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Thread: Sparrows in the Barn

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Sparrows in the Barn

    Were making me Nuts...22RF is so-so!![with shot]
    Can't use much penetration because I don't want Holes nor other damage...
    Settled on 32S&W . 1.5 gr Bullseye, business card cutout over powder, fill with 7-1/2 shot. [it's what I have at Hand] and an over shot Cottage cheese lid Cutout. Crimped with a Hornady 30cal "insert" [PITA]
    Loaded into old I.J. Breaktop Six shooter.
    Only Put two down, injured?....Some.
    No Holes in metal, no discernible damage in Barn
    Went for a 3rd session last Eve...They seem to have told their "friends" about the Situation...For now they are Evicted...
    Probably worth going smaller shot, [gotta source some, small amount], and slighly increased [maybe 2gr] of Bullseye..
    Another day.
    Just thought I would take a Moment to share!!!!!

  2. #2
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    Texas by God's Avatar
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    I have found .22 rat shot to be more effective from a rifle for some reason.
    I ordered a box of Rio 12 ga. Shells years ago to steal the #12 shot from for handgun shot loads. Use your same loading technique in something bigger say a .38/357. I still have several shells left over of the 12ga.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
    JBinMN's Avatar
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    Coarse salt maybe? or rice? at close distance should be enough for a sparrow & not hurt the building anyway.
    We used to shoot "silo ducks"(pigeons) for practice sometimes with trap loads in shotguns & then we would coat them in mud, throw them in the coals & then eat the breasts when I was a kid... Old memory.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    I have never [before] had much use for 38/357 shot loads...Not enough for squirrels and [large] Rats, and too much for inside...
    Rice may just prove to be the answer...but, can't weigh much...gonna need more powder certainly!!
    I think i will at least try some smaller shot in the Above loading...or .5gr hotter ..
    Mostly because I now have the "die" for 32 cal. wad Cutting!!!

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Whatever ya try. G'luck & please post your results. I am curious. BTW, the coarse salt I mentioned is like the pickling salt folks use when canning. Pretty cheap stuff anyway, like the rice. I wonder if ya could use a bit of tinfoil as a shot cup & that might help hold the load together for a denser pattern also. Not sealed/twisted shut, but just to hold things together a little longer if ya use lighter material for a load.

    Kind of interesting. I may just work up some loads myself, to try after it stops raining here. LOL

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    I will be working till Next tuesday...But, Will post back then...

  7. #7
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  8. #8
    Boolit Master Moleman-'s Avatar
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    Shot many with CCI 22lr shot cartridges out of a H&R 929. Still took 2-3 per bird some times. Always wanted to try one of the smooth bore 22lr "rifles" for it.

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master

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    We used a 44 mag with a small charge of powder and card board wad then shot and another wad. Do a little experimenting with pine boards as the target and work up to where the shot just penetrates into it flush. This didn't penetrate the sheet metal roof and just lightly buried it into wood saving the richochets. This was effective on sparrows rats pidgeons and bats. Coons and possums not so much.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master

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    Diesel tractor or diesel pick-up in the barn, let run with the barn doors closed for awhile. (Of course, you remain outside) No more problem.

    We did this in our mechanic shops periodically. Barn swallows sure make a mess of equipment and tools in a building.
    Maker of Silver Boolits for Werewolf hunting

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Check out the airgun section on here.

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy Sur-shot's Avatar
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    I do not expect that you will find one, but, Remington made a 510 22LR smooth bore back in the 40s. Sold in a box with little clay pigeons and a hand thrower to be used with 22 rat shot. Shooting sparrows flying into and out of the chicken yard was how I learned to wing shoot when I was a kid. You need another person in the barn at the other end, to keep them flying, when you start shooting.
    Ed
    "Let us speak courteously, fairly, and keep ourselves armed and ready."
    Teddy Roosevelt, May 13, 1903

  13. #13
    Boolit Master

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    Another approach is to have someone inside the barn pushing the birds out where another person is waiting with a shotgun loaded with small shot. Lots of fun, and good wingshooting practice too.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    Shooting OK but the traps work great too. Just move them about so they don't get used to where they are and learn avoidance. see links, 10

    https://www.purplemartin.org/shop/pr...troller-plans/

    http://chuckspurplemartinpage.com/startrap.htm

    Also do a google on sparrow traps or starling traps. Lots info out there. These type traps work good at some times of the year. Other times the PCP "air" guns w/scope work best. JMHO. 10

    Not wanting to hijack the thread but helping with the problem.
    Last edited by 10 ga; 04-26-2017 at 02:53 PM. Reason: safety, then accuracy
    10 gauge: as per Robert Ruark, "use enough gun"

    MOLON LABE

    "I have a list, and am prepared for widespread civil disorder!" 10 ga

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy

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    i found the federal birdshot hotter and has more shot than th c.c.i. but none are cheap

  16. #16
    Boolit Master 15meter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MT Chambers View Post
    Check out the airgun section on here.
    Even down to Daisy, as a kid killed hundreds upon hundreds growing up. Multiple out buildings plus livestock was the perfect breeding ground. Wish I had the Benjamin .177 or the Silver Streak I have now. Although the 5000 milk cartons of BB's were CHEAP.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master GhostHawk's Avatar
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    I'm with M T Chambers, this is IMO a perfect job for an airgun.

    Older Sheridan Blue/silver streak, or more modern Crossman 392 pump up.

    Either way you can quickly determine what will kill the bird without raising a dent in the steel. I used 2 pumps for years around my dad's farm buildings and never caused a leak.

    I would not use one of the new magnum spring/vortex guns. Just about as bad as a .22lr with normal loads.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    The smaller and less edible the creature, the less I like the idea of wounding them, which the .22LR shot charge can easily do. Even God seemed a bit less worried about the fall of a pheasant or goose. The 9mm. rimfire shot cartridge is one I long ago found reliable on semi-urban pigeons at ten yards or so sitting.

  19. #19
    In Remembrance


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    I keep the barn swallows from building in my shop and porches with a stuffed raccoon toy. Just hang it where they want to build. After a few passes they move on to "safer" places.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by DLCTEX View Post
    I keep the barn swallows from building in my shop and porches with a stuffed raccoon toy. Just hang it where they want to build. After a few passes they move on to "safer" places.
    Something else to "try" as I do Not have the Time to do Most of what needs done to be effective...
    I don't feel like Making a Career of this...

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check