Magpies - want to shoot them

Deerspotter

Each day I watch the magpies and grey-crows eat out of my dogs food, to my annoyance.
When is one allowed to shoot them?
I would like to shoot them in my front garden as they eat out of the dog food bowl.
However the ground is tiled and there are some cars parked behind.
I could sit in the house with-in 20m of them.
Is there a low velocity gun, that won't break the tile, won't ricoshe off the ground and put a hole in the car, that doesn't need a licence that can be legally purchased by a novice like myself?
I once saw an air-rifle that shot little metal pellets that might be the right man for the job, but have no clue if these are easy to get or if they need a licence.
I'd say those air-soft pistols wouldn't pack enough punch to take down a cheeky magpie?
Any adice welcome, poisen not an option.

Jonty

Easy there killer!!


Its nice to see some one who is eager. Given the urban nature of your location, firearms are not a viable option. Try this hawk decoy it should scare them away. An owl one might work too.


http://www.trapman.co.uk/decoy-bird-scarers.htm

Deerspotter

Jonty wrote: »

Easy there killer!!


Its nice to see some one who is eager. Given the urban nature of your location, firearms are not a viable option. Try this hawk decoy it should scare them away. An owl one might work too.


http://www.trapman.co.uk/decoy-bird-scarers.htm

Thanks for the reply, but I'd really like to down a few of these scum-bags of bird world.
So open to more ideas...

Mr. Presentable

So it's not about the birds then, it's about gun-play! Join a gun club.

EPointer=Birdss

Easy there lads give the guy a chance!
Buy or build a larson trap??? Can catch them all year round.

Alternatively go back to your child hood & a buy or make a sling shot! Seems to be a dying art! As effective with a ball bearing & you wont kill anyone!

If they feed there every day you could probably catch a caller one by putting dog food in the trap!

riflehunter77

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

Easy there lads give the guy a chance!
Buy or build a larson trap??? Can catch them all year round.

Alternatively go back to your child hood & a buy or make a sling shot! Seems to be a dying art! As effective with a ball bearing & you wont kill anyone!

If they feed there every day you could probably catch a caller one by putting dog food in the trap!

Sling shot would work well, and after letting off a few shots with one they will soon cop on. They will be off every time you come out your door.

DarkJager

Get a plank, 2 nails, a clothes peg and an elastic band (a good thick one if you can). Stretch the elastic over the 2 nails, hammer the peg in at the end of the board facing out towards the targetting end, load a stone or whatever you want as ammo into the band, then lock it into place with the peg. The shot (if the elastic is good enough and the peg far enough) would most likely kill a bird if it connects - its well able to punch holes in drink cans if its made right!

riflehunter77

DarkJager wrote: »

Get a plank, 2 nails, a clothes peg and an elastic band (a good thick one if you can). Stretch the elastic over the 2 nails, hammer the peg in at the end of the board facing out towards the targetting end, load a stone or whatever you want as ammo into the band, then lock it into place with the peg. The shot (if the elastic is good enough and the peg far enough) would most likely kill a bird if it connects - its well able to punch holes in drink cans if its made right!

That brings alot of memories back , Elastic (Rubber rings) from wavin pipes i think we use to use.

Deerspotter

I don't own a gun and have done precious little shooting, but hit 48 out of 50 clays (the easy ones in Courtlough)
I honestly don't have the strenght in my wrist for a sling-shot.
Interesting idea though.

Not in to gun-play, interested in it though.
Hate magpies, I see them attacking nests, little birds and in general being a pain.
Don't want to frighten them in to some one elses yard, I want to make sure they don't move on.

ayapatrick

Deerspotter wrote: »

I don't own a gun and have done precious little shooting, but hit 48 out of 50 clays (the easy ones in Courtlough)
I honestly don't have the strenght in my wrist for a sling-shot.
Interesting idea though.

Not in to gun-play, interested in it though.
Hate magpies, I see them attacking nests, little birds and in general being a pain.
Don't want to frighten them in to some one elses yard, I want to make sure they don't move on.

larsen trap is what you need so! very simple to make, and youd prob catch a call bird easy by using the dog food as someone said above!

Deerspotter

I don't know what a larsen trap is.
Anyone any ideas on a gun?

tiny-nioclas

You cannot buy a gun to shoot these magpies unless you have a firearm licence, befriend someone with a air rifle or buy a bird trap? crow traps work great for magpies too. enjoy the murdering

Amalgam

Does anyone make a fake dead magpie decoy?

I heard they steer clear of anywhere that shows one of their kind coming to grief.

I have had gun\sling fantasies over the last few weeks, 3 magpie juveniles cackle and craw from about 5am onwards, very loudly outside our two bedrooms.

They nest in the only mature trees in our row of houses, sadly, in our garden. Built up area though, so slings etc are a risk to property.

Any passive solutions?

homerhop

length of fishing line fixed at one end, baited hook.

Dusty87

homerhop wrote: »

length of fishing line fixed at one end, baited hook.

Play them for a minute then reel them in ha ha

Deerspotter

tiny-nioclas wrote: »

You cannot buy a gun to shoot these magpies unless you have a firearm licence, befriend someone with a air rifle or buy a bird trap? crow traps work great for magpies too. enjoy the murdering

How does one get an air-rifle?

Vegeta

Deerspotter wrote: »

How does one get an air-rifle?

Same as any other firearm

Get a larsen trap, a firearm, even a 12ft/lb air rifle will crack tiles and ricochet at shallow angles.

Given the information you have provided a firearm is simply not an option unless you are willing to accept the damage to your property.

ivanthehunter

Hi there deerspotter.

First thing I'd say that it illegal to shoot any bird with an air rifle unless you gain special permission from someone higher up.

Secondly a Larson trap only works well when a Maggie is placed in it from another area. After you catch two or three they wont come into your garden for a full year.

Thirdly Its very very unwise to shoot from within a house as a passer-by will be in you line of sight before you know it. Very very dangerous.. Try a flat roof on a shed or some other vantage point that provides you with a good wide field of view.

Fourthly These birds can be destroyed at any time of the year if they are causing damage etc etc AFAIK

AND finally (AFAIK) a trap or net can be used as long as its an approved trap or net..

PS Poison is out!!

If anyone spots anything wrong with this statment please advise

clivej

Get some chicken wire or such and make up a large box shape cage, prop it up at one end with a stick and tie fishing line to the stick. Sit back and wait for the birds to go under the cage trap and pull the fishing line.

The best thing about this is you get a lot of fun out of waiting for the bird to go under the cage trap at the correct time.
If one should die (God forbid) hang it up in the garden and that will stop others returning.

It will bring the hunter:D out of you.

I spent many an hour in my youth doing this. Set it up in the garden and sat in the kitchen waiting for the birds to feed under the trap. Oh happy days.

Dusty87

Ivan is it not legal shoot an unprotected bird wit an air rifle? The best bet is larson trap as has been said. If you google it you wil get plenty of sites but as ivan said it works best wit birds from other areas as magpie's are territorial. Just on that, can someone point out if it is legal to use one. It came up somewhere and someone said the use of animals or birds, protected or unprotected, as bait for trapping other animals is illegal. I wil try find a link to it later.

Trojan911

This should do the trick.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfj-DCLeErQ

pullandbang

Big steel rat trap (the spring over type) baited with some dog food. Make sure the trap is fixed to the ground with a peg. It'll either catch them by the leg or break their necks.
Just make sure you check it often - a few times a day.

Dusty87

clivej wrote: »

Get some chicken wire or such and make up a large box shape cage, prop it up at one end with a stick and tie fishing line to the stick. Sit back and wait for the birds to go under the cage trap and pull the fishing line.

The best thing about this is you get a lot of fun out of waiting for the bird to go under the cage trap at the correct time.
If one should die (God forbid) hang it up in the garden and that will stop others returning.

It will bring the hunter:D out of you.

I spent many an hour in my youth doing this. Set it up in the garden and sat in the kitchen waiting for the birds to feed under the trap. Oh happy days.

Many a day i did this. Great fun, more often than not i caught nothin. Now iv upgraded to 'automatic' one's. You rest a stick on the stick that is holdin up the box. Put your bait on the stick and when the bird pulls it the trap falls.

bernardo mac

Knew a farmer who protected his duck chicks and wild birds' young and nests by injecting poison in regular eggs and placing same strategically for enemy:magpies,grey crows...his ducks couldn't even go the pond without being attacked..songbirds' numbers had also been reduced. The predators died in a drunken state ,no pain. And a happier animal farm resulted!:)

Dusty87

I posted about magpies on another forum here and was told mag's do no damage to wild birds numbers. The guy even posted links to study's carried out. I find it hard to believe. I cant see how by raiding nests and killing young their not damaging it. I shoot every mag i can. Only thing wit poison is that other animals could eat it.

Jonty

Dusty87 wrote: »

I posted about magpies on another forum here and was told mag's do no damage to wild birds numbers. The guy even posted links to study's carried out. I find it hard to believe. I cant see how by raiding nests and killing young their not damaging it. I shoot every mag i can. Only thing wit poison is that other animals could eat it.

Farmers have often told me about magpies taking the eyes out of sheep's heads when they get stuck on their backs

ivanthehunter

Dusty87 wrote: »

Ivan is it not legal shoot an unprotected bird wit an air rifle? The best bet is larson trap as has been said. If you google it you wil get plenty of sites but as ivan said it works best wit birds from other areas as magpie's are territorial. Just on that, can someone point out if it is legal to use one. It came up somewhere and someone said the use of animals or birds, protected or unprotected, as bait for trapping other animals is illegal. I wil try find a link to it later.

Look up the Irish statute book and search under wildlife act, it there in plain black and white.

Its also illegal to shoot any bird with a moderated rifle, so i think its a case of the bang n=must be heard to be sporting.

Also why are Maggie's afforded any protection under the law. especially since it all seems to stem from EU derogation acts, as the Maggie is an introduced species (was brought here in early 19th century as a bird of paradise:rolleyes:)

deerhunter1

bernardo mac wrote: »

Knew a farmer who protected his duck chicks and wild birds' young and nests by injecting poison in regular eggs and placing same strategically for enemy:magpies,grey crows...his ducks couldn't even go the pond without being attacked..songbirds' numbers had also been reduced. The predators died in a drunken state ,no pain. And a happier animal farm resulted!:)

My kind of guy

Dusty87

ivanthehunter wrote: »

Look up the Irish statute book and search under wildlife act, it there in plain black and white.

Its also illegal to shoot any bird with a moderated rifle, so i think its a case of the bang n=must be heard to be sporting.

Also why are Maggie's afforded any protection under the law. especially since it all seems to stem from EU derogation acts, as the Maggie is an introduced species (was brought here in early 19th century as a bird of paradise:rolleyes:)

Not disputing it at all ivan, in england i believe its ok? Is it true there protected on the continent. Was in poland during the last summer. Went to the zoo and they had magpie's in a pen. We were like yeah movin swiftly on.

Dusty87

Jonty wrote: »

Farmers have often told me about magpies taking the eyes out of sheep's heads when they get stuck on their backs

Oh yea, your dead right. And sick cows calves etc. Dirty whoars, them and grey crows would do that.

ayapatrick

Dusty87 wrote: »

Oh yea, your dead right. And sick cows calves etc. Dirty whoars, them and grey crows would do that.

i think the grey is the ultimate culprit in the most of these cases!

Dusty87

ayapatrick wrote: »

i think the grey is the ultimate culprit in the most of these cases!

Well bein honest iv only seen grey's doing it but i believe magpie's do it too, iv heard story's from the uncle who's farmer and other ould boys talking of it.

marlin vs

Deerspotter wrote: »

Each day I watch the magpies and grey-crows eat out of my dogs food, to my annoyance.
When is one allowed to shoot them?
I would like to shoot them in my front garden as they eat out of the dog food bowl.

I have the same problem myself, but my larsen trap is being used by a friend of mine, so I just made up a handy drop trap and caught the *******.

Deerspotter

marlin vs wrote: »

I have the same problem myself, but my larsen trap is being used by a friend of mine, so I just made up a handy drop trap and caught the *******.

Nice...

Deerspotter

A little up-date.
I tried out a home-made sling-shot, and shot two magpies and two grey crows with it.

Now no matter how well I hide or what I do, no crow or magpie comes near the house.
I can see them 500m away watching me...

I have an open view out the door and nearest neighbour is 500m away, so no risk of anyone poping up unexpected.
The ammo I was using was tiny ball-bearings out of an old strimmer.
I enjoyed my two days hunting very much.

Now I will have to wait for a year till they return to the yard.