Close range pesting with wadcutters or HPs?

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"Wadcutter"That's not a house sparrow it looks to be a female house finch.
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Well, I'm sure I'll get blasted for this, but it seems like I got the wrong gal. They looked the same to me.

It seems the defining difference is the pale brown cap, no streaking on the chest, and yellowish streak behind the eye.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/schoolswatch/schoolbirds/tellingbirdsapart/sparrows.aspx

That Dunnock looks a lot like a house finch, doesn't it?
 
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Hmmm..... A Dunnock doesn't seem to be native to North America. Where are you from Smaug?

No blasting from me, I think we have all Mis-ID'd game during hunting. I went dove hunting with a couple friends years ago and one of them happened to be the local C.O.. I wont mention his name but several doves came in to the watering hole like kamikaze pilots and when the smoke cleared he had mistakenly shot a Killdeer. We razzed him for years about it.
I wont even mention what I accidentally shot during a grouse hunt when I was a younger man. It was brown and flying fast through a cedar thicket.
 
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They .22 Extremes shoot well out of Lothar Walther barrels around 910 fps. Here are 10 shots at 30 yards from my Airwolf MCT. JSB's tend to run 5.50 and 5.51 head sizes - these tend to run 5.52 and 5.53. That extra size might be part of the issue for some barrels.



At 40 yards, they start to open up (target 24)



I get similar results with the .177s out of my Daystate CR-X and FX Ranchero. I have not found the sweet spot for the .25 Extremes.

 
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"Wadcutter"Hmmm..... A Dunnock doesn't seem to be native to North America. Where are you from Smaug?

No blasting from me, I think we have all Mis-ID'd game during hunting. I went dove hunting with a couple friends years ago and one of them happened to be the local C.O.. I wont mention his name but several doves came in to the watering hole like kamikaze pilots and when the smoke cleared he had mistakenly shot a Killdeer. We razzed him for years about it.
I wont even mention what I accidentally shot during a grouse hunt when I was a younger man. It was brown and flying fast through a cedar thicket.
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The Dunnocks look a lot like the house finches you mentioned. I'm in the Chicago area. 

I feel bad about it. I looked them up after your post. At least they're not even slightly endangered; they seem to be spreading. I hope they give the sparrows a run for their money.
 
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"Wadcutter"That's not a house sparrow it looks to be a female house finch.
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It looks to be a female house finch to me as well. Yes we have all had a bad ID and now you have a lesson learned. House sparrows are easily identified once you know what to look for. I always look at the head for the male and female house sparrow traits. If the heads look right a quick glance at the chest to make sure no bars are present helps confirm it and seals its fate. Male house sparrows are very easily identified by the head markings but the females can be a little harder depending on range and conditions. the head markings and no chest bars are a dead give away for the female house sparrow.
 
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"Smaug"
"cahil_2"Have you tried predator polymags. Close range with a lower power gun, they could give you better results.
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Haven't tried them yet, but I have a tin on my Wish List at straightshooters. I'll put them in with my next order. They seem to be a much-loved for hunting. 

I plan to try them in my TX200; not sure if you consider that a lower power gun.
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Discovered this weekend that my magazine (BSA standard) doesn't take too well to polymags. I can load about 4 polymags with no problems, but any more than that and the magazine doesn't cycle well. I suspect it's the plastic tips that are hitting against the inside of the magazine casing - ie., polymags are just too long. A real shame as my rifle likes them! Shot a .75" group of 5 at 35 yards.
 
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"CityHunter"(Obviously you can still load polymags one at a time - no problem there!)
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I spent some time last night deliberating between trying a tin of Polymag vs. Polymag shorts. The deciding factor for me was one PA customer review which said that the shorts feed in magazines, but are not too accurate at greater than 700 fps. Even my 12 FPE TX200 will end up shooting them around 800 fps, so I ordered the originals and will try the single loading tray when/if I use them in the Marauder.

I don't know what the ballistic coefficient is for PolyMags, but it's GOT to be better than wadcutters.

What I'm thinking/hoping is that when I Vortek the HW30s and it goes from 6 to 8 FPS, then I try these miraculous pellets, it will become a viable squirrel gun.
 
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