David M Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 Hi All, I have enjoyed using my superb AA s400 carbine all year but I had a nice little job lined up for my trusty .22 blunderbust B20 tuned springer yesterday, being batched up only 18 yards from a magpie hotspot. Magpies seem to have exploded in numbers around our way and are everywhere, raiding the pheasant feeders daily. I dread to think what impact they would have on the local songbird chick population come spring. My .177 pcp had accounted for 5 in an hour about a month ago out to 35 yards in a sitty tree, but my best hide position to this other regular favourite feeding spot was only 18 yards away and the bigger pellet springer was just the tool. I was wracking up the numbers fairly quickly after setting up at 10am, choosing to retrieve each one as opposed to setting them up as decoys where they fell, I've found other magpies seem to go nuts seeing them set as decoys and just tug at their tails and make a right commotion, never allowing a careful aim. It was great to see the variation of wildlife that feeds on the spill from the station (for me, not the gamekeepers..!!) - Robins, Jays, Chaffinches, Dunnocks, Sparrows, Pigeons, Magpies and lastly 4 Pheasants were regular visitors... The scope set to x7 mag allowed easy headshots and 4 magpies and a pigeon were quickly taken by 11am. I struggle shooting non-edible quarry and have thought long and hard in the past as to whether it's what I want from airgunning, but sometimes the land you have permission to rid of vermin and pests means it's a duty to. There are over a hundred rooks and jackdaws that are gradually stripping the bordering maize crop and so far all I seem to do is take one and move the rest on to another area..! I hope you have been able to take advantage of these few milder, calm days like we've had in the SE recently, I wasn't really enjoying dressing like a yeti and trying to sit still for 3 hours with an ice wind cutting me in half for the odd shot if I was lucky before... Atb.........David........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbo33 Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 Good write up David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 A nice write up mate; I've been itching to get out myself, but not had much luck. the weather's been hopeless for night time shooting (foggy) and day time's not feasible right now. I know what you mean about the reservations of shooting for stuff that isn't eaten; it comes into the category of 'it's got to be done'. there's less pleasure in it for sure. Especially as i'm a bit of a bird watcher! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David M Posted December 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 (edited) Thanks Chris and Turbo33, it was good to get out on a calm bright day and see the world go by. I held one of the dead magpies and gave it a really good look over yesterday and they are unbelievably beautiful birds but with real weapons in their beak and claws. It was the first time I've seen multiple robins together feeding, they're normally really territorial and see others off their patch. The Jay was a nice moment, I could never shoot them as they're quite rare round here, it was good to get a clear look at him through the scope. I was a little surprised not to have a squirrel come down and hop over to the feeder at some point, they eat the corn because I saw one nicking it last spring, maybe there's still plenty of wild food about and they don't need easy pickings yet. I have noticed this year how magpies don't mix with the rooks and jackdaws but pigeons head to where they see rooks feeding. Also, when a magpie's about, all other birds keep their distance until they've gone.. Edited December 11, 2013 by David M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garden gun Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 All corvids do the "man down" act. They will mob the corpse in an attempt to wake it up. Not sure about deeking a corvid corpse - if they are around in such numbers I guess they will rock up anyway. Do not worry about knocking down vermin species. A couple of summers ago we had blackbirds nesting in the hedge at the bottom of the garden and a magpie found the nest. Mum and dad went nuts, but could not stop the maggie helping itself to eggs/young. I could do nothing about it as could not get a clean shot in - heartbreaking to the birder in me. As far as i am concerned corvids need controlling - end of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 Always done well with dead corvids as deeks. A dead magpie stood next to a dead rabbit with guts hanging out has always been deadly. Never done much good with plastic magpies though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David M Posted December 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 I drew a couple of magpies down to a dead one set up as a decoy a few weeks back and they just went berserk, it was obviously a stranger on their patch and they really aggressively mobbed it and tugged at it's tail. If they weren't attacking it, they were swooping down near it's head and squawking like mad from close by trees. I bet the neighbours wondered what had happened..! The last time I saw and heard such a commotion was when a sparrowhawk grabbed a mistle thrush chick from a nest in my Dad's garden and stood over it while the parents went ape, vicious things mistle thrushes but it was to no avail as the chick died from multiple stab wounds from the hawk's claws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jega Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 Very nice write up David ,like your self i use a P.C.P. for 90% of any hunting i do but there is something very satisfying about taking a nice clean shot with a trusty old springer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David M Posted December 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 (edited) Thanks Jega......... I used the B20 to really good effect as my only hunting rifle for a couple of years taking many a rabbit out to a self imposed range limit of 25 yards. It shoots really smoothly and groups pretty well out past 30 yards but I'm not consistant enough with it past 25 yards. That was all I thought I needed until I realised what I could do with the s400 in .177.. I had a rabbit out to 44 yards off a bipod in calmish conditions this Summer dropping it like a brick, I normally limit my shots to around 35 yards though from shooting sticks. The only draw back with the springer was having to pull it back into the limited space hide to re-cock it each shot, I'd been spoilt with the pcp just pulling back the bolt and slipping in another pellet.. Edited December 11, 2013 by David M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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