I just almost did the coolest thing I have ever done. I almost shot a Starling right out of the air with my L2. I know your thinking sure “almost”.
I look out my back window into the large field behind my house and there I see some Starlings milling around about 30 yards out. So I slide my window open so I can take a shot from out my window as I often do. It’s a little breezy, I take a look at my Acurite weather data next to the window and see 8 mph shift from right to left to coming from 6:00, so I am hoping it stays at 6:00 for just a little longer. The gun is zerod at 60 yards so I have a two mil dot hold under, also the gun is shooting to the right (I have question about that at the end of the story) so I hold half mil left and let one fly. The Starling drops like a rock and the others take off. But several Starlings are freaking out and flying over the dead one trying to figure out why he is sunbathing. It seems that this time of year, spring, when there are young this happens, they sometimes stick around a downed Starling. I never see that behavior when they aren’t nesting, they they are like, “Chuck is down better flee”. Anyways there is a Starling hovering right over the one I just shot. Because of the headwind, it was facing right towards me, it was hovering without any wing flapping and almost perfectly still. I am thinking, “no way, I am about to shot a Starling out of the air”. I take aim, same hold under same hold to left, but I have a smaller target as it was flying rather than presenting its full body, yet I am feeling my chances are pretty good to finally do something cool, I have been waiting 47 years for that opportunity. Sorry for the anti-climatic end, but I missed. It had to be close dang close. I guess on the bright side it’s probably good I missed, I would have no proof, no recording, and no body would have believed me. Then I would have had that reputation on my favorite forum. Now that I think of it I must have missed on purpose just so you all didn’t think I was a liar. I do have a question though.
As I said the gun is shooting to the right. It was zeroed, then started shifting right. Last week I re-zeroed it and now it is right again. I am thinking the gun is not to blame. I think my scope an Immersive Optics prismatic is not holding zero. Otherwise how could the gun keep moving right. If it was a gun problem I would think it would move back and forth not always one way. Any input?
I look out my back window into the large field behind my house and there I see some Starlings milling around about 30 yards out. So I slide my window open so I can take a shot from out my window as I often do. It’s a little breezy, I take a look at my Acurite weather data next to the window and see 8 mph shift from right to left to coming from 6:00, so I am hoping it stays at 6:00 for just a little longer. The gun is zerod at 60 yards so I have a two mil dot hold under, also the gun is shooting to the right (I have question about that at the end of the story) so I hold half mil left and let one fly. The Starling drops like a rock and the others take off. But several Starlings are freaking out and flying over the dead one trying to figure out why he is sunbathing. It seems that this time of year, spring, when there are young this happens, they sometimes stick around a downed Starling. I never see that behavior when they aren’t nesting, they they are like, “Chuck is down better flee”. Anyways there is a Starling hovering right over the one I just shot. Because of the headwind, it was facing right towards me, it was hovering without any wing flapping and almost perfectly still. I am thinking, “no way, I am about to shot a Starling out of the air”. I take aim, same hold under same hold to left, but I have a smaller target as it was flying rather than presenting its full body, yet I am feeling my chances are pretty good to finally do something cool, I have been waiting 47 years for that opportunity. Sorry for the anti-climatic end, but I missed. It had to be close dang close. I guess on the bright side it’s probably good I missed, I would have no proof, no recording, and no body would have believed me. Then I would have had that reputation on my favorite forum. Now that I think of it I must have missed on purpose just so you all didn’t think I was a liar. I do have a question though.
As I said the gun is shooting to the right. It was zeroed, then started shifting right. Last week I re-zeroed it and now it is right again. I am thinking the gun is not to blame. I think my scope an Immersive Optics prismatic is not holding zero. Otherwise how could the gun keep moving right. If it was a gun problem I would think it would move back and forth not always one way. Any input?
