A grackle a day.......

keeps those squaking black bas&*ds away!

I have my Talon SS tuned pretty well so it's almost mouse-fart quiet so I've been able to get some birds here in my in-the-middle-of-town backyard.  Averaged 2 a day this entire last week as it seems that the time just before I head to work is the time the grackles tend to sit near my bird feeder.

What is it about those danged birds that I hate so much?  I think its because they always chase away the birds I enjoy watching....robins, cardinals, etc.  Whatever the reason, I enjoy shooting them!

The Talon SS, for those of you that have never shot one before, is a real joy to shoot.  I've fitted mine with a homemade peep sight and this week I'm 8-0 at the thirty yards to the grackle perch using Kodiaks.  I don't have the rifle maxxed out (I like a few more shots per fill) and the grackles just fall off the line like they've had a heart attack.

Anyway, makes up for the fact that I didn't get a single rabbit this season!

[shadow]

Keep dropping em Bob, there's thousand's of them out here. Ed

[longislandhunter]

I have the same problem with the grackles, they descent on our feeders in huge flocks and besides bullying all the other birds away they literally wipe out all the bird seed in a matter of a couple of hours.  Without them the seed usually lasts for about 2 or 3 days.  

I'd gladly shoot them if they weren't protected here, but they have "song bird" status in New York hence they are protected.  Oh well, guess I'll just have to keep chasing them away like I always do by running out the back door.  :)

Jeff

ummm...............I'm keeping my location a secret!  They aren't on the varmint list in my location either.  About the only birds we're allowed to take by pellet here are crows and pigeons.  

Yeah, that's it! I thought they were crows!

Still doesn't get me out of the "discharging a firearm inside city limits" charge but the Talon SS is super quiet and the backyard is pretty secluded so I guess I'll keep taking my chances.

Oh, and this morning my record went to 8-1.  Dang bugger took flight just as I sqeezed the trigger!

Song bird?

Seriously?

Who listens to that $#!t and calls it a song?

Somebody is an a$$#0le.

Or maybe their tone deaf.

Somebody's got to keep you honest.

Up to about 16-3 now but the other night I had a bit of a laugh.

I was sitting on the deck with the wife, enjoying a glass of wine while dinner cookes.  And there, on the feeder, landed a grackle.  Only about 12 yards away.  I slooooooowly reached over for the Talon SS and loaded a .22 Kodiak heavy.  Take aim, realizing I'll look like a dork in front of my wife if I miss at this range.  

THUMP!  The pellet flies and theres the sound of the pellet hitting the backstop I've put behind the feeder for just this sort of occassion.   But wait!  There some feathers flying!  The grackle flies off hellbent for leather at about 10' off the ground.  And here it comes, the second THUMP! as he hits smack dab into the neighbors garage.  It looked like one of the Wiley E. Coyote cartoons as he nailed into the garage and then hung there for a split second before sliding down the garage wall.

Now, I like a good clean kill with the bird just dropping as if it had a heart attack, but this did make me laugh.  The kicker was the feathers the pellet half embedded into the backstop. They now act as a nice wind guage.

[USNCop]

Josjor, I know exactly what you're saying!  I've had that happen to me as well with grackles and starlings.
It kind of tricked me into thinking I had missed, until their blood pressure dropped so loww that they fell out of the air.
Good shot on that 'insurgent!'

I almost forgot, how is the trigger on that Talon SS?

The trigger is frugle in its construction, however, I've gotten used to it pretty well.  There really doesn't seem to be a 1st or second stage, just a pull and a "pop".  The pull on mine is pretty light and as I said, there really doesn't seem to be a good indication as to when its about to go.  I take a steady aim and then just slowly pull back until it pops.

Might not be fancy or have definable stages, but the good side is that there is no flinch due to anticipation!