40+ blackbirds

[zzyzx]

A tiring afternoon. Two rifles, the .177 marauder and the 34 Panther in .22. Shooting blackbirds off cattail stalks and tree limbs  in the sloughs and off sunflowers in the fields. I know one thing, I prefer pumping to every shot cocking a barrel. Much nicer to pump and have 40 good shots before taking a break and pumping again.

If you have never seen flocks of thousands of blackbirds rise from sloughs and edges of ponds and swarm to a 600 acre field of commercial sunflowers..., it is quite a sight. Trouble is the birds are decimating the sunflower crop. Each shot, hit or miss, scares them into flight and they can't eat while flying. I counted a few over 40 I hit and dropped at ranges from 12 to 60 yards. Know I hit moer but the get lost in the black sunflower heads and in the cattail leaves. The .22 plows through cattail leaves better than the .177 does and is good for that. If I had the Evanix Blizzard with me I would have used it but, you can't always have them all in the truck at one time.

At any rate, shooting these is not like fish in a barrel as they aren't often that close. Most shots were 30 yards plus and I shot into groups at 150 yards and more just to scare them off the heads and stop the eating. All in all, good shooting and a lot of dead birds but not even a dent in the flocks.

[Carl]

Looks like you need some de-flocking help.

[oldpink]

With that kind of trouble with the damage to your sunflower crop, the real solution would be a twelve gauge loaded with 7-1/2 shot and some very rapid shooting into the flock where it is at its greatest density.
A fast handling pump or auto would probably be best, and I suspect you could wipe out as many as you killed all day with the airguns with one magazine tube if you can get the shots out quickly enough.
The noise would also make them less apt to return so easily.

[pindog2000]

wow bro do you need some tag team help?

[SGTCPabon]

How bout we all make a pilgrimage over to ya?

[zzyzx]

Some of our neighbors buy shotgun shells by the PALLET, not just the case. They use propane fueled 'boomers' that put a bit of propane in a long tube, ignite it and it makes a loud noise. Have to move every day or so as it loses effectiveness quickly. They use pistol powered 'scremers' which they shoot across where the blackbirds land and it scares them off.
They have blackbird shoots with friends and neighbors coming by to shoot the birds.

Flocks number in the thousands and they are black locusts on the wing. They do a lot of damage to sunflowers and hit corn hard when in tassle stage. Our shooting is to stop depredation and help get crops in for the neighbors. Every little bit helps.

As I said, pumping is nicer after 40 shots than cocking every shot when you are doing a lot of this in the field.

[jonny.177.22]

solution: 10 people with bejamin marauders or gamo big cats.

[only1harry]

Wow now that must be a lot of fun.  Good shooting, especially at 60yds!

Yeah but you need the Springer for when your Marauder runs out of air after 40 shots, no?    Can you take a pic next time of these thousands of black birds?  That 's something we need to see.  I sometimes get 300-400 Grackles that land on my lawn (except for this year.. they have me all figured out now) and it is some sight..  Too bad they all take off after the first shot from an airgun.