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So how do you get stupid starlings
- Thread starter briansmith
- Start date
I pest those jerks in an orchard. I get about 2 seconds to shoot at them. I encounter them at very close range sub 5 yards. I use my viper express. It excels at this location. I load with steel shot #8 at about 35-40 pieces of shot. We don't use shotguns as it causes alot of damage to trees and the fruit. I found wearing camo helps and painted the gun to blend in. It's hard but alot of fun!
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I got 17 more today by about noon and then they all dispersed. My wife and me did watch a red tail hawk land and eat one. Surprised me as I did not know anything would eat a starling. I know the neighbor hood cats turn their nose up at them..It was a fun day all the way around. Brian
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The starling is a much tougher target than most folks realize.
About ten or so years ago the U.S. government declared war on them.
They used every thing they had against them poison, trapped, shot and
soaped their roost. They managed to kill almost two million a number far
below the projected expectations and not even a dent in the estimated 140
million population. When they considered cost to results they were forced
to admit defeat and give up.
Spraying roost with soap has long been a deadly effective method of controlling
bird numbers. Not so with the starling they soon learned to jump roost anytime
a plane flew over low enough to spray. They used barns and overhangs were
even smart enough to invade other bird roost where controllers could not spray.
In the beginning traps and poison worked but soon became useless against
them. They learn and adapt quickly and seem to never forget. They are among
the very few birds intelligent enough to learn to talk.
You have probably noticed they are seldom alone if something happens to one
the others learn from it. Any bird that can give the U.S. government the shellacking
the starling put on them is worthy of respect. And a formidable opponent to match
wits against. Keep that in mind the next time one gives you the slip.
About ten or so years ago the U.S. government declared war on them.
They used every thing they had against them poison, trapped, shot and
soaped their roost. They managed to kill almost two million a number far
below the projected expectations and not even a dent in the estimated 140
million population. When they considered cost to results they were forced
to admit defeat and give up.
Spraying roost with soap has long been a deadly effective method of controlling
bird numbers. Not so with the starling they soon learned to jump roost anytime
a plane flew over low enough to spray. They used barns and overhangs were
even smart enough to invade other bird roost where controllers could not spray.
In the beginning traps and poison worked but soon became useless against
them. They learn and adapt quickly and seem to never forget. They are among
the very few birds intelligent enough to learn to talk.
You have probably noticed they are seldom alone if something happens to one
the others learn from it. Any bird that can give the U.S. government the shellacking
the starling put on them is worthy of respect. And a formidable opponent to match
wits against. Keep that in mind the next time one gives you the slip.
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I wish I could shoot them where I live, but not even pellet guns can be shot within my city's limits.
So I drive to a dairy farm and go at them for hours at a time.like 6 to 8 hours in a row. I have to force myself to eat and drink. They are very wary though.
For best results I have to shoot from inside my car while making very little movement. I normally camp a location where i know they'll land, and be ready for the shot once they do.
Other than that I can camp out in the barn with the cows and be as still as I can be. Same strategy, be ready for the shot when they fly in. If they spot me on their way in or when they land, they fly out right away.
I don't have to put feed or anything out to attract them, being that they raid this dairy farm all day everyday......I just have to be as patient as I can be. They don't seem to stay in one spot long. If I end up waiting in a spot that seems dry for longer than I'd like, I just take the suppressor off the barrel and fire a shot, and that scares them from wherever they were and they come to where I am.
True that you have to pick up the dead ones, as the majority of starlings will avoid landing near them. There are stupid starlings though that will and do, but you have to take them out quickly before they realize something is wrong and fly away.
So I drive to a dairy farm and go at them for hours at a time.like 6 to 8 hours in a row. I have to force myself to eat and drink. They are very wary though.
For best results I have to shoot from inside my car while making very little movement. I normally camp a location where i know they'll land, and be ready for the shot once they do.
Other than that I can camp out in the barn with the cows and be as still as I can be. Same strategy, be ready for the shot when they fly in. If they spot me on their way in or when they land, they fly out right away.
I don't have to put feed or anything out to attract them, being that they raid this dairy farm all day everyday......I just have to be as patient as I can be. They don't seem to stay in one spot long. If I end up waiting in a spot that seems dry for longer than I'd like, I just take the suppressor off the barrel and fire a shot, and that scares them from wherever they were and they come to where I am.
True that you have to pick up the dead ones, as the majority of starlings will avoid landing near them. There are stupid starlings though that will and do, but you have to take them out quickly before they realize something is wrong and fly away.
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Only got 4 today. They just did not show up here as they have the last few days. Maybe tomorrow.... Brian
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Hey Brian, man are you lucky the deal on your modded mrod fell through. Carful, them starlings will try and have your gun banned. My feeders are 35 yards from deck and once you kill one they split the scene to a tall dead pine tree 75 yds away. No problem. (Little Nasty), that's what I call my Ernest Rowe tuned cricket compact .22. jsb 18.1 @ 865 give a loud smack. I usually get 4/5 before they decide on another zip code. They look better when they gain 18.1 gr in weight. Tommy
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LOL, I spent 6 years in the Infantry, I know how to make a sniper nest... damn Starlings figure it out....Im shooting at them from 10 feet in the house thru a window, with a silenced PCP...I hate those birds. A few local hawks and I are working together to eliminate them, I shoot them , he eats them immediately. Its pretty nice watching him snatch them up once they fall from the tree. I have had 0 in the last 3 days... Smart birds...
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I had to laugh about the sniper nest.
I only got 3 today. But that was all the showed up. 100% kill. Brian
I only got 3 today. But that was all the showed up. 100% kill. Brian
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Here is a good one. I went to my shop and looked out the window and there were about 50 all in a group under the bird feeder. I aimed in the center of them and shot think I would surely get more than one but lo and behold the dirt flew and they all flew off. Every last one of them... I just could not believe it. Jokes on me. They did not come back the rest of the day. Smile.. Brian
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Dang I just missed one on my feeder with a Gamo Shadow 1100...scope was fogged, hit to the right. darn it. Been trying to get this one stupid (smart) starling for a few weeks now.
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I shoot one or two and drive a piece of wire hanger thru the neck and out the butt by the legs and stick it in the ground. Then i play some starling distres sounds on my predator caller. The starlings come in crazy and mad as hell. I shoot a few more and set them up and wait. Play sound and shoot again. Works for a while
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I set up a couple of dead ones with some twigs and a section of piano wire. They looked so good I almost shot one when I first glanced out. Smile. Tell me about the starling call. I need one. Thanks Brian
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