Leave them or take them?

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kmd1984

Member
Feb 20, 2016
997
14
Utah, United States
Hi,

I got my FX Indy yesterday, dialed it all in, and started shooting some Magpies this morning. I got 4 in a maybe five minutes. Pretty much all of them at the same spot (backyard). Not to long after that, maybe 6 - 8 showed up and started "chatting". They went all crazy. I was just about to take a few more down, when I realized I ran out of ammo. I reloaded real quick, but guess what?! By the time I did, they were all gone?! WTH?

Here is my question... My neighbor said that you are supposed to leave the dead ones, so they attracted more, so you can shoot more. However, I have a distinct feeling that they mourned the dead and took off for good? That said, is it maybe better to take the dead ones so others are not "scared" of?!

thanks,

Kmd
 
They get wise quick. It is true that if you shoot grackles, crows or magpies, others will come and evaluate the situation. It is in a more frantic state. They are trying to determine the source of the death. You. Once they see what is causing it they will avoid it. With crows it goes further to face recognition, but I'm not sure about other birds. You can pick a few off as the group comes to investigate but once the group gets there and you can't keep up you are busted. If you remove them you need to do it in a window of opportunity. Ie. don't let them see you. If they don't find a cause for the death they are more likely to return. You have to be sly. 
On the other hand, squirrels seem oblivious. They well check out another dead squirrel and then go on eating. Even if several are piled up it just doesn't register to them. 
http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazines/national-wildlife/birds/archives/2013/crows-recognizing-faces.aspx

My recommendation is take what's there. Leave the pile till the fuss is over. Remove the dead ones without an audience. Live to shoot another day. 
 
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I know that Crows not only recognize faces of people who have 'wronged' them, but they train their offspring to avoid them too.

https://www.nytimes.com/svc/oembed/html/?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/science/26crow.html

"Crows and their relatives — among them ravens, magpies and jays — are renowned for their intelligence and for their ability to flourish in human-dominated landscapes. That ability may have to do with cross-species social skills. In the Seattle area, where rapid suburban growth has attracted a thriving crow population, researchers have found that the birds can recognize individual human faces."
 
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"thornstein"How are you liking the Indy?
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I started a new thread talking about it... Check it out. Anyhow, I like it and I don't. The gun itself is really nice. Weight is good for me, workmanship is fantastic, accuracy is fantastic. Many things I like. BUT, it turned out that here at 6700 feet altitude, I have to pump more than others at lower altitude. That sucks a little bit. I thought about returning it and getting either the FX Bobcat MK2 or the FX Wildcat. However, I am going to get a FX Impact down the road, so there is no need to have two guns that require some sort of filling equipment. That is why I am going to keep my Indy!
 
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Good day, I have crows that come by and roost near me. I usually get one, then they go crazy and fly around to find out what happen, then I get a few more, and they realize there is danger and take off not to return for almost a year. Don't let them see you if you can help it. Some times they will come back to the area the next morning looking for their comrade. You might get a second chance . Smart birds!!!!!
 
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Bobbed06 a helpful sighting trick I used was to zero at 20 yds this takes the second zero out to 46 yds using med. mounts the arch in the middle ranges is about 3/4" high. This works on both a.25 shooting 33.95's and a .22 shooting 18.1's have both tuned to within a yard at the second zero For closer shots it works out to about 1 3/4" @5 yds 1" @10 yds and 1/2" @15 yds the dots or magnification does not come into play till after the second zero Then I have three different magnifications taped to the guns That's easy enough for my mind to process, and I'm not smart enough to operate a phone app
 
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"timbphoto"Good day, I have crows that come by and roost near me. I usually get one, then they go crazy and fly around to find out what happen, then I get a few more, and they realize there is danger and take off not to return for almost a year. Don't let them see you if you can help it. Some times they will come back to the area the next morning looking for their comrade. You might get a second chance . Smart birds!!!!!
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I am trying to shoot from inside the room, but at first, I was doing the "amateur way", which was sitting in the window. I learned the hard way that they are really smart. They saw and would never show up when my car was in the garage! (Of course they saw me coming and leaving...).
 
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I live in rural Arkansas, and we always grow rather large gardens in my family. Sometimes you wind up with crows going behind you plucking corn and what not out of the ground after you plant. So we shoot as many as we can and string them up in surrounding trees. That usually keeps them at bay for a while. So hearing that they can recognize faces isn't really much of a surprise from a bird that can live to be over 70. 
 
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The crows have wised up to me. They no longer make any racket from the lookout bird. He just cruises in silently and takes a sour apple and flies off. He used to sit in the top of the tree and caw until the rest came in, now they have changed patterns. The lookout also has changed the direction of which he comes in, avoiding my key windows.
 
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"Auronotcs"I live in rural Arkansas, and we always grow rather large gardens in my family. Sometimes you wind up with crows going behind you plucking corn and what not out of the ground after you plant. So we shoot as many as we can and string them up in surrounding trees. That usually keeps them at bay for a while. So hearing that they can recognize faces isn't really much of a surprise from a bird that can live to be over 70.
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My dad used to be a farmer and he told me a similar method of getting rid of them. He said to kill one, and hang it off of its feet on a tree. Others will see that and stay away. 

It seems like leaving a dead Magpie is a bad idea. It will attract others for a short moment, but after that, they are all gone for good.

thanks,

Kmd
 
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"guod123"Bobbed06 a helpful sighting trick I used was to zero at 20 yds this takes the second zero out to 46 yds using med. mounts the arch in the middle ranges is about 3/4" high. This works on both a.25 shooting 33.95's and a .22 shooting 18.1's have both tuned to within a yard at the second zero For closer shots it works out to about 1 3/4" @5 yds 1" @10 yds and 1/2" @15 yds the dots or magnification does not come into play till after the second zero Then I have three different magnifications taped to the guns That's easy enough for my mind to process, and I'm not smart enough to operate a phone app
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I found the problem in my Ruger today causing these oddball misses. the lens cap on my scope had loosened, I had been retuning the scope to compensate for this progressive loosening cap. I noticed it today, tightened the lens cap, redialed in the scope (it was almost a 1/2 turn off on elevation, and a quarter turn off on windage) It seems to be back to normal now. I will do a paper target session to fine tune it the rest of the way. I was spinning my targets like a type writer at 21 yards.
 
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