Corvid stalk
34 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
creepingsoftlyandquietlyinthelee
oflowhill.SoonI wasina betterspot
andI loweredmyselfintoa black,
shiveringmassofmudclothedin
weedsanddocks.I boughta balaclava
severalyearsagoforgooseshooting
andthiswaspeeleddownovermy
faceasI slitheredforwardsonmy
bellythroughthorns and brambles.
Beady-eyed
Itwasa thrilltofindthatI wasnow
within 80 yardsofa crow,standing
highupinanashtreeandasbeady-
eyedasa baboon.Thenext 60 yards
wouldbea nightmareofrushes
andopenground,butthecrow
remainedinplaceasI beganto
crossit.I triedtomoveonlywhen
hewascalling,assumingthatallhis
busycaterwaulingwouldkeephim
preoccupied.Evenat 40yardsI felt
certainthegamewasup.Thefinal
stretchwasalmostsuicidebutbythat
stageI wascommittedandinched
onwardstowardsmymission.
I knewhehadgonebeforeI even
looked up. There was a clattering bout
ofcomplaintandI gapeduptoseethe
twigsbobbingwherethecrow had
been.I hadbeenrumbled.
Perhapsit’spossibletodothiskind
ofwork,butyouwouldneeda fair
measureofgoodfortuneandthe
opportunitytoroll— andre-roll— the
diceseveraltimesbeforeyoucould
hopeforanykindofsuccess.
Mostofthesecrowswillvanish
intoa Larsentrapinduecourse;
there’sa reasonwhythiskindof
workis usuallyundertakenbycages
andlong-rangeriflefire.Crowswere
designedtobecannyandwiseand
theadditionaltroubleis thatthereis
verylittlemeatinsidethosefeathers.
Even if I had managed to connect withthatbird,it is notsohardtoimagine
thepelletswhistlingthroughits
downandthebeastitselfflyingon
unscathed.A .410givesoutprecious
littleshotandit’sdeliveredtowards
a smalltargetona winganda prayer.
I wasaskedtoperformanalmost
impossiblefeatsoperhapsit’sno
surpriseI shouldhavefumbledit.
Butat theveryleast,it wasa chance
tobondagainwithanoldfriend.The
.410hasbeenoutofthecabineta few
timessincethenandI haveconjured
upmanyhappymemories.Shooting
peoplehavea specialrelationship
withtheirgunsandthereis a timeand
a placeforeverytool,evenif it’s not
for the stalking of crows.“Itwasa chanceto
bondagainwithan
oldfriend.The.410
hasbeenouta few
times since then”
Camouflage-clad
Patrickcreeps
closer to the crowsPatrick’s.410is a single-
barrelledRodacciai,which
requiresgettingupclose
and personal to prey