Sparrows in the Barn

[racepres]

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!!!!!

[Texas by God]

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.

[JBinMN]

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.
;)

[racepres]

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!!!

[JBinMN]

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
:)

[racepres]

I will be working till Next tuesday...But, Will post back then...

[runfiverun]

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Chilled-Lead-Shot-12-13mm-10_bag/productinfo/02612/
this should help.

[Moleman-]

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.

[country gent]

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.

[Hickok]

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.

[MT Chambers]

Check out the airgun section on here.

[Sur-shot]

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

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

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.

[10 ga]

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/product/ssplans/s-s-controller-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.

[crowbuster]

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

[15meter]

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.

[GhostHawk]

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.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

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.

[DLCTEX]

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.

[racepres]

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...

[JBinMN]

If ya don't want to shoot them, put a fake owl in the rafters or somewhere nearby. That should do it.
;)

Here ya go: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dalen-Great-Horned-Owl/16213264

[racepres]

If ya don't want to shoot them, put a fake owl in the rafters or somewhere nearby. That should do it.
;)

Here ya go: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dalen-Great-Horned-Owl/16213264


oh...i don't mind shooting them..I rather prefer it

just it is time consuming. The owl has Not worked in the past...they soon learn it is Fake!!
Maybe something Fuzzy??

[keyhole]

I have found .22 rat shot to be more effective from a rifle for some reason.


I have been shooting for 55 years (man, how times flies) but have never heard the term "ratshot". What do you consider "rat shot"? just .22 LR #12 birdshot cartridge?

Our place has been overrun with mice and other rodents. If the little suckers stay still for a couple of seconds they succumb to .177 springer air pistol quite nicely. Ratshot sounds even better.

[Vopie]

Yep, .22 shot shells often referred to as "rat shot", mostly by older farmers...

[JBinMN]

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.

^^^ He mentioned that earlier.. Why not give it a try. maybe a fake snake would work too.

Or, just shoot the hell out of them.
LOL
;)

[racepres]

22rf with #12 is Not Rat Shot for here in my part of the Rhubarbs..
The 357 shot loads are not enough to anchor them...the 44 cal shot loads work well...but, do Not shoot the siding nor anything you don't want slightly messed up [refrigerators included, ask me how I know].
Birds seem easy to Kill, easier yet to scare...Rubber snakes are cheap too...heck real ones are easy to come by...but difficult to Train...LOL

[meadmkr]

Rather than using shot have you considered using wax or hot-glue bullets? I've used the plastic ones in building-clearning training and they hurt like he** being shot with 'em (don't ask!) We used 'em with just primers but a small amount of powder may up the damage from stun to kill. If you have a mold for the 32 a hot glue gun with a few sticks will give you a few cylinders worth.
From the commercial side places sell both the plastic and the wax bullets used by many speed-draw competitors.

https://www.waxbullet.com/collections/wax-bullets - just one of a handful google found quickly
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/315781/speer-plastic-bullets-38-caliber-357-to-358-diameter-box-of-50

Also:
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2010/4/12/how-to-make-and-reload-wax-bullets/

[Bazoo]

I welcome barn swallows. They eat a mess of skeeters.

[Peregrine]

I welcome barn swallows. They eat a mess of skeeters.

This thread is about sparrows, I hope no one is shooting Swallows! Their acrobatics are unrivaled, watching them weave and dive after flying insects is fantastic entertainment! Jet fighters have nothing on them (well okay, maybe speed :p).

[Peregrine]

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

That is my experience as well. Even ignoring the extra shot in the federal they pattern a lot better. The CCI's has a variety of sizes of shot in them, ranging down to truly tiny dust shot which won't even make it through cardboard at more than poking distance.

[Bazoo]

Somehow I read swallows... not sparrows.

[Drm50]

Unless you want to make a sport out of it traps are the best. The gassing them out will get some
but most will get out and come back. Shooting them if you have enough to be a problem is not
very practical. Some set out poison grain, but I never have fooled with that. I have never been
comfortable poisoning anything.

[racepres]

I do Not want to make a career out of it...sport tho...maybe?
Note these are Sparrows..not Swallows!!! PITA they are...
Been smokin them with the little 32S&W's with zero structural damage..but waiting on smaller shot to get a more dense "pattern".
Plastic [glue] projectiles is probably a great idea, but, I don't think this old "bicycle" gun is Up to the Kind of precision required...and my eyes definitely are Not!!
Yes, I could switch armament, but, Hey, this is the first real usefulness the old I.J. has Shown!!!!

[meadmkr]

You might check for an airsoft laser pointer to give you a cheap/removable way and gerryrig it with a few zip ties :)

[Ballistics in Scotland]

With a side-by-side or a revolver, you can get good results in poor light with one of those cartridge-shaped laser boresighters in anot her chamber.

I rescued a swallow that was bluntening his beak on the inside of my workshop window today. It isn't the first time. I rescued a couple that had got trapped in a building stairwell, and were obviously close to pegging out. A bird that energetic can't go long between refuellings. The weaker just made it onto my telephone wire and sat there gasping till he felt able to fly off. If I believed in those mobile things he mightn't have made it.

It confirms my belief that like a lot of creatures that are well endowed with speed, teeth, spines or armour, swallows are a whole lot less bright than sparrows.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

This thread is about sparrows, I hope no one is shooting Swallows! Their acrobatics are unrivaled, watching them weave and dive after flying insects is fantastic entertainment! Jet fighters have nothing on them (well okay, maybe speed :p).

Back in the 70s I met an ancient Saudi falconer and dealer in falcons, who insisted that his peregrine could fly faster than any aeroplane. His father had told him that, probably in the late 1920s, and it stood to reason the old man wouldn't have made up a thing like that.

[turtlezx]

close to 200 mph fastest critter on earth

[halvey]

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!!!!!

How much shot do you think that is? 1/4 oz? I'm looking at making some very light loads for my .410 for barn shooting.

[racepres]

How much shot do you think that is? 1/4 oz? I'm looking at making some very light loads for my .410 for barn shooting.
In the 32S&W?? Not much...not enough in fact. In the 32S&W long? I'll weigh it...Seems effective enough, but I believe smaller shot will be more so!!
Went and weighed just now, because I get busy this time of year... from 46 to 48 grains of Shot in the 32S&W long... That's about a tenth of an Ounce by my Calculations

[Ballistics in Scotland]

In the .410 a full case of pearl barley should work well, and give a better pattern than rice. Watch out it doesn't get anywhere it will be a weed, though.

[racepres]

In the .410 a full case of pearl barley should work well, and give a better pattern than rice. Watch out it doesn't get anywhere it will be a weed, though.

Hard plan for me....Feels like feeding the buggers shootin Food!!!!

[halvey]

Thank you! I will have to try that out!


In the 32S&W?? Not much...not enough in fact. In the 32S&W long? I'll weigh it...Seems effective enough, but I believe smaller shot will be more so!!
Went and weighed just now, because I get busy this time of year... from 46 to 48 grains of Shot in the 32S&W long... That's about a tenth of an Ounce by my Calculations

[halvey]

Quinoa would work better. And it's healthier! :p


In the .410 a full case of pearl barley should work well, and give a better pattern than rice. Watch out it doesn't get anywhere it will be a weed, though.

[rockrat]

Milo might work

[Milsurp Junkie]

You could cram a lot of Chia seeds in a 32 S&W Long.

[BAGTIC]

We solved our mouse problem in the garage with a real black snake a little over six feet long. He took to sleeping in the corner and in a few months time the mice were all gone. Before that we could catch 4-6 a day.

[BAGTIC]

They may reach a maximum speed rate of 200 mph but I'll wager my bank account you can not actually find one that can fly 200 miles in one hour.

[NavyVet1959]

If ya don't want to shoot them, put a fake owl in the rafters or somewhere nearby. That should do it.
;)

Here ya go: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dalen-Great-Horned-Owl/16213264

I remember seeing one of those outside of a Sam's Club awhile back. The birds that were supposed to be scared away by it were actually sitting on its head. :(

[NavyVet1959]

Another thing to consider is that you can make a muzzle loader out of a firearm by just loading your cartridges with powder something to seal it (1" square of paper towel and a bit of wax?) and then once you have loaded the cartridge in your firearm, pour a measured amount of whatever you are wanting to use for shot down the barrel with another wad of paper towel rammed down on top of the shot. A rifled barrel will might make a donut pattern though. I've done this with a .22 rifle and using the .22 blanks (power loads) as propellant charges.

[keyhole]

We solved our mouse problem in the garage with a real black snake a little over six feet long. He took to sleeping in the corner and in a few months time the mice were all gone. Before that we could catch 4-6 a day.
----------
Glad the snake helped you out. I wish we had black snakes around here. All we have in western WA are garter snakes, which do not seem to do much to control rodents.

[country gent]

We had chipmunks in an attic and put a road flasher in the attic hoping to scare them off. worked for 3 days then they got used to it and were not bothered by it at all. Stuffed birds and decoys work for awhile but with no movement, calls or attacks they animals become used to it and ignore it. A decoy with wings that laps or move in a breeze or on a string that allows easy movement and repositioning helps also. Otherwise the sparrows and other rodents ignore it in a short time.

[racepres]

We had chipmunks in an attic and put a road flasher in the attic hoping to scare them off. worked for 3 days then they got used to it and were not bothered by it at all. Stuffed birds and decoys work for awhile but with no movement, calls or attacks they animals become used to it and ignore it. A decoy with wings that laps or move in a breeze or on a string that allows easy movement and repositioning helps also. Otherwise the sparrows and other rodents ignore it in a short time.

They have not been ignoring the little 32!!!
And, Thanks to triggerhappy243 the smaller shot is even more effective...Sadly, I only get up to the barn about every 3rd day or so...But..The "droppings" have subsided considerably!!! To me...that is a Success!!!

[triggerhappy243]

glad to hear you are happy with it.

[EMC45]

Years back I worked for a man that rebuilt horse drawn carriages for a living. It was interesting work and fun. One day he had had enough of the goldfinches crapping all over his freshly painted carriages in the shop. He came to me and told me to get my Benjamin and a tin of pellets and "wear 'em out". I sat out in front of the shop for a few hours and shot and shot and shot. I would shoot and they would fly off (except the ones I hit of course) and they would come right back. I did this all afternoon. The ground was literally yellow all under the tree where the were hanging out. I killed a bunch that day.

Another time when I was on base working we had a problem with pigeons. They would **** all over everything and dive bomb every time you walked through the back warehouse. A co-worker told me to bring in my pellet gun (Crossman). I told him I wasn't getting caught dead on base with a "gun", and beside the animal control folks already came and couldn't hit the pigeons with their pellet rifle. I brought my wrist rocket in with a baggy of Lee cast buckshot. I got both of the birds after a while of walking and stalking the warehouse. I was finding lead buckshot for a while back there after that. :)

[Smoke4320]

We had chipmunks in an attic and put a road flasher in the attic hoping to scare them off. worked for 3 days then they got used to it and were not bothered by it at all. Stuffed birds and decoys work for awhile but with no movement, calls or attacks they animals become used to it and ignore it. A decoy with wings that laps or move in a breeze or on a string that allows easy movement and repositioning helps also. Otherwise the sparrows and other rodents ignore it in a short time.
get old fashioned moth balls .. throw a sizeable amount in every corner and some in the middle .. no chipmunks, squirrels or snakes in the attic

[racepres]

get old fashioned moth balls .. throw a sizeable amount in every corner and some in the middle .. no chipmunks, squirrels or snakes in the attic

also...No Mice, no Woodchucks, no critters basically...even Skunks don't tolerate Moth Balls!!!
Birds???? Don't seem affected!!

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The day after I posted about swallows in my workshop, two flew in, through a domestic sized door from bright sunlight, while I was at work there. This time I saw them early enough to usher them out under their own power. Here is another leaving the kitchen as prisoner under escort. At least I think he is another. I don't think swallows are the type to learn from experience. The general rule with wildlife, among others, is that if you are fast, armoured or ferocious, you can afford to be dumb.

196905 196906

Maybe it is the early and mild spring, but the birds this year are acting like they have seen the Hitchcock movie. Here is a herring gull in the seafront carpark, with the house where I was born in the background. Ask anybody who was torpedoed and spent time watching them waiting around the lifeboat if they are beautiful, graceful birds. They nested on someone's car while he was away at sea, and though I approve in many cases of the law against destroying a wild bird's nest, there is no big shortage of herring gulls. I wouldn't be surprised if our old friend person or persons unknown does it.

196908

[racepres]

^^ The Walmart in Morgan City Louisiana has the most aggressive..Insistent Gulls I have ever Encountered..
I think they were the very ones in the "Birds" movie!!!! I don' particularly care for Gulls...Have hit one with my Street bike, and one on my dragbike at about a buck 35!! Unpleasant Critters!!!

[NavyVet1959]

I learned very quickly in boot camp that pigeons and seagulls are just garbage eating flying rats. They would wait until you were standing out on the grinder waiting for inspection and then bomb you.

[GRUMPA]

This thread got me thinking. Around here Mud Daubers have been working 24\7 building, at least 200 so far and multiplying. Made some 357mag with rice and wheat berries, put in 3.5gr B-Eye covered with an aluminum gc filled them with rice and another aluminum gc.

Virtually no recoil to speak of, and found out a person can go through rounds at a rapid rate. Also.....those suckers have some good eye sight and when a person gets close they scatter. With that lite of a load range is limited but it sure makes short work of depleting the population pretty well. Went through 100 rounds already and need to make more.

[NavyVet1959]

I was on the front porch the other checking for trash that the door-to-door sales guys drop off all too often. I hardly ever go in or out the front door since the back door is closer to the garage. As such, if I don't see something on the front door as I'm driving by it, I don't go there very often. It might be months if I don't see something obvious (like a package) there. I had noticed that hadn't been ringing my door bell as much lately though. So, anyway... I was checking it the other day and I noticed a yellow jacket nest right at the top of the door. I think I know why I'm not getting as many of the people leaving stuff on my door these days. :)

[keyhole]

[QUOTE I noticed a yellow jacket nest right at the top of the door. I think I know why I'm not getting as many of the people leaving stuff on my door these days. :)[/QUOTE]

Maybe there is a good side to yellowjackets, at least when they are in a strategic location.

[NavyVet1959]

Maybe there is a good side to yellowjackets, at least when they are in a strategic location.

They do tend to have an attitude if you disturb them. Maybe I should put a sign on the door, "Doorbell doesn't work, please knock loudly". :)

Of course, then I would have to put a video camera there and post the results to YouTube... :evil:

[curator]

Back in the 50's we tried the stuffed owl in the barn but the sparrows and black birds soon caught on. My job as a 10 year old was to deal with the issue. my weapon of assignment was a London Colt, .36 Navy calibre. This was loaded with a .22 long case full of Curtis & Harey's No.6 Black powder and two 3/8 x 3/8 diameter leather harness punch-out wads. These were absolutely deadly at 40 feet. This was my "go-to" load for rats and the occasional varmint.

[Squint]

When I was a youngster, a lot of sparrows nested in the eaves of our garage. Dad put up a 1x6 board 6 in or so below the eaves for our cat to use as a walkway. In the evening, after the birds had settled in for the night, we would put the cat up on the walkway and he would help himself to a smorgasbord of fine feathery food. This was about 70 years ago and I don't remember just how he managed to hold on to more than one but, he would get two or three and want to be let down to eat them.

I bet if we had left him a way to get up and down there on his own he would have kept them cleaned out.

Give anybody any ideas about using their cats for flying pest control?

[NavyVet1959]

When I was a youngster, a lot of sparrows nested in the eaves of our garage. Dad put up a 1x6 board 6 in or so below the eaves for our cat to use as a walkway. In the evening, after the birds had settled in for the night, we would put the cat up on the walkway and he would help himself to a smorgasbord of fine feathery food. This was about 70 years ago and I don't remember just how he managed to hold on to more than one but, he would get two or three and want to be let down to eat them.

I bet if we had left him a way to get up and down there on his own he would have kept them cleaned out.

Give anybody any ideas about using their cats for flying pest control?

Hmmm... I'm thinking cat plus trebuchet... Or for a cat, should you use a "cat-apult"?

[Squint]

Good one there! :)

Maybe I should have worded that differently.

[NavyVet1959]

Good one there! :)

Maybe I should have worded that differently.

Nawh, you worded it *perfectly* for a set up.

[Squint]

You're welcome.

[3006guns]

We had a bird "problem" where I worked. The truck barn was infested with swallows, so the mess on the vehicles was something to behold. The company purchased a product called "Bird Begone"....a sticky, grainy, gooey material that was painted on all horizontal surfaces such as truss beams, etc. It stays sticky so when the birds land on it they immediately take flight again. With no place to land and rest their little birdy feet, they soon learn to find other quarters. It worked for years.

[Smoke4320]

When I was a youngster, a lot of sparrows nested in the eaves of our garage. Dad put up a 1x6 board 6 in or so below the eaves for our cat to use as a walkway. In the evening, after the birds had settled in for the night, we would put the cat up on the walkway and he would help himself to a smorgasbord of fine feathery food. This was about 70 years ago and I don't remember just how he managed to hold on to more than one but, he would get two or three and want to be let down to eat them.

I bet if we had left him a way to get up and down there on his own he would have kept them cleaned out.

Give anybody any ideas about using their cats for flying pest control?

Cat-anon and as a filler use kibble and bits

[NavyVet1959]

Maybe there is a good side to yellowjackets, at least when they are in a strategic location.

Well, my wife made the mistake of answering the door today when someone rang the door bell and then they got scared by all of the "flying greeters" and was backing up off the front porch rather quickly. She out the window on the door and she was even scared s---less even though she did not have the door open so they could not harm her. She kept nagging at me most of the day, so I finally went and sprayed them with wasp killer. Too bad... They really seemed to be good for keeping those pesky door-to-door solicitors (or criminals looking to see whether people were home) away.


I'm thinking I need a sign something like this on the front door:


GO AWAY !!!

You are TRESPASSING and will be dealt with as such!

I don't care what you are selling, I won't buy it.
I don't care what political candidate or position you are supporting, you're not going to change my mind.
I don't care what religion you are advocating, you won't change my mind.

And... GET OFF MY LAWN, DAMMIT !!!

[triggerhappy243]

I have 1 better navyvet, tell them you are from the coroner's office working with a dead body and they are now subject to interrogation and they cannot leave for 16 hours................. please have a seat.

[keyhole]

Navyvet, Too bad your wife failed to see the bigger picture. It looks like the greeters did their job as far as backing unwanted people off your porch.

Your idea for a sign should be effective too. Here's my sign at front gate.

202247

[Schreck5]

:bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:&