Be Sure of Your Backstop

[jeffer]

The thread on pigeon control brought back this memory.
A co-worker was having trouble with a crow in his garden.
Luckily there was only one bird but it was doing enough damage
to warrant concern. After several days finding numerous
vegetables partly eaten he had enough. That night he readied his
12 gauge by the kitchen door. In the morning Mr. Crow was
going to meet his maker. 6am the next morning the door opened
slowly and there was the bird having breakfast. At 20 yards it was
an easy shot. Dave picks up the shotgun aims and BOOM! The crow
and half a row of corn had perished in a split second.

 

[Gunslinger]

Grits.......anyone?

------------------
Gunslinger

We live in a time in which attitudes and deeds once respected as courageous and honorable are now scorned as being antiquated and subversive.

 

[Long Path]

Choosing to salvage that batch of cornmeal will bring new meaning to the phrase "eating crow!"

 

[pack_rat]

Hmmm,
Too soon for grits or meal.
Pass the Creamed Corn.

The best way to keep crows away is to hang out a dead one for a couple of days. The rest
will make a wide detour for quite a while.

-----------
Who's come to slay the dragon-
Come to watch him fall?
Making arrows out of pointed words
Giant killers, at the call
-Music by Lee and Lifeson/Lyrics by Peart

 

[Bud Helms]

I committed a similar act of collateral damage not too long ago.

A rabbit was visiting the garden, having a daily feast. One AM, I got the Ruger .22 revolver out and crept up to within 40 feet and popped it. I also popped the PVC sprinkler feed line and went running around like a madman, yelling and waving my arms, to get the water cut off and repair the damage before going to work.

By that time the bunny carcass was muddy and I had to rinse him off and decided to just take my time and put a couple of haunches in the freezer. After all, it was the only way to recover the lost lettuce!

 

[fastforty]

When we were kids, we used to shoot our .22's through the wheat field, watching the pattern of seedheads falling. Amazing how much richochet blades of grass can cause.

 

[gfrey]

Hmmm,....
Back when I was a boy....

er,
anyway I remember (circa '74? '75?) we had raccoons killing goslings (from an enclosed space, a cow tank tipped on its side, with a door completely covering the opening, held by at least 1 cement block, maybe two, and a 1/2" pipe was the ONLY opening... how did they get the geese out of that hole??? we never found a feather, a foot, nothing was left)
MY MOTHER who had no inclination to shoot, but had had it up to here with losing goslings was shown how to fire the 12 gauge... she dutifully waited in her hide (sitting on top of a wagon loaded with hay) and late that nite we heard BOOM! BOOM!!! ....
Mom comes into the house rattled... says she missed....

Next morning the local coon dog trainer showed up with a trap, got several coon.

Mom had mowed a 1"W X 3'L X 2"D strip of defenseless grass, and the outer row of corn had some stalks knocked over at 18", the next row had some stalks knocked over at 12", the third row... you get the picture.
Funny, I cannot recall her shooting since.
Hmmmm....
I too have crows in my yard, they love to sit just out of shotgun range.
The .22 magnum should make them rethink this policy.

Later,
Gfrey