AMERY - On Saturday, March 11, UW Wanderoos hosted a crow hunt with raffles and a dinner organized by Katie Burch. UW Wanderoos, formerly an old public schoolhouse, is now a bar, grill and event center near Amery. Burch lives locally and started the crow hunt last year after General Sam’s in Somerset stopped hosting a hunt they had run for the past 15 years. She said her boyfriend enjoys the sport.
First place with the heaviest bird got 50% of the pot, second place got 30% and third place 20%. The first-place bird would have to be cut open to ensure honesty without weights. If you were wondering about the sport of crow hunting, they are edible and comparable to duck for dark meat; however, Burch said that most of the participants turn their birds in for disposal. As an omnivorous predatory animal, they are also known to eat eggs from the nests of nonpredatory birds many people like to hunt, such as turkey, quail and pheasant. They even eat small birds like ducklings and goslings. They can be problematic in large numbers for crops as well, eating seeds like corn or other crops. So, from a conservation standpoint, a crow hunt can make sense. Another benefit citied by hunters was that it gives a more realistic practice than shooting clay pigeons, and keeps your shooting skills sharp, while being a low-cost activity as well.
Registration for this particular event had been open since Monday, March 6, and closed the day of the event at 11 a.m. The entry fee was $50 per two-person team. Entry and door prizes were also available for those attending. Registration included dinner as well, and for those not hunting, dinner was $9. Prizes and raffle items included gift certificates, clothing, various hunting items and guns. These were donated by various businesses supporting the event, such as Irbeck Outdoors, Horse Creek, Fleet Farm Hudson, Life Brand, Star Prairie Sports Bar, Russel’s Sport N’ Bike and the Friendly Bar. Inclement weather didn’t keep the hunters at bay on this snowy winter day, and the event saw a good turnout despite the poor weather, road conditions and its location being tucked away in a rural area off of Highway 65.
