Crows w/ Red-Tail

[weh1003]

I was just hoping someone out there had experience with Red-Tails on Crows. I am a first year apprentice hunting a Male RT. I got a late start due to a deployment to Mississippi for Hurricane Relief. Most of the slow stupid rabbits in my area are already dead and I am looking for a little variety.There is more then corn in Indiana, more crows then you can shake a stick at.
My ears are open.

[falco]

I have never tried that before and i havnt even heard of it with a RT. I bet if you made a blind and called in the crows then released your bird at the right time it would work. I have no idea really.

[alex2]

Except.. not with a Male RT.. and.. Not with more then 4 Crows..

Cause they'll mob his ass to no end lol.

[Jay]

Ya mobbing would be a real problem. Also it is very hard to get them in close enough. I do some shooting for them in spring and they are harder than ducks to get in on the decoys. You would never be able to get within range of them unless it was car hawking you were doing. Car hawking is the only way I see of geting close enough and only way to give the bird a speed advantage.

I would say forget crows and fly squirrles and bunnies.

[m4tt]

isnt it against a federal law to hunt crows? lol cuz i know thats y u cant keep em as pets...

[kenbro77]

No, crow hunting is not illegal. In some states there is actually a crow hunting season.

[rt]

I think crows are to fast for a rt to take from the fist a Harris hawk can do it and I have heard of a guy that flys crows with his Harris, he window hawks them with success. Another thing about all those crows you see in the corn fields they are country crows and they are harder to approach then city crows so getting a good slip would be hard.

[austringer84]

I have only successful crowhawking with female sparrow hawks and harris hawks from acar, but it appears theideal way to sneak up on them and get a good slip. My male harris has only taken one crow whilst free flying, butheisgetting better and better. I've flown him at rabbits, pheasants, partridge, rats, one squirrel andvarious other things, he is getting moreandmore willing to try new things.

Get a dead crow and try luring your bird with it (avoid lead shotbirds) and see how it goes, let us know. Take fotos!

[bewit]

I had a male RT that would take crows regularly, usually by stealth.
He would actually sneak up on them going from tree, to tree. He became quite adept at catching them unaware,always on the ground. I don't think he ever caught one in flight.
I also had a large female who wouldn't touch them. She would fly up to them & pull away once she identified them, she even refused an injured rook{a corvid} on the ground.
Crows in Britain are used to seeing Common Buzzards {Buteo Buteo} which are almost indistinguishable from a RT at first glance
but being nowhere near as aggressive are not perceived to be a
threat. So perhaps that makes it easier for the RT to get closer .
These weren't stylish flights, I don't think the RT is capable of taking any corvid in flight.All corvids are intelligent,wary,Strong fliers,who are, due to their habit of posting lookouts,usually very difficult to come upon unaware.