Rooks

[rlewis]

Been invited to go and shoot some rooks.Traditonal is may the 16th the right day i think, you should shoot them but we are going on the 9th :thumbs: Have you got any tips as i have never done this and we are all goin with shotguns ?? thankyou

[Billy.]

Been invited to go and shoot some rooks.Traditonal is may the 16th the right day i think, you should shoot them but we are going on the 9th :thumbs: Have you got any tips as i have never done this and we are all goin with shotguns ?? thankyou

 

Get hidden, they will spook at anything. One tiny bit of your body on show and they'll not come within 200 yards of you.

 

Do not underestimate how clever these birds are. They will happily fly over your head when you're out walking, but if you've got a gun over your arm, they'll not come anywhere near.

[monkeyboots]

dont use anything less than a number 5 or 6 to shoot them with, you can shoot with 7 and a halfs but will get better kill rates with a number 5 or 6 :thumbs:

[davie mac]

Have a look through here as well

http://www.crowbusters.com/

[Beardo]

Brancher day is May 15th i thought

[Beardo]

yeah just double checked - this is traditional when the young rooks leave the nest for the first time to venture onto the branches.

supposed to be good eating as well - seem to recall it featuring on the F Word once

[Pykie]

If its Branchers your shooting (young rooks just off the nest) then you will be shooting mainly static birds in the trees. Good way to reduce a population, even though not technically what I would call sporting (I prefer to decoy them later) Take plenty of ammunition with you. Listen out for their calls and movement as they hop around the branches. Camouflage up well to take out the ones already flying and older birds. Best to go in the evening, same time as you would go roost shooting.

[the running man]

I used 150 cartriges last year of 5 shot blasting all the nests out,they've just moved along the river now,so I've gotta do it again soon,I found blasting out the nest brought in a lot of other rooks concerned I suppose about their nests,I got 47 all together! Not bad!

[UKPoacher]

I took out over 70 squabs last year with the air rifle. There's no need to conceal yourself, the young rooks won't spook as they will be too busy hanging on and summoning up courage to have their first fly.

 

If it's windy then I'd use a .410 with number 6 shot. If it's not windy and there isn't too much leaf cover an air rifle is perfect. Walk steadily through the wood, stopping often and scanning the branches near to the nests. Spotting them can be a challenge in itself sometimes and if you can try and get the gun up without taking your eyes off them as they often hop from banch to branch and disappear. Try not to shoot them too near their nest as wounded birds will make straight for the nest once the initial shock is overcome. Keep going round the wood as they will sometimes come out to see what the noise is all about. The parents will be quartering over the tree tops screaming at you and trying to get the young back in the nests. Take a broad brimmed hat and old clothes because you're likely to end up covered in ****. If you go back during the following few days you'll be able to take out others as they mature at different times. We aim to take an average of one and a half birds per nest over the week.

 

Can't do it this year - off on holiday on the 12th.

[wymberley]

yeah just double checked - this is traditional when the young rooks leave the nest for the first time to venture onto the branches.

supposed to be good eating as well - seem to recall it featuring on the F Word once

Traditional verse has it that four and twenty are baked in a pie.

[UKPoacher]

Traditional verse has it that four and twenty are baked in a pie.

 

Check out the recipes; most only have rook breasts as a side show and include other meat as the staple. I took some rookling to an old farmer a few years ago. He remembered having rook pie as a youngster and wanted to try it. He didn't ask for any more.

[scolopax]

Used to do a bit of brancher shooting when I was younger but quickly grew out of it. Mainly because it is not at all sporting and is pretty much just killing, and that was with air rifles, shotguns would make it even easier. I would say take enough for a pie or two then let the rest be.

[Blackpowder]

Used to do a bit of brancher shooting when I was younger but quickly grew out of it. Mainly because it is not at all sporting and is pretty much just killing, and that was with air rifles, shotguns would make it even easier. I would say take enough for a pie or two then let the rest be.

Landowners, especially farmers like to see rook numbers thinned out in spring, the only time when they are vulnerable that is branchers not yet on the wing. When grain heads are green and milky rooks love to eat them learning how to pull them down especially if a small area has been flattened already. Following spring sowing rooks will feed on newly cultivated fields mainly I believe for worms and larvae but in doing this they can uproot a lot of sprouting grain. Niether of the above makes them popular with farmers. One farmer called me out last year to a field of baled silage as for some reason a large flock of rooks were tearing holes in the polythene bale covers like no body's business. I dont know anyone who has eaten rook(crow pie) but apparently during ww 2 it was a regular dish when other protien was in short supply.

 

Blackpowder

[Go Go Gadget]

There are a couple of young uns moving about the nest now around my land. Picked of a few with the .22 that strayed a bit too far. They will still be a week or two yet before they are fully fledged like