manner consisting of two long, two short and one long call (cawww-cawww-caw-caw-cawww).
The "Feeding call" is an alternate of eight short and long caws in a series, then pause one or two seconds and repeat (caw-caww, caw-caww).
And then, Brennan says, there's "the last one you need to learn so that you never use it." That's the "Sentry call." It's four caws, one long, two shorts, and another long: (cawww-caw-caw-cawww).
The two men, after luring crows into range and bagging them, prop the bodies up with sticks, thus furnishing themselves with decoys. Our "blinds" were simply brushy spots, but we wore camouflage coats, pants and hats. The modified choke tube at )) the end of my Remington 11-87's 26-inch, 12 gauge barrel was adequate for this type of shooting. My load was 1 1/8 ounces of No. 6 shot.
After about three hours of shooting at various locations within the boundaries of the two adjoining properties, nearly three-dozen crows had been bagged. That's a lot of shooting in a short period and, while not unusual, better than I am accustomed to when calling my own black-feathered targets.
Maryland's crow season is a bit odd. It's open from Aug. 16 to March 16, but only on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. There is no limit to the number of birds a hunter may bag.
Show time
The 13th annual Bass Expo, Saltwater Fishing and Fly Fishing Show begins its popular run at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium on Thursday. The show continues through Sunday. Doors open at noon on Thursday and Friday and at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Adult admission is $7. The hourly seminars are worth the price of admission, alone.
The dates for this year's Chesapeake Bay Boat Show are Feb. 1-9 at the Baltimore Convention Center. This year's door prizes are a Carolina Skiff 17 equipped with a Mercury engine and EZ Loader Trailer plus a Sea-Chesapeake) courtesy of the Department of Natural Resources.
Pub Date: 1/12/97
