Shooting crows.

minktrapper

It seems to be next to impossible to shoot crows as they are flying directly away from you. Is this because of their slim profile as they fly away.

cookimonster

They can be tough beggars. I 've knocked a good few decoying and using trap cartridges but IMO they don't fold as easy as pigeon.
Shooting an away bird can be akin to a Texas heart shot, so unless you penetrate a vital or smash a bone they'll keep on trucking. The lighter 7.5 traps' may not have the weight to drive through from the back into the heart or lungs.

Walter Mittys Brother

Shooting crows the smallest I use is 5's in a 32 gram cartridge. They are tough gits to kill humanely!

deeksofdoom

minktrapper wrote: »

It seems to be next to impossible to shoot crows as they are flying directly away from you. Is this because of their slim profile as they fly away.

I always find that birds flying away from you are the easiest birds to shoot, the problem is the shooter thinks because they are flying away from you you have less time to shoot them.

For the most part crows, pigeons & pheasant tend to fly in a straight line when flying away from danger, now they might jink or twist in the air flying into you but not so much flying away from you.

If you slow down and allow time to mount the gun and aim it properly, swinging through the bird (bum, belly and beak) you’ll start knocking them.

cookimonster

But if your seeing 'bum, belly, beak' so to say then it's a quartering away shot and gives you the window of opportunity to clip the brain / vital organs or break the wing.

https://youtu.be/e9iURozEEtk

Fast forward to 02.45 if you don't want to watch the whole lot.

Jackdaw89

What range roughly are you missing at and what load are you using. Are you hitting incoming and quartering birds fine? The shot string is so short or nonexistent for the bird flying straight away from you sometimes you just can’t get enough pellets hitting the right spot at the right time. I just shoot under the bird with a slight movement upward to spread the load a tiny bit. I use light loads this time of year and then 5/6’s when they start flying high and wising up coming into winter.

Gorgeousgeorge

No problem knocking crows with black gold in 7.5 28gram. Good fast cartridge and keep swinging the gun

hedzball

Jackdaw89 wrote: »

What range roughly are you missing at and what load are you using. Are you hitting incoming and quartering birds fine? The shot string is so short or nonexistent for the bird flying straight away from you sometimes you just can’t get enough pellets hitting the right spot at the right time. I just shoot under the bird with a slight movement upward to spread the load a tiny bit. I use light loads this time of year and then 5/6’s when they start flying high and wising up coming into winter.

You must swing amazingly fast. :D:D

you'll never spread a load. theres a shot string.. but its not butter.




'hdz

Jackdaw89

hedzball wrote: »

You must swing amazingly fast. :D:D

you'll never spread a load. theres a shot string.. but its not butter.




'hdz

Ha not sure what I do really but the birds keep fallen. My father had me out shooting as soon a I could lift my 20 bore/ .22 high enough and last week a friend asked how much lead I gave a pigeon I dropped and I said between 1 and 50 yards so I am known for being light on detail.

minktrapper

Jackdaw89 wrote: »

What range roughly are you missing at and what load are you using. Are you hitting incoming and quartering birds fine? The shot string is so short or nonexistent for the bird flying straight away from you sometimes you just can’t get enough pellets hitting the right spot at the right time. I just shoot under the bird with a slight movement upward to spread the load a tiny bit. I use light loads this time of year and then 5/6’s when they start flying high and wising up coming into winter.

Approximately 20-30 yds. I was using 28gr 7.5 clay loads. I am hitting most of the other birds but those going away shots are a bit of a joke.

J.R.

minktrapper wrote: »

Approximately 20-30 yds. I was using 28gr 7.5 clay loads. I am hitting most of the other birds but those going away shots are a bit of a joke.

I always find a going away shot tricky at times.

At that distance with that cartridge, a crow is well within the range of being killed outright.

I find with going away shots - if the crow is flying straight out from you, that you can miss under or over......depending on its flight pattern, as it departs.

If a crow is going out away from you, and is rising, then you will have to fire above it so it flies into the shot pattern.

If a crow is going out away from you, and is not rising, but flying straight out, then you will have to fire under it so it flies into the pattern, that you have placed in front of it.

I have realised that crows are not flying as fast as we think...a second or two spent looking to see if it is rising or going straight out, before firing, will tell you whether to fire under or over.

Best of luck with it.

minktrapper

Walter Mittys Brother wrote: »

Shooting crows the smallest I use is 5's in a 32 gram cartridge. They are tough gits to kill humanely!

Agree with you there. Have shot crows @ 15yds with 7.5 and all you see is feathers flying. Then they fly away and sit on a tree.

minktrapper

J.R. wrote: »

I always find a going away shot tricky at times.

At that distance with that cartridge, a crow is well within the range of being killed outright.

I find with going away shots - if the crow is flying straight out from you, that you can miss under or over......depending on its flight pattern, as it departs.

If a crow is going out away from you, and is rising, then you will have to fire above it so it flies into the shot pattern.

If a crow is going out away from you, and is not rising, but flying straight out, then you will have to fire under it so it flies into the pattern, that you have placed in front of it.

I have realised that crows are not flying as fast as we think...a second or two spent looking to see if it is rising or going straight out, before firing, will tell you whether to fire under or over.

Best of luck with it.

Agree with there . But if a crow is flying horizontal at eye level.

Jackdaw89

minktrapper wrote: »

Approximately 20-30 yds. I was using 28gr 7.5 clay loads. I am hitting most of the other birds but those going away shots are a bit of a joke.

Well in range and like you already mentioned at 30 yards you would see feathers fly if you got some pellets hitting. Try to pattern test the cartridge on some cardboard. Missing gets frustrating and you end up just over thinking shots and with me the second I dwell on the target I’m probably gona miss. Buy a few clays and get a friend to toss them down range for practice.

minktrapper

Jackdaw89 wrote: »

Well in range and like you already mentioned at 30 yards you would see feathers fly if you got some pellets hitting. Try to pattern test the cartridge on some cardboard. Missing gets frustrating and you end up just over thinking shots and with me the second I dwell on the target I’m probably gona miss. Buy a few clays and get a friend to toss them down range for practice.

No feathers flying when going straight our from me. So I think I am missing completely.

Walter Mittys Brother

Shoot some DTL at your local clay ground That'll sort your problem

minktrapper

Walter Mittys Brother wrote: »

Shoot some DTL at your local clay ground That'll sort your problem

Thank you very much WMB

270WIN

i reckon your gun is not fitting you

minktrapper

It is fitting alright. Has a few clay shooters check it out

270WIN

try firing at a pattern plate or a large sheet of paper at about 20 yards...i bet that gun is not putting the pattern where you are looking

minktrapper

270WIN wrote: »

try firing at a pattern plate or a large sheet of paper at about 20 yards...i bet that gun is not putting the pattern where you are looking

I have tried that. It shoots exactly where I aim.

Gorgeousgeorge

minktrapper wrote: »

It is fitting alright. Has a few clay shooters check it out

clay shooters know feck all unless they got out the measuring tape and measured you for length of pull drop at heel and drop at comb among other things

i have had loads of shotguns i could shoot only ever had 2 that fit me

minktrapper

Gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

clay shooters know feck all unless they got out the measuring tape and measured you for length of pull drop at heel and drop at comb among other things

i have had loads of shotguns i could shoot only ever had 2 that fit me

Surely if you point at their eye and my eye is looking straight down the barrel to their eye the gun fits

Walter Mittys Brother

minktrapper wrote: »

Surely if you point at their eye and my eye is looking straight down the barrel to their eye the gun fits

Always worked for me

Gorgeousgeorge

minktrapper wrote: »

Surely if you point at their eye and my eye is looking straight down the barrel to their eye the gun fits

you would think, but its a bit more complicated than that!

Walter Mittys Brother

Gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

you would think, but its a bit more complicated than that!

It does work. Things only get more complicated when someone is trying to get more cash off you in my experience.

Gorgeousgeorge

Walter Mittys Brother wrote: »

It does work. Things only get more complicated when someone is trying to get more cash off you in my experience.

I do it for free😉

Jackdaw89

I think theirs far to much importantance put on shotgun fit nowadays like mentioned if when mounted your eyes on the bead it fits close enough for most shooters, just like bug eye grounding is nice in a rife and it’s important to hit your animal where your aiming but a fox chest with a 55g vmax doesn’t need sub 1moa.

Gorgeousgeorge

Jackdaw89 wrote: »

I think theirs far to much importantance put on shotgun fit nowadays like mentioned if when mounted your eyes on the bead it fits close enough for most shooters, just like bug eye grounding is nice in a rife and it’s important to hit your animal where your aiming but a fox chest with a 55g vmax doesn’t need sub 1moa.

Thats your first mistake you never look at the bead.

Its like shooting with an eye closed! It will work but only so much. Its ok if you your head is mounted properly but can you mount the gun in that exact spot in a split second. Thats where gun fit comes in.

minktrapper

Gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

Thats your first mistake you never look at the bead.

Its like shooting with an eye closed! It will work but only so much. Its ok if you your head is mounted properly but can you mount the gun in that exact spot in a split second. Thats where gun fit comes in.

If the opposite eye is your master eye have you any other option but to close one eye.

Gorgeousgeorge

minktrapper wrote: »

If the opposite eye is your master eye have you any other option but to close one eye.

the real solution to that problem if your right handed and left eye dominant is too shoot left handed, seen a few lads do this with great success, wouldnt say i could hack it though,

could also use a little dot on your glasses on your dominant eye to make the other take over

Jackdaw89

Gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

Thats your first mistake you never look at the bead.

Its like shooting with an eye closed! It will work but only so much. Its ok if you your head is mounted properly but can you mount the gun in that exact spot in a split second. Thats where gun fit comes in.

I don’t look at the bead I was just saying when you size up a shotgun I think the best indication of good fit is eye straight down the barrel and bang on the bead , shooting I only watch the bird. A custome made shotgun isn’t much good if you can’t mount and fire the gun consistently.

Gorgeousgeorge

Jackdaw89 wrote: »

I don’t look at the bead I was just saying when you size up a shotgun I think the best indication of good fit is eye straight down the barrel and bang on the bead , shooting I only watch the bird. A custome made shotgun isn’t much good if you can’t mount and fire the gun consistently.

But your perfect mount will come from perfwct gun fitment

270WIN

Jackdaw89 wrote: »

I don’t look at the bead I was just saying when you size up a shotgun I think the best indication of good fit is eye straight down the barrel and bang on the bead , shooting I only watch the bird. A custome made shotgun isn’t much good if you can’t mount and fire the gun consistently.

I used to always look straight level down the barrel for years and my shooting was always only average,,a clay shot was talking to me one day and told me my head was too low on the stock..he put 2 one euro coins stacked on the breech end and told me to look barely out over them at the bead...that should be your sight picture he said.My shooting improved straight away and i have always looked slightly down on the barrel since. When your head is slightly high on the stock you get a much better view of the bird and are not inclined to lift your head completely when shooting game or clays. Worked for me anyway!!