Finished my errands early today so grabbed the RWS 350 .22 and headed for the duck farm to see what pests might present themselves. My last few outings at the farm there haven't been very many starlings, if any, to shoot at since they started their fall migration so I was amazed when I pulled up to my usual parking spot next to one of the barns and saw huge flocks of starlings raiding the nearby feeders and perched in the trees. I was psyched. My only other thought was that I wish I had brought the .177 S1k or CFX instead, since the RWS was overkill for starlings, but what the heck, I had a whole tin of pellets.
Snuck to within 30 yards of a large group feeding greedily at the feeder, took aim, bam....a dead starling. No sooner did the dead starling hit the ground the entire flock, and every bird within sight, took off and disappeared . I stook there and watched what had to be a couple thousand starlings winging their way north. I waited around for almost an hour and not one lousy starling came back. Absolutely amazing !! I'd like to think their reaction was due to my legendary deadly prowess with an air gun, but I know better :(
I finished out my hunting expedition by vainly waiting for a shot at one of the many pigeons on the ground mingled in with the ducks, but they never offered a clear shot. I can't shoot if there's any chance of a miss, or a ricochet, that might hit a duck so sometimes I sit there in a "target rich" environment but unable to actually fire any pellets. Oh well.
I'll be heading back tomorrow afternoon with a friend. Hopefully the birds will hang around long enough to provide us with more than 1 shot.
Jeff
