GTA
General Discussion To Gateway To Airguns => Hunting Gate => : Furseeker February 26, 2010, 02:20:59 PM
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Got out of work a few hours early today and as luck would have it I had the Summit in the truck today. So I drove down to the dairy and parked by the tree that I shot the starling out of yesterday. When I looked out the window I saw a brightly colored rooster pheasant standing only 10 yards away, he was doing his best to be invisible by lowering himself to the ground and not moving. I turned the truck off and rolled down the window, within a few minutes he must have decided I was no threat because he started feeding again. I will admitt I lined him up in the scope and had the cross hairs centered right in the middle of his head. I was dissapointed I didn't have the camera with me but I enjoyed just watching him.
A few minutes later, just like the day before 3 starlings landed in the tree. I loaded a Red Fire in the Summit and took aim at the highest bird in the tree, got a good solid rest and started the trigger squeeze. At the shot I heard the pellet stike home and saw the bird recoil from the pellet strike. I saw him fall out of the tree, loosing a few feathers as he bounced off a few branches on the way down. But just as I was feeling good about another successful shot he righted himself about 4 or 5 feet of the ground and flew away trailing the other two. I sat there thinking maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me and there was really 4 birds in the tree. No way could what I thought I saw really happen, I mean I heard the hit, saw the feathers and watched him tumble out of the tree on the way to the gound. So I grabbed a few more pellets and headed for the tree, fully expecting to see him dead on the ground near the back side of the tree. But when I got to the tree there was no starling, the ground around the tree is pretty baren so I'm sure if he would have made it to the ground I would have found him. I guess that one got away. But I'm sure he's not alive as I write this. I noticed a few other dead birds one the ground, a few of them were Red Winged Blackbirds, I'm sure they fell victim to the poison that is being put out by the state. While walking around I noticed a few noise cannons that the state has also placed down there. Before I left I walked over and talked to the operator of the farm for a few minutes. He said he's trying everything to keep the birds away but they adapt to all of his control methods. I told him I'd keep at them and he thanked me for my efforts, I think tommorrow I'll head down there again and take my son with me. Maybe we'll take a few scatter guns to up the harvest numbers after we have a little fun with the air rifles.
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Wow what's up with these bionic Starlings lately? I have never seen one fall off the tree, bounce off branches, and then get up, dust itself off, and fly away. And I 've never seen another post like it. Hoever I have had a couple of crows this past fall that did exactly that after I shot them with the 350 .22, but they didn't fly. They just walked or ran away to the neighbor's and disappeared in bushes.
Sorry you couldn't recover it. I 'm sure you 'll get some solid hits soon. Shooting these Starlings on the ground has gotten a little boring for me. I like shooting them up in the tree and watching them fall. That's the best part :) I am glad I was able to shoot one off a tree yesterday.
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It's one thing when your not sure, but to see the hit, then have the Starling fly off... VERY FRUSTRATING!!!!
Had some that were hit, they rolled, and then flew up into a bush like nothing happened. Wack them again and when I went out to retrieve them I can't believe the amount of blood in the snow under where they were sitting in the bush. They are tough birds.
Paul.
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I guess they are armored! gees!