pellet or BB for in barn pigeon/rat shooting.

DVXDUDE

DVXDUDE

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Got permission from a high end horse farm for turkeys and coyotes. Part of the deal for permission is I have to shoot pigeons out of their new barns because they are crapping on everything making a mess. The odd rat might make an appearance as well.


Biggest thing is I CANNOT put any holes in anything, Brand new steel roof. I have my old pellet gun that is duct taped to hold it together and only a front site that is JB welded on might not be the most accurate for birds up on barn beams.


Would a 495 FPS pellet gun go threw a new steel roof? Even with flat tip pellets? Or should I just buy a BB gun and try that.


Don't want to use the shotgun outside of the barn either, Some big money hay burners live in these barns for the most part :D
 
I would be very careful with either. 500 fps pellets can go trough sheet metal just depends on thickness and bb might have just as much penetration on hard targets like such. I would recommend a test on a cut off if possible (duh...) but I would give rim fire shotshells a try. CCI makes it in both LR and WMR. I dont know what the specs are on LR, but WMR clocks in at about 1000fps so, greatly reduced power probably to give more space for more shot ( witch is the size of bigger sand grains: low penetration).
 
Following this with interest; I am looking for a solution to pigeon control as well. Part of my barn roof is sheathed with tin on top, the other is just tin. The pellet gun will penetrate a tin roof, in my experience. I had some 12 gauge shells loaded with rolled barley, but all I got was a few tail feathers, the birds stayed in the barn.
 
Don't like to give up my secret, but if you have a .22 cal lr pull the bullet heads (throw heads into the lead pot) and replace with paraffin wax. Just push it in solid and flush with the top of the case. Good accuracy 7-8 yds more than enough for pigeons/rats and will not damage tin roof.
 
We got rid of a barn full of pigeons. Owner would open one large door and chased as many out he could. Two of us were waiting at the door with a 12 gauge. This took a while as they came out in bunches. We still shoot them with pellet guns that are pal rated. Barn has steel roof but there are some spots with a beam/board back stop. After a few shots with a pellet gun they catch on to your game and go to neighbors barn, but they will be back before dark. Getting permission at a horse farm is a hard thing to do. Pigeons are good feed for fox and yote pups at the den. Catch them alive at night time and sell them for $3 for bird dog training. This can be a full time job.
 
.22 shotshells work for rats but not that well past about 5 foot or so from a rifled barrel. I like to load a .410 shell with 5/16oz of #12 shot its a very light load and dost not do any damage to the steel roof this is the load I use inside barns with my 12" barreled .410(boito hiker). I shoot plenty of pest birds and other citters last rat I shot with a sub 500fps pellet gun had its leg in a trap took 3 pellets to the head and on the last one he bled out GTA style I find sub 500 fps pellet guns work on small pest birds and the odd squirrel(with a dog or a rabbit stock to finish it) but id not use it on anything bigger then a sparrow
 
Well, a subject near and dear to my heart.. :) Shooting pigeons in the barns of a couple of friends is how I kept my sanity during this harsh, miserable winter here. I've also done it in the spring, but that's a few years ago. I've never used an air rifle on pigeons, but that's simply because the one I have is CO2 powered...and power/consistency drops-off with CO2 somewhere around the 17C range. (any colder, don't bother) Went like this..

1. High up in rafters right against the tin roof, nothing but hay in the barn (=noise not an issue)~17 HMR, 17gr. V-Max. Literally hollowed them out, but never seemed to go through them. Dead instantly, their wings never even opened. At every possible opportunity, we'd try to position ourselves so that there WAS a beam..or something solid behind them just in case, but I honestly don't remember missing one. We zeroed our scopes for the range we'd be shooting, and they were relatively close shots anyways. Eye and ear protection.

2. .22s shooting CB longs or CCI "Quiet-22", in rafters...but in the ground level of the barn. Low ceiling, sheep in pens a few feet beneath. Eye and ear protection. Cant comment on whether or not they'd penetrate a tin roof, but I kind of doubt it. The report/noise level didn't alarm even the baby sheep, and we positioned ourselves so that we'd be shooting at them from an angle...in the event we miss and hit those beams with a slow-moving bullet. CCI claims they move @ 710 fps, but I've heard that it's actually below 700 fps.

Anyhow, back to your question~CCI Quiet-22 round won't even guarantee you a bang/flop unless you get a head shot, but with the distance you're shooting...how skittish they are...the down-side of a miss~it's better to go for body shots anyway. A solid hit does seal it's fate...don't get me wrong...but don't expect it to always see them drop right away either. I did find some CCI-Quiet 22 SEGMENTED that I think will be a bit more effective, but I wouldn't feel under-gunned using the solids either. I also zeroed the scope on my 17M2 at a closer distance for this purpose too, and I suspect it will be a stellar pigeon-popper as well.

Cheers!

PS~in box has room for PMs. :)
 
How we did it overseas was soak corn (dried corn) in rye, when the pigeons ate it they got too drunk to fly. We were looking for food, so we didn't want to blow them to bits and a bonus was the birds were marinated from the inside out. One quick ring of the neck and the bird was ready for roasting. I cannot think of an easier way and more humane way to hunt pigeons.

How we did it in Alberta, around high end horses, was use a long poled fish net, and caught them like butterflies, one quick swat on the ground, and the pigeon was dead. three evenings and the barn was cleaned out, other pigeons got the word….

How I like to do it, is go to canadian tire or a hobby shop and buy a long thin wood dowel, and cut it into 5mm segments, soak them in olive oil to give them weight and a better seal and shoot them out of my salvia 630. Never ever ever dented a barn roof yet. works like a charm, fun as I'll get out. Environmentally friendly in every way.

The 17hmr sounds like a hoot, but don't miss as that little pill will fly through a roof in a hurry. At close range, I know from shooting little pop cans it only penetrates one side of the can and doesn't come out the back. It dumps ALL its energy into the can, likely same with pigeons, I just wouldn't want to miss in a high end barn.

I would start with corn in rye, and wooden pellets soaked in olive oil.
 
I've cleared a barn with a paintball gun before. But that might require more cleanup than you want, especially considering the lack of accuracy most paintball guns have.
 
blasted_saber said:
22 shotshells are absolute garbage. I shot a piece of carboard at less then ten feet and it failed to penetrate the cardboard.
Click to expand...

not really made for long range inside 5ft the work on rats and mice but what's really needed is a smoothbore for them I also have never used the CCI stuff as its high price for the amount you get I can get a box of 50 Winchester shotshells for the same price( or less). they are also good to get really young shooters into shooting set up some balloons at close range
 
Used to clear sparrows out of the hanger with a variety of pellet guns some would almost penetrate a penny, 22 shot was useless due to distance. one thing I noticed is angle... I could pick off horse flies on a window with out breaking it at a sharp angle, and this was with a gun that I could pick of a sparrow at 700feet ish with a little hold over.
 
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