20 replies to this topic

[Victorem]

I just hit a spot yesterday up north-west NB for the first time, an old 9 hole golf course... Nobody is hunting crows up there. No decoys, no bait just a couple cra-cra and they came in bunches of 5!! I didnt shoot because I wanted to pull as much as I could! I could count at lease 20 of them flying over my head... i waited for a while and unloaded my 12ga... I dropped 3 of them with 2 3/4" shells on full steel choke.
But I couldn't get them to come back? Would decoys make a difference in that scenario? Bait?

Let's have a Rock n' Rolla Cowboy Talk!! Thx guys!!

[Unconventional Hunter]

I've only been out crow hunting a handful of times but a friend of mine brought decoys once and it seemed to help a lot. Even after the bang, if they still see crows on the ground not trying to fly away they feel a bit safer and stick around more it seems.

Not to jack your thread, but maybe someone could answer this for me. Crows vs Ravens. How do I know what I'm shooting? I feel like most of what I get is Ravens as they're awfully big to be crows. Does the DNR discern between the two or is it just "shoot the big black bird"?

[Old guide]

Crows are easily 1/3 less size than Ravens.. There are no differences in DNR eyes as far as I Know, but a very good Question.

[Victorem]

Its an open topic... so its okay Unconventional Hunter!! Totally agree eith Old Guide!!
Good stuff, good question!

[HUNT247]

Ravens are federally protected I believe, big trouble!

[ChrisCaine96]

i found sometimes you can get either a big crow or a small raven, but what gives it away is the calls they make, crows are much higher pitched when they call, once you hear the difference in the two its very easy to tell what is what. i use an electronic call for them so theyre always squacking when they come in. Love it tho, its a blast!

[Unconventional Hunter]

Ravens are federally protected I believe, big trouble!

Yeah I kinda thought so too. But not going to panic about it either.

i found sometimes you can get either a big crow or a small raven, but what gives it away is the calls they make

This is one reason why I won't take blame if I accidently shot a raven, because they can mimic the sound of ANYTHING. I wasted a good half hour one day while hunting grouse because I heard a wild turkey nearby and sat around to see if anything would come of it. Some time later, I saw the raven switch trees and continue gobbling. Clever little SOB, had me going for a while.

[pond jumper]

Ravens USUALLY have a really deep throaty call but like unconventional brought up they will mimic a lot of noises, and if you can here him coming ie here is wings going thrugh the air very loudly and clearly is likely a raven, they have heavier and wider wings than a crow, makes them quite noisy when they fly over you...but then again hard to hear that over a 12ga lol

On an interesting note I watched a lot of documentary on ravens and talked a lot about them when i was in school..and they can even mimic non-biological sounds, and even have the capability of finding food , flying to a roost miles and miles away out of sound range and communicating to others where to find the food, pretty well giving them directions. they did a study where they dropped a roadkill deer , tagged teh ravens that showed up, and then tracked them, they had flown a long way to the roost, far enough it couldnt call others from the deer location, the next day several different ravens from the roost were at the deer at different times of day, so they hadnt followed the others they had to have been somehow ``told`` where to go the night before...also crows and ravens one of the few bitrd species known to make and use tools to get food...look it uo on youtube its pretty crazy how smart they really are i think its under life of birds raven or something similar

[stroover]

If I can figure out how to put a media file on here, I'll post raven and crow calls for ya's.

[Old guide]

I really never heard of Ravens being Protected, it should be interesting to find out if they are. I have my doubts that they are.

[Victorem]

Never heard of Ravens been protected either.. we should get some reliable info about this subject!
Good talk!

[Unconventional Hunter]

I lived out in Alberta for a while and I heard they were protected there because they help A LOT with cleaning up roadkill which was a serious problem where I lived. A deer was hit pretty well every day within 30 minutes of town. Kinda thought that was a provincial thing though.

[linnie]

I pulled this off the 2012 Alberta guide to hunting regulations.
All birds are protected except the following: Starlings, Crows, Pigeons, House (English) Sparrows, Magpies, Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Ravens (hunted on private land by residents) and any other birds for which an open season has been declared by the regulations as indicated in the summary.

[lobsterman]

I don't know the answer - in fact I've often wondered what the REAL answer is - but I would think that if it was legal to hunt ravens in NB, it would say so in the regs just as it does for every other legal species.

[Clay_G]

It is illegal to hunt ravens in canada do to some treaty that was signed with the states.

Easiest way to tell between a crow and raven is when in flight a crows tail feathers will be straight across and a ravens tail feathers have a curve to them.

[Old guide]

Personally I would like to see something From the Regulations in New Brunswick as I have not Read anything on not Hunting Ravens but , it always just mentions Crow Hunting in the Summary.

[Resourceful Redneck]

Boys, I don't know how easy it would be to tell the difference from 40 yards away up in a spruce tree line. I have asked the DNR Minister's assistant and should have an answer this week. BTW, I also asked him if it is illegal to shoot a raven, how many fines have been levied. Something tells me that is not a very heavily enforced law if it exists. But this is a great question especially when I am trying to teach a new hunter how to be legal and ethical in the woods.

[TheCoachZed]

The ravens I've seen in the woods travel in smaller groups (usually pairs) and they're larger. They will investigate a crow call but won't get worked up into a frizzle over it. Their call is totally different.

[Resourceful Redneck]

Folks;
I received the following as an answer from DNR on the Crow V.S. Raven discussion:
"Yes, it is illegal to shoot ravens, as they are not listed on any license. If one were to do so he or she would be in violation of Sect. 34(2)(a) of the Fish & Wildlife Act, and if convicted, would receive a fine of $124.50.

Section 34(2)(a) reads as follows:

34(2)(a)Every person commits an offence who hunts wildlife, other than beaver, bobcat, fisher, marten, mink, otter, raccoon or red fox unless authorized by licence issued under this Act or the regulations,

Nine persons have been convicted of this offense in the last three years."

I hope this helps clear things up!

[lobsterman]

I'm surprised that nine people have been charged in three years. I would have thought the number would have been, like, zero. Or less.
As a frequent crow hunter, I'll have to be extra careful.
Thanks for checking this out BB!