something I had never seen before

[hockea]

Hi all-
Just joined and am very pleased to meet you, all of you.

In re: to this post this is the reason I WD-40 my door hinges each month.

[longislandhunter]

Just wanted to welcome you Rick.....  Nice to have you with us  :)

Will be looking forward to your future posts....... And if you hunt be sure to post the stories and pics in the "hunting gate".

Jeff

[hockea]

Thanks Jeff
Airgun hunting in Las Vegas is challenging until you figure out that the correct camo is a tuxedo!

[miked6762]

Hey guys. I was going to start a new post with this, but since this one resurfaced...
I finally got a shot off at one of those crows I mentioned earlier. I was on my screened porch, about 8 feet in from the screen. I worried about the possibility of some sort of deflection, due to shooting throgh the screen, but it was obvious that the crows had not yet seen me, and I was already locked and loaded. I didn't want to risk openig the door and giving up my location, so I put the crosshairs right on the head of one of them. I had to shoot through one of the gardens, but it was a clear shot.--safety off, slowly begin to squeeze until I hit the end of the first stage, exhale, and: "What are you doing!?". The girlfreind had walked onto the porch; and I had pulled my shot. The dirt kicked up directly behind the crow--low and to the right of his head. Well, they took off, and I was left explaining how easy it is to replace a section of screen, and how small the hole was, and how it really didn't hurt anything. Yikes.
Anybody know how badly accuracy can be affected by shooting through screen?

[only1harry]

The pellet would definitely get deflected enough to miss something like a crow's head.  How far was the crow from the screen?  You were 8ft away but you didn't say how far the crow was.  If it were right outside the screen window you could have hit it, especially with a body shot.  
I would have gone for an upper chest shot if I were shooting through the screen (but I wouldn't), especially with a 34 .22 that has enough power to go through a crow at 20yds.  But most likely the pellet would have been deflected too much especially when shooting at an angle.

Leave a couple of windows open if you can and try shooting them from there next time.  

It seems you have a lot of game on your property, probably rodents or baby rabbits and they keep coming back for a meal.  In the winter up here in the North East they eat a lot of road kill and especially dead deer that don't make it through the winter or get hit by cars because they come out of the woods in search of food, but come Sping most of the crows migrate and are gone.  I suspect the few that stay behind don't have a lot of road kill and probably live off rodents and small animals.

[miked6762]

Thanks for the info. I was concerned about the screen, but probably too excited to think about it very much. The crow was approx 25 yards from the house. That's very close to what my scope is sighted to for my target range. The angle was very slight. I did use a rws hollow point to slow penetration. I guess I'll have to oil the screen doors. I've already found that there is another reason that I should not be shooting through the screen. ;)
There is more game here than I would have believed: squirrils, rabbits, flying squirrils, fox, coyote, black bear, turkey...It just goes on and on. The turkey have been here so long that they come up into the yard on a daily basis. It wouldn't even be hunting--more like violent shopping. Unless I'm going to eat somethng, I usually leave it alone. I do have personal vendettas against racoons and crows, but that's about it. I'll try to ge some pics up--I have then of the bears, turkeys, and a blue heron that stops at the pond every year. It's unelieveable.

[only1harry]

You have a water source so it's no surprise you have so many animals come on your property.  

Here in NY it's illegal to shoot Turkey with an airgun.  Shotgun only and there is a season for them.  Be careful not to get in legal trouble.  Learn the laws of what you can hunt and when and make sure you have a hunting license if you don't already.  I can only shoot crow and most of the animals you mentioned during the regular hunting season.  In the off season there are a couple of animals and birds I can take but we still need a hunting license.

[miked6762]

No, I would never fire at most of the animals I listed. The turkeys will walk right up to you. The heron, falcons, bears,ducks... I wouldn't do it. They're neighbors, rather than pests. The crows, racoons, possums,,, That's another story.I may even take a rabbit or squirrel--but only if I planned on eating them. I don't know about the laws concerning private property and pest animals. It's pretty secluded where I am, as well. But, you must have heard about us good ole boys down here. If an officer caught me shooting turkey with an airgun, he'd probably be impressed, and want to shoot it. Ha.