I have to tell a story on myself.
Last Saturday I came home from a days Gopher Hunting and was rather pleased with myself (markmanship!) and my equipment working so well on my rancher friends Colony Varmints.
I see that my house is covered in squawking, pooping, pecking Starlings and my fourth car that won't fit our 3 car garage is covered in white droppings!
I have had it - I go to my gun vault room and get out a Remington 870 Express in 20 gauge with unknown choke tube in its ribbed barrel.
I grab a box of Federal 20 gauge high base game loads (7 1/2 shot) and proceed to the front yard.
My first shot (tree sluicing!) brings down 3 of the approximate 300 Starlings in my trees and on my roof.
I then proceeded to embarrass myself by killing 5 more Starlings in the next 24 shots!
It was windy and they were now flying fast as they went back and forth over my property but 24 shots and only 5 Starlings!
I am still embarrassed.
I think the cloud of those diminutive flying Varmints/crappers has learned they are not welcome here though because now I see only a few handfuls of them where before they came by the hundreds.
I went to my local sportshop and bought some size 8 "game loads" (again by Federal) as they had no low base 20 gauge shells.
I am not even sure if they make low base 20 gauge shells?
Again in my defense (if any defense is possible?) I had never shot this shotgun before and I will check the choke tube today - the shotgun came with a choke tube wrench and a set of choke tubes so whatever the choke is in the barrel now I will change it for the next go round.
I have just had it with these birds.
That should motivate me to shoot better - you would think.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Bait them to a nice safe spot on the ground in the yard. Once a big wad of them is gathered up pecking around give them a dose.
It works, trust me!!
Bet your count will go up then.
Haha! Reminds me when I was young living at home and a huge flock landed in the pasture behind the barn. I snuck out around the side of the barn and touched off a round from the old Stevens single shot 12ga right through the middle of the flock. Musta been 30 of those dirty birds laid out in a cone shape pattern. Good times! Now days I like to snipe 'em off the feeder with my Benjamin Marauder.
10gaugemag: That is a good idea!
I will find a spot and put down some grain or something in a place I can either conceal myself or come around a corner quickly and sluice them.
I do know I was about 3,000% more successful with my one shot into my tree than I was trying to bonk them when they were speeding by.
I am still shocked and embarrassed about my shooting skill on these little flying rats.
These birds have simply over-stayed their welcome after 19 years here and I will deplete them.
I am now looking for finer shot loads for my 12 gauge Model 870 - I figger if theirs more lead in the air I have a better chance at diminishing their numbers.
Tmitch: That is a good idea also I have a window i can shoot out of if i can get them to hold still.
I have seen flocks of these marauders here in Montana that had to be 5,000 strong!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Be sure to use a repeater firearm. After the sluicing shot, let those that get up rise to eye level and fire again. You'll get another multi hit shot. Once got eight with a single shot, with a .22, just shooting at eye level as they rose.
Get you some #9 trap loads. You will have a few running and flopping around but you can handle those w ease.
Starlings deserve a higher status as varmints than they "enjoy". If you can find a bunch nesting in an area, they make tricky, elusive targets for airguns and such as they dart in and out of their nests.
On the wing, they are as fast and smarter, I think, than doves. Way back when, my brother and I used to hide in a field of cedar saplings and pass-shoot the flocks as they zipped by. We also used to bait them on the snow for airgun execution.
The trap load recommendation is a good one. There's lots of airspace around a flying starling.
Pappy348 & 10gauge: I am now on the lookout for #9 shot.
It was raining here today and I had to cancel a Colony Varmint Hunt I had planned so I got out the 870 20 gauge but NO Starlings showed!
Maybe my hour long shoot the other day had more effect than I imagined?
The Blackbirds, Robins, Doves, Flycatchers, Mountain Bluebirds and Meadowlarks that nest in and immediately around my yard don't seem to have been "scared off" at all.
I wonder where these Starlings nest?
They seem to spend all of the normal birds nesting season flying around all day in large flocks and eating?
These unwanted non-domestic birds sure seem to do well and outnumber most all other songbird size birds.
Rain is stopped now - maybe they will show?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Starlings can be tricky to shoot on the wing, they quickly get wise to a man with a gun.
I have the best percentage shooting them as they flush from bird houses but that is a rather specialized situation. When jump shooting them a full choked 12, 16, or 20 ga shotgun with 7/8 oz or more of #8 shot does the trick for me. Pass shooting I open up to Modified as I position myself on a flyway were the birds pass. This only works a few times as the birds begin to avoid that area. Shoot a (at) couple birds and then give the spot a few days rest to keep from burning the area out.
My most successful means of killing starlings is to pick them off with my 17 HMR. Baiting or a bird feeder would work well but the birds quickly realize this is a death trap and become extra wary. I just wait fot a bird to clear the cows and pick it off. The distance from the bird and the long time interval between seeing me and the shot seems to prevent the realization I am the cause of that bird's demise.
The absolute best fun, though low percentage, way of taking starlings is with a falcon. I knew a person who once had a Merlin (pigeon hawk in the old days) and watched her take a couple of starlings. Watching birds of prey work is always a pleasure and that was even better. In England they use Kestrels for this but I think theirs are larger than ours as I haven't heard of kestrels being used for starlings here nor have the kestrels using my woodduck nest bothered the starlings around here.
As I mentioned in the other starling post, starlings are edible and I use them as a filler in stews and the like. I suspect dove recipes would work fine too as the size and meat of the two birds are quite similar. If nothing else, 24 starlings can be made into a nice pie. Just cut it open outside....
Feathers on males make good iridescent hackle for soft hackled flies.
On a few rare but wonderful occasions I've had the chance to flock shoot them off of fences. When the stand shoulder to shoulder on four stands of barbed wire they're pretty easy to clobber. I could easily kill half a dozen outright, and get another two or three that flamed-out after taking flight. My Heeler would chase those. VERY fun.
As a kid I'd sometimes lie on my back in cow pastures with a shotgun. The curious cows would come over and give me a sniff, then go back to grazing. The starlings always felt safe around cattle, and seemed programmed to only watch for upright humans. I'd wait until several birds wandered together enough to make good used of a full choke, then slowly sit up to shoot. More good times.
I wish the USDA had enough money to start trapping them again. I don't know how these fruit farmers can put up with them. Other than the carbide cannons,
Kenlguy: I have been after them just twice more and I will say this - they are "learning" what I look like and on the rare occasions they show up when they see me coming they "high-tail" it before I can get into range.
I am thinking of taking my low seat and hiding in the tall grass and getting them on the incoming flight.
That ought to teach them another lesson.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Pappy348 & 10gauge:
I wonder where these Starlings nest?
They seem to spend all of the normal birds nesting season flying around all day in large flocks and eating?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
VarmintGuy,
They tend to be cavity nesters. They'll use knotholes in barn/shed walls, bluebird boxes, wood duck boxes as noted in the other post, holes in trees, wherever they can fit.
Pains at times, but also seem to be crazy good bug catchers when they have young. I put out scratch and bird seed for the quail and pheasants and the starlings don't even bother it when they have kids. I see them going into a nest hole with grasshoppers, beetles, worms, everything they can catch. Like many other invasives they so some good , unlike stinking puncture vine!!!
I wish you good luck with your hunting. Do you have cows in the area? Perhaps one of those cow cutout "decoys" used by antelope hunters might get you closer.
Geno
Any barns close by or a lean to? They like getting under things like this. Schitt on everything too!!
May have to wait til winter and when everything is froze up to try the baiting thing.
We used to shoot them around a buds chicken house in the winter when they would try to hang out under the heat lamps. They would gather up inside and we would sneak out ad flush them. They had a hell of a time getting away because of the few holes in the wire in the top of the pen.
I believe we ruined a little chicken wire at times!!!
I used a 410 for quail when growing up, probably could not hit one now.
Starlings are very smart and adaptive.
My preferred hunting technique is spot and stalk with a .22 rifle in hand. For better results wait for late winter and shoot from cover over bait (suet cake).
VG,
Stop holding into the wind so much!
Dave
Kenlguy: Thank you for the link and the definition - interesting.
But I feel sorry for the folks underneath and around those HUGE flocks (murmurations) of pooping, peeping, nest robbing non-native little rascals.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Deflave: I admit it - I was missing WAY more than I was hitting but after only four or five "assaults" on the Starlings with my 870 they have quit coming around my place.
Maybe they are smarter than I gave them credit for?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
P.S.: Good to see you back.
I had to go to an improved cl choke to hit them....they dart and dive faster than I can react....full choke just wasn't going to cut it...
They are incredibly smart....I been shooting them out of the barns for the last few months...they are all gone now...they wised up really fast...they got to where they vacate the place when I drive in....got to where I would have to wait a half hr or so in the dark of the barn before they would come back....eventually I got the last few killed.....I havnt seen one back for a few weeks...
Ranierrifleco: I have had the same situation occur here - after just four or five "field trips" into my front yard with my "trusty" (he-he!) 870 the whole mass of the miniature marauders have quit coming by my place!
In fact its been so quiet and droppings free around here that just yesterday I cleaned my 870 and put it back in my safe inside the gun vault room.
I am estimating that between 200 and 300 Starlings would descend upon my place during a day - often 20 to 40 at a time.
I don't think I shot at every group?
I wonder how they learned so quickly?
And this ranierrifleco, have you seen or heard from my old gun trading partner Russ Haydon of Haydon's Shooting Supply there in Gig Harbor, Washington?
I haven't seen or heard from him in years.
Maybe he retired?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy