Does anyone else "hunt" starlings?

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I don't know where to hit 'em next, but I'll figure it out! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif



I live near Beaverton and shoot nearby- rural only- and I know of one spot, close to you, where they are still THICK. They ask me to shoot them but it's boring with a single shot... shoot, spook, wait... A shot gun is the way to go and they allow that. hmmm, maybe I'll get a Rem 870.
 
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I live near Beaverton and shoot nearby- rural only- and I know of one spot, close to you, where they are still THICK. They ask me to shoot them but it's boring with a single shot... shoot, spook, wait... A shot gun is the way to go and they allow that. hmmm, maybe I'll get a Rem 870.



This goes back some 30+ years...

A friend of mine and I were terrors on woodchucks, and used to shoot woodchucks in PA. At the time, I was a gunsmith and managed one of the largest gun stores east of the Mississippi - point being that ammo was cheap, if you know what I mean /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

One of our farmers had a huge starling problem one spring with seeding... he would drive the spreader truck with a mix of fertilizer and seeds, and black clouds of starlings would follow the spreader and pick up half of the seed.

So we worked out a deal where he put a 4"x12" plank across the back of the spreader and we sat up there with two cases of shotgun shells each. I was shooting a Browning 28ga O/U, and he was shooting a Rem 20ga 1100.

The starlings followed the spreader, swooping down to get the seeds and we shot the starlings as the farmer drove the tractor - it was endless wing shooting.

We would come home stinking like cow poo and our ribs hurting from all the laughter...

... riding shotgun on a $hit wagon /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

.
 
Quote:
... riding shotgun on a $hit wagon



That brings back memories of my childhood. I got to do all that, except for the shotgun part.

Don't ask. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
Quote:
Quote:
... riding shotgun on a $hit wagon



That brings back memories of my childhood. I got to do all that, except for the shotgun part.

Don't ask. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif



I'm askin'... (you knew I would)

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

.
 
Catshooter,

I'm just gonna say this is what we owned (minus the paint job) and let you figure out how much fun that was. We had about 5 cows and 2 horses worth of fun to spread every spring, loaded with a pitchfork. I learned to keep my mouth shut early on, if you get my drift. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Horse drawn manure spreader

At least we never had a flat tire with that thing.
 
Quote:
Catshooter,

I'm just gonna say this is what we owned (minus the paint job) and let you figure out how much fun that was. We had about 5 cows and 2 horses worth of fun to spread every spring, loaded with a pitchfork. I learned to keep my mouth shut early on, if you get my drift. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Horse drawn manure spreader

At least we never had a flat tire with that thing.



Man... I love it.

The one we rode on was a "little newer" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

There was a worm drive down the middle, and on the back was a round wheel that spread the stuff out like a modern highway salt spreader.

But it still got on everything.

.
 
You see the seat on there with the controls? That's definitely in the "fallout zone".

Worm drive, huh? They must have invented that after 1920, so we missed out on it.

Ours was all chain, cogs and gears.

My dad was still using that until he moved out here from Idaho in 1982. They don't build stuff like that any more (thankfully). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
We shoot a lot of them. Usually use the .17M2's. Spring time is fun with all the black birds.

Have plans for tomorrow for a day full starling shoot.
 
2 years ago I decimated the starling population on our little farm pretty [beeep] good warming up for duck season, then last year they were really wary of our place and I maybe only shot 8-10 all summer. I'm considering switching from the shotgun to an airgun to gain a little stealth edge. Semi-rural area so I can't use a rifle very safely, which sucks because I'd LOVE to pop a few with my two aught four.
 
I shot one as a kid with a bb gun, showed my grandfather, he had me pluck it and my grandmother, cooked up the spoon sized breasts for me to eat /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif...ummmm yuck. Anyway the moral was don't shoot it unless you plan to eat it....My moral was don't shoot it when your at your grandparents house unless you want to eat it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
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"... My moral was don't shoot it when your at your grandparents house unless you want to eat it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 


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