Short Duck Farm Hunt

[longislandhunter]

We had light rain and snow showers early in the morning but by noon the skies cleared and the sun came out so I decided to head over to the duck farm and see if I could nail a few starlings.  I was going to take my R-9 goldfinger .177 with me but I saw my .177 CFX sitting in the safe and decided to take that instead.  I hadn't shot the CFX in quite some time and since the wary yellow beaks at the farm would no doubt mean long shots I decided that the incredible accuracy that the CFX gives me would be very useful.  

I arrived at the duck farm and there wasn't a single starling in sight anywhere.  What was there was a large flock of pigeons that kept circling the farm.  They would land near different grain feeders but they were very spooky and would take flight at the first sign of myself or the farm workers so they were impossible to get close enough to for a shot.  What I did notice though was that there was this one barn at the north end of the farm and the entire flock would periodically land on the roof and sun themselves.  30 yards away from the barn there were 2 large, old cherry trees and even though they didn't have any leaves on them I figured if I took cover underneath the largest tree and stayed still that I might get a shot.  Well, I sat there for an hour and finally the flock landed.  I picked out a large gray and white pigeon, put the crosshairs on the birds chest and pulled the trigger.  Just as I pulled the trigger the bird turned to it's left and the pellet slammed into his wing instead of the breast.  I heard the "POP" as the pellet hit and I saw feathers fly as the bird disappeared.  I quickly made my way around the barn expecting to see my prize lying on the ground but the bird was nowhere to be found.  I checked the entire duck pen, thinking perhaps he flew a bit before expiring but the bird was gone.  I guess he managed to fly off with the rest of the flock.  I went back to my hide and sat there for another hour but the birds never came back.  

Before heading home I made one complete slow walk around the duck farm perimeter but the only prospective targets I saw were 2 fat muskrats that were feeding in the stream.  I managed to sneak within 15 yards of them and had an easy headshot on both but the season is closed so I passed on them.  

Came home with an empty game pouch but had a nice time walking around the farm.  I may head back tomorrow if the weather is nice but this time I'm bringing the fully aired up .22 Condor so I can do some long range pigeon sniping....

Before I left I took a pic from where I shot the pigeon.....

Jeff

[dk1677]

Now the pigeons have Kevlar!  Glad you had a good walk anyway! Thanks for the picture!

[longislandhunter]

The pigeon I hit really did take a solid hit but I guess all that bulk in the wing kept it from going where it needed to go  

It's to bad too,,,, he was a really nicely marked bird, I would've like to have dried out the wings.... also would've liked to have wrapped a couple of pieces of bacon around him for his trip to the barbeque  grill  

Jeff

[airiscool]

Nice try Jeff. Too bad it got away or I'd know what you had for dinner tonight.

Muskrat, I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid.  Back before they bulkheaded most of the south shore I'd see them all the time in river near our house.

Great times growing up on the south shore before they bulldozed the wetlands for housing developments. Darn Sid Farber !!!!

Paul

[only1harry]

Wow the CFX!!  It has to be 2-3yrs since you last used the CFX..  

Too bad you weren't able to recover that pigeon Jeff.  It must have contracted whatever the super-Starlings have this winter which made it bionic and capable of surviving the shot from the pellet  But have no fear, you have a Condor near!  hehehe.  That 'll take care of them once and for all, hehehe.

Hey I tried out the JSB Kings 25.4gr today on the .25 Condor.  They are amazingly accurate and they fit a lot like the Kodiak in the breach but better!  Tony told me he tested my gun with those and also sent me the cardboard pieces he shot at 38yds.  Both were clover-leaf groups that he sent me, but for all I know he could have been shooting at 10m  No seriously I was getting same hole at 30yds with them today!  I 've also been reading that the 18.1 and the heavier .22 JSB's are also very accurate with the Condors & Talons.  You might want to give them a try.  I got some JSB 18.1gr heavies finally so I will fill the .22 Condor to a lesser pressure and see how they do.  If they are just slightly better than the Kodiaks which are really good to begin with, I will be using them often.  I am also sticking with the JSB Kings for the .25 Condor.. for a while anyway.  

I also tried the 8.4gr JSB's on the 36 and they are awesome.  Next I got the 14.3gr JSB Express waiting to go on the 350 .22.   I had placed and order of exclusively JSB pellets and after 6 weeks P/A finally delivered.  If it weren't one pellet out of stock, it was another, and when that came in, another one went out of stock..  I just never have any luck with pellet orders but this was typical of P/A..

[Furseeker]

Jeff I lost a pigeon today also. I was down at the dairy farm shooting a few Starlings when two pigeons land in one of the holding pens. I could only get to about 45 yards but had a good rest and let the CHP fly. Heard the impact, wathed the feathers fly while he was flopping around. The he righted himself and started heading the other direction dragging a wing, well I was loading up for a second shot but all that flapping around caught the cows attention and they all headed to the area to see what was going on. The bird managed to get in with the cows before I could shoot again.

[longislandhunter]

Harry,,,,

I have quite a few tins of the 18.1 gr. JSB's and both my Talon and my Condor absolutely  love them, they both shoot ragged hole groups with them.  I have the talon sighted in for the 18.1's and while my Condor is sighted in for the kodiaks  the 18.1 JSB's shoot just 1 mildot higher so using the mildots I'm already dialed in for the 18.1's.  The only bad thing is that even with the "extension" on my Condor the JSB's go "supersonic" and make that rifle crack.  So,,,, I can't shoot them in my backyard range but they won't be a problem at the duck farm  

I plan on bringing the JSB's with next time I hit the farm....


Dave,,,, at least your bird stayed on the ground, mine laughed it off and flew off  

Jeff

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

As always,,,, your TRUE HONESTEY is truly refreshing. You Sir are my kind of "Hunter",,,, willing to admit to hunts that for one reason or another just dont go right. Lets face it,,, even the MOST experienced hunters have been there. You Sir,,,, like me,,, dont mind sharing the "Good & Bad". Keep that BBQ grille warm Jeff,,,,,, Dem critters will be camping out there soon!!8) Yer SC huntin Buddy,,,,, Timbo.

[longislandhunter]

Thanks Timmy  

I gotta get my butt in gear and find the time to point my truck south so I can get down there and visit and of course shoot    with you, Gene and Bob.   It's on my "to do" list for this year  

Jeff

[mvhunter]

nice try jeff...ive been ther many of times....somtimes they get away.....keeps you comin back.......great story and pic.....

[atchman2]

Thanks for sharing!  I've never seen a duck farm in Tennessee, but if I ever found one I'd be all over it for the shooting fun!

[shadow]

I'm sure you made the shot count buddy, he's flying around with some extra lead weight in his bottom hehe or if they have any cat's out there hmmm. Great pic's Jeff and I've been getting geared up for the private land hunt's and already did some scouting on several plot's of land. There are plenty of Bandit and Country Rat track's and the nutters are moving around in the tree's. I will hold out on the ground critter pest control until about a ton of the snow melt's on the ground but will start to thin some nutters out. Ed

[Wingman115]

Jeff I used to trap muskrats as a kid growing up in Maine.. We would sell the pelts to make some extra money.

[longislandhunter]

Will be looking forward to the pics and details Ed  


wingman..... I have to admit I was tempted to take out the muskrats and each one of em got a little "scope time"     but the law is the law and the season is closed so I let em swim away.  The stream that runs through the duck farm property has a very good population of muskrats, I see them all the time.  There was one guy a couple years ago who was running a trap line there and he did real well, but for some reason he doesn't trap there anymore and I haven't seen him in a long time.  He also used to get raccoons, foxes and country rats in his traps, as well as the occasional g-hog and rabbit.   Maybe next season I'll bag a couple of muskrats, I'd like to see how they taste  

Jeff

[Furseeker]

Jeff I have a book down in the basement that has a few muskrat recipes in it. When I was a younger man I use to do a lot of trapping and every year the fur buyer would have a kind of year end cook out with all sorts of things to eat, and I mean all sorts. Seems like I won the book with recipes as some kind of prize or something. Fur prices will make a lot guys sit a few seasons out, I still have all my gear and would love to get back into it if the prices would come up a little. So I guess what I’m saying is when you’re ready to make with your mad cooking skills let me know and I’ll provide you with a muskrat recipe.