Doves & feral pigeons in barns.

Eyefor

Well-Known Member
In need of some advice please.

I need to clear quite a few barns - some of which have fairly thin sheeting and some have solar panels on top!

Any ideas what I can use that will kill these flying rats cleanly without busting a hole in the roof?

Thanks in advance.
 
An air rifle whilst making sure there is a beam behind the target, or get someone to flush the birds from the building to a waitimg shotgun.
 
Had a similar problem a while back. We partially closed the three barn doors then my mate would go into the barn and fire a dummy launcher, this had the ferals take flight out of the barn door. Once the ferals were clear of the barn I would shoot a couple with a shotgun. We took it in turns on each of the barns and over a couple of weeks the ferals numbers were reduced.
Hope this helps.
ATB 243 Stalker.
 
As a boy we used airguns to fairly good effect, it used to be legal to lamp feral pigeons (u better check GL if it still is) which works really well. Must admit when we were boys i don't think we were that fussy picking shots and never broke the roofing sheets (but we might just of been lucky) i'd just be very careful and pick ur shots.

Dunno if a mist net would be legal? Check the GL again, set it over the doors and scare birds out into it, should get bigger catches than wot u'd shoot with a shotgun.

I know our local council used to have secertet 'doo huts' scattered about the area on top of council buildings. Feed the birds inside it with open doors etc then put popholes/1 way flaps on and then eventually close the door. If ur barns aren't close together u could mount it on a trailer or make it fit inside a trailer and bolt wheels on it (i've done that with my crow cage trap so can roll it up on to my trailer myself without dismantling it)
 
Had a similar problem a while back. We partially closed the three barn doors then my mate would go into the barn and fire a dummy launcher, this had the ferals take flight out of the barn door. Once the ferals were clear of the barn I would shoot a couple with a shotgun. We took it in turns on each of the barns and over a couple of weeks the ferals numbers were reduced.
Hope this helps.
ATB 243 Stalker.

i started my shooting with a Logun S-16 shooting Ferals in barns and partially due to the barns being derelict the
pellets would go threogh the correlated iron if I missed a bird. Your method does sound like a lot of fun for a few mates
 
If you aren't bent on killing them... Just Close up the buildings and start a couple tractorsor (??) up and let them run....fumes will usually take care of the Problem for a Little while... then shoot them outside when they think about coming back....
 
9mm garden gun! Thats what I use! Works a treat, pellets bounce off everything other than the animal your shooting at! Works grate on plastic chicken feeders for rats, 9mm garden gun small marks on feeder 1 dead rat, .410 dead feeder and rat!
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I will sit and watch them for a while and see if I can use the air rifle with a safe back drop. A 9mm garden gun will need a new slot on my FAC which is a pain but I've not tried the .22LR shotshells (I just gave some away thinking I would never use them :doh: ) so I might give them a try (moderator must be off the rifle I was told?).
 
9mm garden gun can go on your SGC as long as the barrels are long enough. I have on mine, use it for exactly your problem
 
Sub 12ft/lb air rifles were made for this job. Nothing is better.
Totally agree BSA R10 Mk2 .177 Now, Used to use FX Verminator .22 which can be adjusted to three different power levels, each shot taken at anything between 25 and 35 yards brilliant fun over the past 5 odd years with my boy learning his safe handling and back stops etc etc. Always took heart shots inside to make sure of clean kills and because of distance the pellet mostly stays rattling about inside chest, As a few old roofs are/maybe still contain asbestos so better not to take any chances......
 
Shoot them on the lamp with an air rifle. I have done over 100 a night with this method.

Flush to a shotgun, you might get 2, then wait and wait etc .

Get in at night and decimate them.
 
Block all escape routes with old feed bags and play Rap music at full volume. That will sort 'em....
PS. Do NOT play Chas n Dave as this will cause other farm animals to commit Hari-Kari.
 
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Air rifle is the bizz a couple of hours work for these two lots

Pity you aren't closer, would have popped round and given you a hand.
Good luck

Ed
 

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I stopped an watched a chap shooting doves and ferals outside a barn a year or two back. I'm not sure exacly how he'd got them out of the barn in the first instance but he was outside with a shotgun. The bird's urge to get back to the barn must have been incredibly strong because as they returned to the barn he'd give them both barrels, a bird or two would drop, and the others flew off in a flock only to return in a very short period of time. He'sd shoot again and the process would repeat itself again an again. I can't say that it would happen in your instance as I've never witnessed it befor, but whatever the draw was, the birds just kept coming back again and again.
 
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