Feral Pigeon hunting

[Csk21]

I will b more specific from now on. I've never shot one with a bb but I'm sure it would kill one if a close enough range was possible. I used to climb under the steel gurters of the bridges so I could get closer to them and my old man would pick them up when they fell. Cause there not very smart lolSent from my LGL75C using Tapatalk 2

We shot them in the hay mow with BB guns for obvious reasons lol. They are like anything else some die easy some die hard

[greybeard]

I agree about the real thing. I have propped up crows and starlings when hunting them. I never just left them where they dropped, I'd try to make them look like they were standing, but maybe I didn't need to do that. It's just what I did, and do.

I tend to over think things, as I'm sure you can see from this.

[Csk21]

Yeah the first couple times we tried posing them then one time we had them circling back and landing so quickly we kind of realised it didn't matter...like breeth said they're not that smart lol

[shawnhu]

B., any legal air gun hunting implement will be enough to take out a rock dove in the boiler.

I prefer something in the 800-900 FPS range out of a .177

I also wouldn't hesitate using my .25 on them out to 60-75 yards.

Shot placement is key, as their heads and lungs are very small.

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[greybeard]

Shawn what pellets do you use in the .177 for pigeons ? The destroyers worked for me on starlings. Are pointed better on pigeons for penetration since they are thicker.

[shawnhu]

Shawn what pellets do you use in the .177 for pigeons ? The destroyers worked for me on starlings. Are pointed better on pigeons for penetration since they are thicker.

B., I use domes pellets due to their accuracy. Out of a .177, I wouldn't worry about over-penetration for pigeon, so a pointed is ok too. If close enough range, a destroyer-type works just as well.

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[greybeard]

Shawn..I have all three types, in .22 as well as .177  Hopefully I will get to try them on pigeons.. I've been successfully using  hollow points (RWS)   on squirrel head shots, but I don't think that they'd deform, or flatten in a bird.I also like the destroyers(.22) for squirrel, and now I would use them on pigeons.

 

thanks for that info

[Pygmy]

I shot lots of them in my barn over a 40 year period. I never had any hi-tech BB or pellet gun.

A Daisy spring powered would work if you hit them it the head, but it would bounce right off on a body shot.. A cheap, pump up type Daisy worked better, although sometimes it would take a couple of hits on body shots.

[thphm]

.25 seems a little to much for a pigeon they cant be that tough, I just dropped a red fox at 40 yds. with my .25 and a 26 Gr. Polymag.They are one of the reasons we have no rabbits by me.

[shawnhu]

.25 seems a little to much for a pigeon they cant be that tough, I just dropped a red fox at 40 yds. with my .25 and a 26 Gr. Polymag.They are one of the reasons we have no rabbits by me.

The .22 is the the most effective air gun caliber for small game up to raccoon. A quality .177 break barrel or any low end PCP in .177 will surely be capable of taking pigeon out to 80 yards. Your average pump and mid-low range break barrel in .177 is realistically a 40 yard gun. Good luck getting within 40 of a pigeon outside of city environments.

The Polymag is one of the best hunting pellets out there, if your air gun likes them and can push high velocities with them. Certainly one in .25 can take all small game species in NY. They are known to prevent over-penetration on game as small as squirrels out of a .25 pushing 40 FPE.

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[greybeard]

Pygmy. my hunting  pellet guns are REALLY low tech.. break, load, close, aim,  shoot.  They are pretty powerful, for an airgun that is, . I'm predominantly  a squirrel hunter, and I need some  power because,   I want instant kiils like we all do.

. I have 2 pump up Crosman pellet guns, but they are not  quite as powerful, and it's nice not to have to pump all the time...

 

It must be tough to hit pigeons  consistently in the head,  it looks like their heads are bobbing all the time.

 

lurking.. I'm not looking to get into air gunning for larger game than squirrels, but I am curious. Do you need to go for brain shots with the .25 for fox, or can you get good results with chest shots.

[shawnhu]

B., I can't speak on lurking's behalf, but for coon and fox sized game, a Polymag out if a 40 FPE .25 cal air gun can effectively be shot in the heart/lungs for a high chance of recovery.

For coyote sized game, I wouldn't take a body shot if tracking is questionable(no snow or heavy brush). A body shot from a Polymag in .25 on a coyote surely won't end well for the critter, but there's no "shock" to drop the yote in its tracks like a powder burner can. In that case, I'd opt for a penetrating round, such as the Benjamin Domes or JSB Kings. H&N also makes a few quality pointed pellets as well. The target would be the head.

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[greybeard]

Shawn, thanks..I was just wondering about it . That .25 that you guys use sounds really good, for the larger game.

[thphm]

When I bought my .25 which is a break open type,I was going to get a .22. But the sales person recommended the .25 for the purpose I wanted it for.And I am glad I took his advice, very happy with it.

I also have a pump type .177.

[greybeard]

lurking..I didn't really research the .25 when I bought my last airgun. I only wanted it for squirrels so the .22 was good for me.I had been shooting them with my .177, 800 fps gun.  If I thought about larger game, like coons, or fox, I would have checked into that too, and would have also gone with the .25

[mike rossi]

A guy that I used to hunt with at his place upstate,  told me that he and a relative did some pigeon hunting .. They'd get permission from farmers and put out decoys in a field and did really well. He told me that you can burn up a whole lot of shotgun shells, and get a lot of birds. He said that pigeons up there, as opposed to city pigeons, were good to eat. I think that he said dark meat. I remember a poultry store on LI used to sell pigeons to eat.. They called them squab, but sure looked like pigeons to me.

My fiend drove me around and showed me some farms and how many pigeons were around, there were loads of them. I never got to do it with him because our lives changed.

 

I forgot about it, but today I was looking for crows and in some areas and  saw a number of pigeons, and made me think of it.

 

I don't know how you can tell feral from domestic pigeons, like the one that race, but I guess if they're hangin' around farms they are wild

 

We may never get a dove season, but I guess it could be like dove hunting .

 

Does anyone pigeon hunt ?

 

You are opening up a big box with this.

 

1) Mourning Doves are closely related to what you are calling pigeons, and often can be hunted in the same locations, but they have as many  behavior differences as they do similarities, therefore hunting for them is frequently different. A few examples of differences are their migratory behaviors; roosting sites; how they react to weather, hunting pressure...There is a lot more to it than the commonality among both species to exploit waste grain as a food source....

 

2) I don't see where in the law is a need to distinguish between a rock dove and a feral domestic pigeon to comply with NY Environmental Conservation Law - neither are protected. The identifying mark of a rock dove is considered to be two black bars on its wings, but they are actually the same species. The ancestry of the domestic pigeon is traceable to the rock dove and they are considered to be  the same species from a biological perspective. Rock Doves are not native to North America either.The issue is complying with Agriculture and Markets Law which requires identifying non-feral domestic birds by leg bands, which is almost impossible to do. As a side note, just because a bird is banded does not necessarily mean it has not gone feral, but I wouldn't try that with some LEO or some judge.

Edited December 23, 2013 by mike rossi

[greybeard]

Mike Rossi.. I am always astounded by your knowledge of migratory birds, etc... Are you a wildlife biologist ?

 

[BizCT]

I don't want no pigeons

Them be the girls who get no dubs from me
Playing the bar dumb broke with her best friend's coat
Trying to holler at me
 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yARQWwRQrRo

Edited December 23, 2013 by Biz-R-OWorld

[greybeard]

Biz... I thought ya lost it there for a minute, sure am glad you put the youtube reference.

        Damn, I really am behind the times

 

Wish I could dance, catchy beat..

[josephmrtn]

We have loads of em on the farm... I hunt em but have not ever eaten any

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[Ford]

I would eat a dove before a pigeon.
 
I know its all in my head, but...

josephmrtn, shoot one and try it, heck you got em right there. Tomorrow?

[Ford]

Christmas diner...

[farmhunter]

we used to climb the inside of the silo at night with a BB gun and a light when I was a boy.  Could head shoot 3 or 4 on the top ledge before they realized they needed to get out of there.  Some years they would roost in the Hay Barn too they were easy pickings there.  We we would eat a few they were OK - but not as good as grouse or mourning dove.  If we had time between chores - we would spook them off the top of the silo on weekends - and pass shoot them coming back.  Got a good many back in the day - but we were not allowed to shoot any mostly white ones - that was the only rule,

[Elmo]

I've even had the New York City kind.  They're okay.  Too much work for too little meat that's only so so.  If you have a barn full of them you get put together a nice meal for sure.  They're red meat.  Taste sort of like Canada goose.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/27/eating-pigeons-in-nyc-jackson-landers-hunting-invasive-species_n_1920973.html

[shawnhu]

Some of the responses from this thread makes me wonder why it's ok to shoot and not utilize pigeons but not ok to do the same for other nuisance animals.

I'd gladly eat pigeon, they're excellent roasted.

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