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Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

So I got a .22 springer to give myself more killing power when shooting doves, but three out of the last four I have shot all got hit but flew away. At first I think I was having accuracy issues, but I sighted in and was hitting dead on the bullseye. I took aim on a bird on a wire at 25 yards yesterday, aimed right on its upper chest and I saw feathers come off but it flew away as though it just shook off the .22 cal shot. I'm thinking that these birds are just getting grazed, but I am getting so mad that I keep wounding them. It seems like no matter what I try that I screw something up. I know my scope sucks and the birds, even close up, appear very small in my reticle. The margin for error is minimal considering that their vital zones are so small. The ones that do die suffer catastrophic damage, but I guess I'll just have to focus on my accuracy.

AirGunEric · Site Admin

What sort of power is your gun putting out? It may be that by the time the pellets gets to the target, it has either weakened significantly in momentum, or it has started to arc due to the distance, putting you off target.

StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

Try setting up a regular Bean Can at 25 yards or whatever distance you usually shoot from and see if you can punch a pellet through the bottom of the Bean can, If it goes through you have more than enough to drop a Pigeon at the same distance easily, If it doesn't go through, try the corrugated side of the Bean can, if it goes through the corrugated side you have an adequate amount of power for the job.

Hope this helps.

Stevie Thumb Up!

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

I haven't sighted in at the angle and distance I shot the last one from, but I aimed high, so even if it dropped, it should've been a solid body shot. But it wasn't. I did sight in at the exact distance I shot the other one at, but that was only after the fact. It just seems that each new situation creates a new variable which causes the shot to be less than fatal.

The gun is very powerful. It will penetrate over a dozen layers of tape and cardboard and fabric and still punch a hole out the back side of the target at 10 yards. The one dove I did kill with it actually had a "spray pattern" on its wing where the exit wound caused an explosion of blood spattering.

Again, I think it is just a matter of knowing my range and angles a getting off a steady shot in the vital target zone. Still, it's frustrating.

DAMAGE · Member

What type of pellet are you using to shoot them as this can make a lot of difference ??? And what is the rifle you are using ???

The outdoorsman · Veteran Member

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

I'm using a Hammerli Storm .22 cal with super points. I don't like aiming for the head usually. It's far too small and surprisingly, the birds don't always die right away unless hit directly in the brain. The center of mass is usually the best place to aim in my experience. But you always want to avoid low hits as they will fly away even if their legs are damaged or they're hit in the bowels.

leadman · Veteran Member

im sorry if you hit any bird crow or smaller with 9 fpe within 20 yards and you will snap its neck, remember birds have hollow bones which are easily broken

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

leadman · Veteran Member

my appologies, that was in responce to your post claiming that birds dont always die right away unless hit in the brain.

The outdoorsman · Veteran Member

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Maybe Roger needs a Drozd so he can machine-gun them down! Wink

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

I think if I used the drozd I'd have even more problems. Well, today was better. I dusted a small dove on my first shot and it was an instant kill. The bird flipped on its back and never moved again. I then shot another small bird with my Gamo .177 and it was a head shot. I had to shake the bird out of the tree branches in order to see where I hit it, but it shot directly through its head leaving little of its head behind. I think if I keep sighting in my guns periodically then I'll be more accurate with those cold bore shots.

The outdoorsman · Veteran Member

thats a way to be !! it do nothing but make you a better hunter

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

AAAAHHHH!!!! I'm getting so frustrated. I've had some relative success lately, but still having a lot of clean misses.

Today, I see a bird on a wire. I fire-miss. But it stays, albeit alert. I fire again. Miss again. I then fire high. Miss. I then fire low. Miss. I then shoot again aiming dead on it. Miss. Unwilling to accept defeat, I reload yet again only this time really focus in. Finally a good hit. The bird falls straight down.

Now admittidly, the sun was shining right into my eyes which did add to the difficulty and broke my concentration a tad. But the worst part is that when I went out to collect the kill--it was gone. I thought it might have gone over the neighbors privacy fence, but I stuck my head over and I couldn't see it (although it could've been there...and must have been somewhere.)

Either way, it was bad shooting which led to an unconfirmed kill. Unfortunately, I don't really have a way to sight in at a 45 degree angle at 25 yards. So it's hard to say what I should do. I should probably stop shooting the ones on the wire, but my blood thirst compels me to do it.