Bird control in my barn (or what do I shoot?)

CrackPot

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Large 200+ year old barn. 3 stories, windows, doors, belongings, goats, chickens, feed, and a LARGE flock of annoying (non-song) birds that eat the feed and sh*t EVERYWHERE.

We have had the same setup for 10+ years, but this is the first time a flock of birds has taken up residence. My cat is getting fat eating a bird+ a day, but it does not make a dent. My wife has gone out and ordered a "live trap" to entice them in for capture, followed by a summary drowning.

My thought is to just shoot the bastards. While I would love to take out the 12gauge and just blast away with some #8 bs, the collateral damage would not be acceptable. Also the level of noise would become very noticeable and likely cause its own problems.

I went and bought a box of .22LR shotshell. As the box says, it does not cycle the SA, but firing is easy and the noise is no problem. I have a red dot on the gun (Ruger MK III) zeroed for 7 yds and I am sure I am hitting what I aim at. When hit, they stagger, fall, and then fly away. All but one that could not fly so I was able to walk up to and deal with. In other words, not enough stopping power from .22LR shotshells at a distance > 5 ft to put down a bird that is no more than 4 inches long. (what is the point of that ammo again?)

I could up the caliber. Go for .38Spc/.357 shotshells or any other caliber I have (9, 40, 45).

Other thoughts on bird control? Shooting would be the most fun/satisfying, but I do have to live within the constraints of no projectiles pierce the outer layers of the barn and the noise level does not attract undue attention.
 
You might be able to load up some really light .410 shotshells
or you might be able to hit them with a bow and arrow (with a blunt tipped arrow)
 
The problem with the .22 shotshells is the rifling in your pistol. You get a doughnut spread of shot that soon becomes a total miss over 10 or so feet. I think the airgun recommendations are right on. Get an inexpensive, modest (or variable) power .22 air rifle (Benjamin pump or a breakbarrel) and go to town.
 
Have you tried 9mm yet?

Sent from the Hyundai of the droids, the Samsung Replenish, using Tapatalk.
 
Another vote for a pellet gun. I recommend something that is break-barrel or C02 powered. Most multi pump guns will take a decent amount of pumps for it to be lethal and if there are a lot of birds will get pretty tiring.
 
Yup CO2 ... it sounds like you want to take lots of shots and do it as quickly as you can... pumping that much would be awful....

That sounds really fun though. I hope those birds are starlings... I hate those.
 
Get some Owls to move in. The birds will leave and never come back.

You can try those big plastic ones first, but then find some real ones.
 
Sounds like you need to think like an exterminator. First thing would be to limit their access to food. Not sure what you can do about that. Secondly, remove any nests you can find. Can you block their entry access and/or obstruct their flight patterns? The simplest way I've seen this done is to run metal wire or high strength fishing line back and forth. The distance between the wires should be smaller than the bird's wing span. For smaller birds netting works better. You can discourage rousting spots by adding plastic spike strips. Do some googling but there are commercial products or make your own.

As mentioned you can get the plastic owls but those don't always work long term. There's also sound machines (screeching birds of prey) but like the dummy owls, they loose their effectiveness over time.
 
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I have the same problem with bats. As I slowly close up there desired access points they are diminishing in abundance but you really do have to work at it. You can kill most but the rest will continue to come back nest and procreate until you eliminate access.
 
Before you invest in the pellet gun, try .22 CCI CB Shorts. Quiet, lower velocity than a hot air rifle. They work great on pests once you dial in the sights. They might be better in a .22 rifle, but should work in the Ruger. They just won't cycle the action.
Also, I've made center-fire shotshells in revolver cartridges using #8 shot over a little Bullseye, and sealing the end with cardboard or wax.
 
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Remove all the other animals, mix up a very rich batch of 2 cycle for your chainsaw and run it in there for a couple of hours. Smokes 'em right out along with the noise. Close up the holes though or they'll be right back. Works every time. Using a rifle is time consuming and again, if you don't close up the holes, they'll be right back. When they're gone-get a few owl decoys.

This same method will also chase out the snakes and mice too.
 
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