What accuracy do I need for crows?

Well I already have a Tikka T3 lite 223 1/8 twist that shoots MOA. It works well on the crows now. I just want to know if an SL8 (a semi auto HK rifle) in 223 that shoots 1.25 MOA would be able to do the job. I have been hunting crows in this spot for 20 years and they still come back because it is where the rangers drop off all the dead road kill. I have lined up 2 many times and that is always fun but I have on one occasion reloaded fast enough to get a second shot and successfully killed a second crow. I want a semi for a variety of reasons and not just a second follow up shot on crows. I am just wanting to know if the rifle I am looking at with it's 1.25 MOA would be good enough. Don't get hung up on the whole semi thing or trying to teach me how to hunt crows as I already do that well. I just want to know if I can move on to another type of action with slightly less accuracy. Some of you state that I should be looking for 1/2 MOA. Perhaps that is what I should really do. I would retire the T3 Lite and move to a varmint barrel and away form the semi all together if I had to. I find that MOA from my T3 Lite does fine now though.

Moe
 
beretta boy said:
I too have shot a pile of crows ... with 222RM, 223, 257, 25-06 and 270. 1/2 MOA or better will get you good results ... 1 MOA in the wind @ 200 can be a miss.

Multiple shots ? ... multiple crows ? ... much more fun with an electronic caller, decoys & a shotgun !!!
Click to expand...

That's what I'm saying. A precision rifle is fun for the first shot and then you are doing an awful lot of waiting.
With my grackles and starlings they got so smart that if they saw my car in the driveway the wouldn't come near the place....but when I pulled in the driveway from being gone all day the whole back yard just erupted in a cloud of black birds. Changing your tactics is a MUST if continued hunting is your goal.
In England crows are known as rooks. There are such things as rook guns and of all the different calibers and manufactures there is one thing they all have in common. They are all single shot rifles.
 
I'm not sure if the crows here act differently than what everyone is saying, but when I drop a crow, i have many follow up shots. They tend to have a "funeral" for their recently departed and that's when it gets fun. They all come back and land, and do the same thing for each subsequent kill. A semi-auto would be perfect in that case, a lot quicker than my single shot bolt.
 
Hey Moe~I shot a Robinson Arms XCR-L all last summer (groundhogs) and if that experience taught me anything, it's that I prefer my bolt gun. I know you're not fishing for an opinion on the pros/cons of semis, but even once I got the reloads sorted-out, it was still a big, heavy rifle with a heavy trigger. Only ever had 1 chance at a double, but missed the 2 shots I got off on the groundhog as it ran to the safety of it's hole and they're not nearly as fast or as smart as a crow. I haven't shot that many crows, but I suspect that once shot #1 goes-off, it sounds as though you're hoping to wing-shoot a second one at 200 yards? I can't help but think that's maybe an iffy idea at best, unless these crows don't mind sitting there after one of their brethren gets rearranged. Do they?

I think wanting to throw some variety into the mix is cool for it's own sake, but I think I'd be flirting with a new caliber, better optics, maybe better camo and inject a different kind of challenge into this. If you're set on that rifle, reloads and/or practice to get the thing shooting MOA or better. If it's a fixed distance (you to the target) you have it made. If you have that reliable a supply of crows, you won't mind missing the odd one. Personally, I don't have enough varmints to shoot at here, so I favor the most reliable way to get a bullet on target. =bolt gun.
 
I know what you don't need! Back in the day when I only had my pre '64 94 30-30, I got what I thought was gonna be the cat's ass. You guess it, the "accelerator" ammo! Didn't work worth a chite! It just reminded me of that when you mentioned crow, I remember shooting at crow with that set up many moons ago.
 
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