The year of 2021 was a very tough one for me, as it has been for many. I got unemployed and have been starting my own business while I struggled back into the job market, financially it has been very tough with all my savings going into my inventions’ patents, which should pay off one day. And quite a few interviews going on now.
Coming back to Idaho has allowed me to center and get back to doing what I haven’t been able to do on a regular basis in a long time, on and off for 10 years. Since I have been back in Idaho I have started working two part time jobs, borrowing my dad’s truck to get back and forth to work, but Sunday I was able to get “Bob” a one owner 2002 Subaru Forester AWD. There is a 147 K on the car, with dings and nicks and cracked windshield, however, so far been running flawlessly, and I got it for half market value through a family connection. Now I have my own wheels, so a step forward.
My days off generally for the two jobs give me Tuesday to be my Saturday, and so hell or high water I was heading out with Glimmer and Bob to my permissions west of Pocatello. I stopped on a pullout area just down the road for a “meet and greet” phone interview what could be an interesting position, it seemed to go well, and then I headed just down the road to the dairy. Weather was sunny/cloudy, little to no wind, and the temperature was around freezing. I introduced Glimmer to Bob and after a fist bump we got to work.
When I arrived to the dairy I sensed it was going to be worth my efforts, but I have a feeling the doves and pigeons are plotting with the squirrels. So I knew I had to be on target today. So the first thing I did was really try to dial Glimmer in with the JSB Hades. (Specs: Glimmer is an RTI Prophet Performance Compact with a 177 400 mm CZ barrel kit shooting Hades at 17ish FPE.). I turned down the regulator pressure 5 bar and the hammer spring down, and I started getting almost pellet on pellet holes. I suck as a bench shooter, and my bench was the back of Bob open and a target at 30 yard. Anyways, after getting data and etc I decided to drive around the frozen dairy vs walk, though I still did plenty of walking. Also, I don’t remember the exact number of pigeons and doves I got, but I missed a starling and a sparrow, sadly.
Today I would say my average shot was at 40-45 yards. I had a few anchor shots out to 55 yards. My furtherest shot for the day, good or bad, was ranged at 73 yard on a collared dove, yes a long damn ways for a 177. I used the car as a rest and hit the dove a bit low for an anchoring shot, and it flew off in a puff of feathers about 400 yards then landed in the marshy grass area, by now it is fox food. Glimmer seems to really like the Hades, and I did a try too with the Mako’s running around 16 FPE.
Also, at the stockyard I decided to shoot a magazine of the 177 Mako slugs, and I was able to get a couple of pigeons and a mortally wounded a dove at 62 yards.
Today I spent around 4 hours between the two locations, bouncing back and forth, because they are a few minutes drive from each other. I shuttled around in Bob vs walking the whole way. Though it was solid ice with some mud, Bob did well, but he is a Subaru, so enough said. While at my second return to the dairy I came around the corner and saw a Red Tailed Hawk land on the fence. The Red Tailed Hawk caught the attention of a Sparrow Hawk, and the Sparrow Hawk tried to drive Red off, but nope not happening little man. What did scare Red off was when I pulled up and tried to take a picture with my phone, as seen below.
The stockyard definitely now has a huge uptick in collared doves since they are grain feeding the cattle for market, and though by now I have taken over to 20 pigeons from the stockyard their numbers don’t seem to be decreasing. Do pigeons spontaneously generate out of thin air? Today’s numbers were 7-8 pigeons at the stockyard (I wasn’t really tracking the numbers today) and I know I had a total of 13-15 pigeons last week.
One observation I have started to notice, that after a few twangs of the hammer spring the magpies and it seems the hawks start to come around and no I don’t to be known as “The Magpie Whisper”, Hawk Whisper Yes, Magpie no!
Lastly, I noticed another dairy about another 20 minutes away I might try to go to and get access. Also, I found out the owner of my permissions has two more operations, but 40 minutes further from Pocatello, so I will ask and see if I can give it a try when I have a full day to go.
Coming back to Idaho has allowed me to center and get back to doing what I haven’t been able to do on a regular basis in a long time, on and off for 10 years. Since I have been back in Idaho I have started working two part time jobs, borrowing my dad’s truck to get back and forth to work, but Sunday I was able to get “Bob” a one owner 2002 Subaru Forester AWD. There is a 147 K on the car, with dings and nicks and cracked windshield, however, so far been running flawlessly, and I got it for half market value through a family connection. Now I have my own wheels, so a step forward.
My days off generally for the two jobs give me Tuesday to be my Saturday, and so hell or high water I was heading out with Glimmer and Bob to my permissions west of Pocatello. I stopped on a pullout area just down the road for a “meet and greet” phone interview what could be an interesting position, it seemed to go well, and then I headed just down the road to the dairy. Weather was sunny/cloudy, little to no wind, and the temperature was around freezing. I introduced Glimmer to Bob and after a fist bump we got to work.
When I arrived to the dairy I sensed it was going to be worth my efforts, but I have a feeling the doves and pigeons are plotting with the squirrels. So I knew I had to be on target today. So the first thing I did was really try to dial Glimmer in with the JSB Hades. (Specs: Glimmer is an RTI Prophet Performance Compact with a 177 400 mm CZ barrel kit shooting Hades at 17ish FPE.). I turned down the regulator pressure 5 bar and the hammer spring down, and I started getting almost pellet on pellet holes. I suck as a bench shooter, and my bench was the back of Bob open and a target at 30 yard. Anyways, after getting data and etc I decided to drive around the frozen dairy vs walk, though I still did plenty of walking. Also, I don’t remember the exact number of pigeons and doves I got, but I missed a starling and a sparrow, sadly.
Today I would say my average shot was at 40-45 yards. I had a few anchor shots out to 55 yards. My furtherest shot for the day, good or bad, was ranged at 73 yard on a collared dove, yes a long damn ways for a 177. I used the car as a rest and hit the dove a bit low for an anchoring shot, and it flew off in a puff of feathers about 400 yards then landed in the marshy grass area, by now it is fox food. Glimmer seems to really like the Hades, and I did a try too with the Mako’s running around 16 FPE.
Also, at the stockyard I decided to shoot a magazine of the 177 Mako slugs, and I was able to get a couple of pigeons and a mortally wounded a dove at 62 yards.
Today I spent around 4 hours between the two locations, bouncing back and forth, because they are a few minutes drive from each other. I shuttled around in Bob vs walking the whole way. Though it was solid ice with some mud, Bob did well, but he is a Subaru, so enough said. While at my second return to the dairy I came around the corner and saw a Red Tailed Hawk land on the fence. The Red Tailed Hawk caught the attention of a Sparrow Hawk, and the Sparrow Hawk tried to drive Red off, but nope not happening little man. What did scare Red off was when I pulled up and tried to take a picture with my phone, as seen below.
The stockyard definitely now has a huge uptick in collared doves since they are grain feeding the cattle for market, and though by now I have taken over to 20 pigeons from the stockyard their numbers don’t seem to be decreasing. Do pigeons spontaneously generate out of thin air? Today’s numbers were 7-8 pigeons at the stockyard (I wasn’t really tracking the numbers today) and I know I had a total of 13-15 pigeons last week.
One observation I have started to notice, that after a few twangs of the hammer spring the magpies and it seems the hawks start to come around and no I don’t to be known as “The Magpie Whisper”, Hawk Whisper Yes, Magpie no!
Lastly, I noticed another dairy about another 20 minutes away I might try to go to and get access. Also, I found out the owner of my permissions has two more operations, but 40 minutes further from Pocatello, so I will ask and see if I can give it a try when I have a full day to go.
