Birdshot Safety

R

roy reali

New member
Bird seasons are or will be opening in most areas. As with all shooting activities safety must be rule one. This has to do with dangers of birdshot at longer distances.

You are in a field hunting birds. You know there are hunters on the other side of the same field. You are three to four hundred yards away from them. A bird flushes and your shot will be pointed towards those other hunters. Would you shoot the bird? No one would shoot in that direction with a rifle, even a rimfire. But, shouldn't they be safe from small pellets?

If you are going to shoot birds towards other hunters, what would you say the minimum distance they need to be for safety sake?
 
Having done that previously, and subsequently finding out that the pellets penetrated someone's denim pants (but not the skin), double that distance - or better work out a drive system where folks take turns driving the birds to a line of Guns
 
Roy,

Obviously, it depends on the size of the shot -- the bigger the pellets, the farther they go. I've been the architect for several gun clubs and my field tests have verified the published safety data. The 300-yard safety zone for target loads is conservative, #7-1/2 trap loads will typically land at about 200-yards and #9 skeet loads at about 185-yards. If you maintain 300-yards between shooters you'll be safe from other upland shooters. Of course, there's always some idiot who uses turkey loads for upland birds -- stay about 350-yards from these guys.

Problems arise when hunters overestimate the distances, and you're closer than you think you are. A light dusting of bird shot, from a adjacent shooting party, serves as a reminder that you're too close. Not long ago, I reported when three of my squad-mates, all experienced comp shooters, went over to the Colorado River for the opening of dove season. At practice the next weekend, I asked how their shooting had been. The first reply was, "We had a great time." Seconded by "Yeah, it was awesome!" That was immediately followed by: "Bull s**t, someone shot me!!!"

Always wear eye and ear protection when shooting!
 
Low Fliers !!

Good post and brings out a few points that some have never considered. Recently, there was a young man in Iowa who was duck hunting on the edge of a pool/pond. There was another hunter across the water and got hit by pellets when a "Low-Flier" passed by. We have seen the same thing happen in the dove fields. The last time I went out, there were about 75 hunters around the edge of the of one field. Some passed on the "Low-Fliers" and some did not. No one got shot this time but you could hear the pellets hitting the stalks.

One thing that we teach, is the effective range of your firearm. We teach it but sadly we don't go into much detail. This doesn't present much of a problems on upland bird hunting and we usually know where the other hunters might be and work the field accordingly. There aren't many hunters out at one time nor are there many birds.

We need to be aware of the low flying targets, the effective range of what we shoot and proximity of other hunters. Easier said then done !!! ... :rolleyes:

Be Safe !!!
 
My friend, who belongs to a dove hunting club, invited me to go with him as his guest. The club's primary safety rule was that hunters must see blue sky below the bird before shooting. Consequently, I passed up a number of shots that day hunting over sunflowers.
 
Having been on the receiving end of shot when a pheasant flushed between parties I would say if you can see the other party downrange then don't shoot. The other party laughed but my Dad was ready to skin them.

Even if it is far enough away to not pose a lethal danger it is a courtesy. If you are so hard up for a bird that you will forgo a common courtesy then hunt where there are fewer people and more birds. Seems like a terrible habit to get into shooting with people downrange no matter the trajectory and energy.
 
I see hunters in the field, I go over and run em off it is private land :) and I got rights exclusive on most places round here. :)
 
SAAMI has the information on the distance that various size shot can go. It's faurther than you think
 
Really? 800 yards, birdshot? I am not saying it's not true, but I'm surprised.

Having done that previously, and subsequently finding out that the pellets penetrated someone's denim pants (but not the skin), double that distance - or better work out a drive system where folks take turns driving the birds to a line of Guns
Click to expand...
 
I'm not saying it is LETHAL at that range- but it could, as the old BB gun warnings said -"put an eye out" Yet another reason to wear eye protection.

How many times do we see warnings on a box of .22 saying effective range is 1 mile?

It is real easy to accidentally launch a payload of #7-1/2 or 6's on the right angle that can maximize distances.......

Safety first - let the bird go if there's a chance of sending a payload towards others.....
 
Take your lessons from Dick Chaney. Don't shoot towards other hunters. Especially rich Texans who donate to your Campaign Funds.
 
If it's 3-400 yards I'm not too worried but I agree most people overestimate the distance. I think courtesy dictates not leveling down on a fellow hunter no matter the distance.

Having been shot at 80-100 yds with dove load on bare skin I question penetration at 800 yds. It stung but didn't penetrate the back of my arm.
 
Too Far

When I was a teenager, some friends and I headed to the edge of town to do some shotgun shooting. We found a drainage ditch and pond. Twehty minutes into shooting a Sheriff's car pulled up. We all unloaded our guns and walked up to the deputy. He asked what kind of guns we were shooting. We showed him our shotguns and ammo. We all had light field loads.

He pointed towards a home that was a good half mile away. They had reported us shooting and that our shot was raining down on their roof. He was upset, not at us, but on the person that made the call. He saw that there was no way our shot could be reaching that home. He said go back to shooting and be careful.

I am sure if we had .22's it would have been different.
 
Scubasimmons said:
I think courtesy dictates not leveling down on a fellow hunter no matter the distance.
Click to expand...
A wise practice.
The problem is, the folks whose hunting practices scare us aren't reading this or another similar forum.
 
I never, ever shoot at a low bird in a dove field, no matter if someone is directly in front of me or not. Distance doesn't matter. It's not worth putting someone's eyes out or getting buttstroked by me if it you shot in my direction.
 
I'm not saying it is LETHAL at that range- but it could, as the old BB gun warnings said -"put an eye out" Yet another reason to wear eye protection.

How many times do we see warnings on a box of .22 saying effective range is 1 mile?

It is real easy to accidentally launch a payload of #7-1/2 or 6's on the right angle that can maximize distances.......

Safety first - let the bird go if there's a chance of sending a payload towards others.....
Click to expand...

Was thinking more about what people were launching at me... ;)
 
Low Birds

Some folks say that one should not ever fire on low flying birds. I guess that is a good safety tip. But what about birds that only give you low targets, like quail. Sometimes they are too low and you worry about any dogs in the area.
 
Quail is a totally different than doves. You aren't in a field lined with people, you have yourself and maybe 2 others behind dogs. Yes, quail hunting is a low-bird game but your guys are right there beside you and you should always know where your dogs are. The dogs should be fairly close to you at all times if trained well, they aren't off running through the woods like deer dogs.
 
Having watched some bird dogs jump up after a flushing quail, it still pays to let the bird get up a little so you don't shoot the dog; otherwise, the post about having only a few hunters on either side is spot on
 
I've been peppered many times at dove shoots over the years. It kind of comes with the territory at certain fields, especially if they are long fields. I've never known anyone to have skin broken or even have any pain from it. It's not necessarily because someone shoots a low bird either, it's just how the land lays sometimes. Fortunately I've never hunted with someone stupid enough to shoot level to someone in line with them at close range.

I'm very skeptical about bird shot being a danger at more than 250 yards based on personal experience. I would almost bet anything that it's not possible for birdshot to travel 800 yards. It wouldn't bother me at all if someone 800 yards away were shooting directly at me with a shotgun. 800 yards is over half a mile.
 
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