Pigeon control

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Blakenzy

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I have to take care of a troublesome colony of pigeons and would like to know just what shotgun load in 12ga is the minimum needed to take out pigeons effectively(I want a Dead-Right-There effect). I will be using an 18 inch cylinder bore barrel. Distance will be no more than 25-30yards.

I also have a .22LR but have been put off by the idea because I can't take shots once they fly and apparently it does not guarantee an immediate kill. The only times the pigeons go down immediately with one shot is when I hit them right in the middle of the chest when they are facing me. A side hit or back hit more often than not makes the bird fly away only to bleedout in some hidden place, most likely on my roof. The last one I shot just would not die. I am not kidding it took four hits at close range to put it out its misery as it flopped around the ground. And they were well placed shots mind you. I do not want to go through that again.

I am also open to pigeon eradication methods not involving firearms if you have any ideas. BTW it turns out pigeons are very smart and learn fast.
 
In the sport of pigeon shooting (the kind of event where you have to know the right people to get an invitation, as it is as much about the betting as the shooting), a 1.25oz load of #6s (preferably plated) through a full choke is the standard. I'd imagine that your goal is similar to theirs, namely dropping a pigeon within a 15 yard circle (IIRC). Of course, a cylinder choke isn't optimal, but you could probably get away with it. Pattern the gun beforehand, you need a nice even pattern to get consistant kills.
 
pigeons

I shoot quite a lot of pigeons and just about any 6 or 7 shot 28-32 gram cartridge will be fine.

uk
 
I use a 28 or a 20; #6 or #7 1/2 shot seems to work well. An accurate, reasonably quiet air rifle works well, too. If one shoots (an air rifle) from inside of a structure, many times the remaining targets don't fly . . . structure suppresses the report.
 
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Try different loads. A long time ago I had a 18" cylinder bore that would shoot a tight modified pattern with Federal lead duck loads. We tried small shot trap loads and you could see the feathers fly but it wouldn't kill them. I use #6 reloads. On the pellet guns in 177 you need around 600fps. I thought a 22 would of done a lot better did you try hollow points. The 44 mag rat shot worked OK if you aimed for the head. They are smart when they see my pick up coming down the road they're outta there. I've got a couple of places I need to trap them.By the way pigeons are vectors for dieases. So handle with gloves, good mask and in any place they've been. I've been told to spray bleach on infected areas and to burn carcasses. Poison is a BAD idea and any that is effective is probably illegal. The owl decoy don't work and they get used to propane cannon noise makers.
I used the 410 once it was either a miss or a dead pigeon mostly miss.
 
You must have tough pigeons. Many years ago, I used to take them out with my pellet rifle. when my father found out what I was doing he made me pick up every one of them and we ate them. Actually very good. Since things were tough at the time, we ate a lot of them. Really a lot.:barf:
 
7 1/2 or # 8 shot at the ranges you've mentioned.

Pigeon shooting is a great way to hone your wingshooting skills.

Have fun!

12-34hom.
 
Pigeons with Benjamins

We used to severely suppress pigeons in town when we found where they roosted at night in an old building. 177 single shot pump Benjamin and a flashlight. Traded off the gun with a buddy and did the reloads and pumping in the dark. They wouldn't leave the roost as long as we kept the lighting short. Really stacked them up.

We would have eradicated them from the face of planet earth at the rate we were going but some neighbor guys found out about it and started catching them by hand instead. Shamed us out of it.

It actually worked better if the same guy shot and held the flashlight.
 
Years ago a friend brought over a co2 177 800 something fps repeater... no clue what model or brand it was(ive never been a fan of pellet rifles) we shot quite a few pigeons with it. I have to admit the accuracy of the rifle surprised me. :p
 
Yeah, I thought the .22 would be alot more effective than I found it to be. Really don't know why. Maybe I was actually getting marginal hits that barely graze the bird. It turns out that pigeons (and most birds for that matter) are very skinny under their feathers. I think that once you remove all feathers the volume of the bird is reduced by at least 30%, maybe more. So shots that lift up feathers might not hit anything vital in the end. That last pigeon that took four solid hits was most likely a freakish occurence. Still it put me off. Most that don't drop immediately usually fly for a short distance barely above ground level and then drop, but I really want to drop them on the spot.

I am definitely going to try out with the shotgun. I am hoping that it will be as fun as I think it will :) I have noted that pigeons don't fly in straight lines, they actually can and do make sharp turns in flight. This is going to be a neat challenge.

I never thought of taking them at night. I think I'll give it a try with my .22LR loaded with HP's. I really need to get a supressor for my .22, since it already has a threaded barrel. I might try .22short in my rifle as well to minimize the report and try to make head shots.
 
Yeah, I thought the .22 would be alot more effective than I found it to be.
Click to expand...

Me, too. But, I've "center-punched" (With HV hollowpoints) a few that flew for some time....Others were DRT.

As afar as shotshells, In my 20" cylinder Mossberg 7's or 8's pattern pretty well out to 20 yards(good coverage, no "holes" in pattern---never tried 'em out farther. Can usually get the pidgeons leaving the barn at about 40 ft.
 
We used to use #4 or #5 shot, putting fewer pellets in the bird but killing them just as dead. The breast meat of these birds is real good eating!
 
You probably want a tighter choke and number sixes or so. There is no way to completely avoid flyaways. You also want something like a pump or semi that will allow you follow up shots on the flyaways. As far as a rifle goes, I would try a .17hmr. It will blow a hole in the bird about an inch wide and is very accurate. If you are accurate with one, you can hit a pigeon consistently out to 100 yards with one. I have a savage bolt action in .17hmr with the new accutrigger. Very nice.
 
A farmer friend had a problem with them roosting

He had about 75 of them and they were all roosting in his large tall machine storage building. He had worked on them with a little pellet rifle but with very limited success. The bird crap was about 6" deep on the combines and floor!
Before we went out to shoot, he asked me how many I thought we would get...I said "all of them"! He laughed...But, only one left the building alive that night!
I started with a little 600 fps .177 rifle with a laser mounted on it but, the pellets nearly bounced off them. I switched to my RWS 1100 fps with scope and steady pole. Had the friend holding a bright spot light and we cleaned them up! We did another shoot the next year but there were only about 25 that time. He hasn't called me back since! It sure was fun and he would laugh out loud every time one hit the ground!
 
Since you've got cylinder bore, I'd probably use 7 1/2 AA high speed trap loads. Larger size shot may not fill the pattern well. More pellets mean a better chance of multiple hits in vital areas.

I killed hundreds of pigeon in my youth with pellet rifles or .22's with rat shot.
 
O.K., progress report:

I went with the no.7 shot with the 18inch cylinder bore, couldn't get another shotgun.Turns out that it really works well. I completely missed my first few shots but once you get the hang of "leading" your shots and put hits on target they go down as if lightning struck the life out of the birds. They just drop almost straight down. I am very pleased with the results.

Pigeons are a great challenge specially when you have a narrow "window" or kill zone to shoot in, due to surrounding structures which you do not wish to perforate.

So far 10 confirmed kills :) yesterday. I may have wounded a few that I shot at that were too far away. The only problem I have is that they all fly away after the first shot and usually stay away for a couple of hours. Some times they take off, turn around and then swoosh past you a second time(presumably to drop turds on you :uhoh: ) on average I take 2-3 per flight of...say 40 or so. I think that I'll be able to wrap this up within one or maybe two weeks if I have enough spare time, and if I keep getting better.

BTW the coolest thing in the world is leading a flying target and dropping it with a single shot. That's something you can't get with any other firearm. Now I understand why some people love shotguns.
 
I have been successfull in hunting down flying rat pigeons with a full auto airsoft ar15. Plastic BBs are crazy when they are coming out in full auto fashion. I just lead the SOBs when they take off and use the Airsoft like an anti aircraft gun.
 
My father told me a story about his younger days and pigeons….

He worked in a grain mill, where the silos where next to each other with a long pointed tin roof on top. The pigeons would hang out on the peak of the tin roof and do their business. So one day my father brought his 30-06 to the grain mill and pointed it out the window of the tallest silo, perfectly parallel to the peak of the tin roof. He said it took two shots to clear the roof, the first cleared most and those that it did not hit flew up and rested on the peak a moment later.

What a mess…..

Be safe, BSR
 
When I was in my youth, my grandparents called and said they had a big flock of pigeons that would roost in their grain shed. My brother and I took our .22 Benjamin pump up pellet gun. Close the doors and trapped the birds inside.

13 birds with 13 head shots. My grandma cleaned them and ate 'em. Squab used to be considered a real treat.
 
.17hmr is a .22 mag necked down to .17 calibre.
.17 mach 2 is a .22 LR necked down to .17
I've heard that a .17mach 2 is almost as good as a .17hmr, but I've never shot one. A box of 50 .17 hmr rounds costs about $10.
 
Trap loads of 7 1/2 shot will take out any pigeons that are well hit. Consider it training with a protein bonus.
 
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