# House sparrow double kill (blowgun)



## josephlys

Sparrow #1Today I woke up to the chirping of HOSP, so I got ready, slowly drew back the curtains. I saw 1 sparrow hopping around taunting me, he stopped and looked directly at my barrel. Whats that, he thought for a brief moment. Well before he could figure out what that thing was, 'Thwack'. A naildart punched right into his eye socket. He fell to the ground without a flinch.
Sparrow #2I loaded another dart & waited, 5 min later another sparrow flew in. He was busily scanning the perimeter for danger when all of a sudden he felt a sharp pain in his side followed immediately by a numbing sensation. Before he knew it, he had fallen to the ground and couldn't move very well because of his wounds. He frantically scanned his surrounding trying to figure out what had happened. He was going fast, his vision was failing him, he gaped his last few breaths and it was all over. I decided I had enough for 1 day, so I retired back into my room and started typing on my computer.


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## kobe23

Jo, shoot something edible, it feels like a waste shooting sparrows.. However you look super accurate with blowguns! Possibility to kill like catfish on the surface?


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## mckee

good shooting !


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## josephlys

They are edible but too much work. I remove them as pest, and just not to waste the meat I feed them to my neighbors pet cat. I can't understand why a well fed cat would like to eat dead birds.








Thinking of trapping as well. Anyway their population is way up here, so I remove them and this gives other birds a fighting chance. I live in the suburbs, 10 years ago I used to see many song birds and other beautiful birds like orioles, wood peckers, bul buls, blue king fishers, and bird of paradise . Now all I see is sparrows here and sparrows there, they are fast becoming the only birds you'll ever see just like in towns all you have is sparrows and pigeons. 
I'm happy to say lots of people here plant lots of trees, unknowingly helping these beautiful birds. I'm seeing a slight comeback but I don't know if they last. I've seen lot of articles stating that house sparrows are notoriously competitive birds, they take over bird feeders and they are everywhere. The only problem I have is I don't think I'm killing them fast enough.

Advice, comments and opinions are appreciated. I don't want to upset anyone but I sincerely think sparrow population should but kept in check. Authorities here regularly shoot and trap crows, people often poison feral pigeons, but no one wants to harm sparrows why? because of their appearance. Well I say don't judge a book by its cover. 
Sorry if I was ranting


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## kobe23

Well, I think it's just that sparrows, crows, pigeons alike are some species that could survive in harsh-er conditions compared to all the other birds we love. E.g. in London, you see pigeons everywhere, surviving by eating god-knows-what. I still believe it's the result of human activities these birds went away... I love the greens, might go back next summer for some fresh air =D


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## e~shot

Good shooting again.


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## Nest Buster

Sweet I like the sniper shot!


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## josephlys

Yeah human development really destroys nature, oh well my next target is rats and pigeons down town.


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## kyrokon

Good shooting, really like the write up.

mt


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## Jillifitz

I could never bring myself to hurt a sparrow. My Grandfather was a Bible-Thumpin' preacher. The passage about God noticing if a tiny sparrow falls.... I don't want God smaking me in the back of the head for killing one. LOL


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## josephlys

Yeah my mom used to use that against me, but I'm sure God also notices every pigeon, squirrel, rat, or bunny that falls too. But if its for food, pest control or pet food I don't think He'll mind. I think if God didn't want us to shoot sparrows He'd have written the 11 commandments. I read the bible, go to church every week, pray. When I shoot these pest I don't feel guilty, so I guess its okay.


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## Xidoo

Josephly's,
I have been killing my own sparrows lately. I only like to take down birds that are pest or there are too many of them. I have read about these birds and have found out that sparrows are no native to America and have decided that they are too many, so some have to go. I like to respect native species, but introduce ones can just go back to where they came from or go to heaven, their choice. Keep taking them down. Saludos.


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## josephlys

Thanks Xidoo.


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## Grafvitnir

josephlys said:


> Sparrow #1Today I woke up to the chirping of HOSP, so I got ready, slowly drew back the curtains. I saw 1 sparrow hopping around taunting me, he stopped and looked directly at my barrel. Whats that, he thought for a brief moment. Well before he could figure out what that thing was, 'Thwack'. A naildart punched right into his eye socket. He fell to the ground without a flinch.
> Sparrow #2I loaded another dart & waited, 5 min later another sparrow flew in. He was busily scanning the perimeter for danger when all of a sudden he felt a sharp pain in his side followed immediately by a numbing sensation. Before he knew it, he had fallen to the ground and couldn't move very well because of his wounds. He frantically scanned his surrounding trying to figure out what had happened. He was going fast, his vision was failing him, he gaped his last few breaths and it was all over. I decided I had enough for 1 day, so I retired back into my room and started typing on my computer.


I love hunting, I'm not PETA or something like that









I've been following your sparrow killings for a while, there's a reason for all of them being so easy to kill, and not flying away. I was hoping someone else said this but it seems no one has noticed it.

Noticed that yellow coloring in the corner of the beak? They are all about a month old. This was their first days out of the nest; they haven't learned what is dangerous. This is not a complain or an accusation







It's just a fact. They are invasive, they displace our native species so they need to be controlled so it doesn't matter at what age this is done. I'm just explaining why they seem so dumb.

I already made my blowgun and going to try your type of darts







I hope to make some sparrow control here too.

Rubén


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## josephlys

I don't care if they are dumb or not I kill them all, adult or young. I wished I had an air rifle, surely then I would decimate their population along with pigeons and rats. But I can't own guns, su-ks to be me. So I use what I have. I've been thinking with a little tweaking theoretically a paintball-gun can be used to fire darts with deadly accuracy. This is still just theory.


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## Grafvitnir

_"I don't care if they are dumb or not I kill them all, adult or young."

_And that is exactly my point. To be a good hunter you have to carefully observe and know your prey. I you don't know or care about it, then your hunt limits to you being lucky or not. All predators "know" that it is easier to kill the young, old or sick. Nobody observes anything these days.

If you know that deer graze for 15-20 seconds before lifting its head to check around, then you can (with a lot of luck) (I still haven't been able to do that)







stalk it and get near enough to shooting range. And if you know that House sparrows ignore everything around them when in spring they fly around in noisy bands quarreling for partners, then you can get near enough to kill 1 or 2 when they fly into the tree in your backyard (those fights last for about 30 seconds so you have to be quick) (I've killed dozens that way)

Rubén


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## josephlys

What do you shoot them with? Do you do rats and pigeons too.


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## Grafvitnir

I guess you mean weapon of choice







that would be slingshot with stones. When they are in that mood you can even hit 2 with the same stone (they just form a mass of 4-5 birds fighting with each other). Babies even may let you try a second shot if you use a quieter weapon. I've used blowgun in the past but not a quick as slingshot. I do have an old Sheridan airgun but that I use for longer distances.

Pigeons... the easier way is to find their roosting place or nesting site if you don't feel guilty of leaving orphans







Where they are hunted they are harder to kill; so you are limited to their sleeping or nesting site. I usually use blowguns on them (widows nearby)

Rats, they are hard because they are so intelligent. I've killed them with slingshots and blowguns but when they are hurt or frightened they warn the other rats so you usually only get to kill one. I usually sneak to the place they are numerous (usually a dump or near garbage cans), watch them for a while then try to predict where is the next one coming out from and keep looking in that general direction with the weapon pointed to that area. You will only have one shot... and you may have to wait for a long while for just one shot. But that is what hunting is about. Observation and patience.

http://www.ratkill.com/test.html

Unfortunately this is the only version left: http://web.archive.org/web/20041212154225/http://www.adventuresportsla.com/info/blowgunjoe/index.html

Blowgun Joe had a lot of info specifically on taking rats with blowguns.

Hope it helps

Rubén


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## josephlys

Man ratkill is such a good forum, wonder why its down. Don't think it'll ever recover again?


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## dhansen

That isn't hunting. You ever really hunt in your life? I doubt it.


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## lightgeoduck

josephlys said:


> good shooting !


Really?









What's next, hunting at the petting zoo?

LGD


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## Grafvitnir

dhansen said:


> That isn't hunting. You ever really hunt in your life? I doubt it.


I don't know if that was for directed at me. What I described are the things I did in the late 70's and through the 80's. I had a Trumark slingshot, the old blowgun that appeared in magazines with the guy who killed the tamandua (after trying it I doubt it was true) and the Sheridan rifle. I "hunted" almost every afternoon after school. In the late 80's I started shotgun hunting for pigeons and rifle hunting peccari and whitetailed deer. I stopped because that was not hunting. Hiding somewhere or up a tree with food around to attract the animal... I don't know it didn't seemed fair. So I stopped killing animals, except for the occasional problem animal, rats or winged rats (pigeons). I know about house sparrows because I began raising the babies that fall from nests and they usually stayed around as pets.

I've never hunted for food as if my life depended on it. I can sneak up on animals (at least some of them) to almost touch them before they notice me (at least with species that I am familiar with). When some opposums killed our pet duck, I leaved the body out for the next night and then sneaked on the three of them and they all died where they stood eating the corpse under a rain of blows with my two ballheaded clubs. The "stalk" took me like 20 minute to walk 60 feet. But opposums are dumb.

Now that I have some more time again and wanted to start hunting, as I believe it should be done, I can't do it. In fact almost no one is hunting because it's not safe to do it, at least here. So nobody is hunting or fishing because you don't know who you may find and if you will return home. If things ever get better, I plan to begin hunting again, with bow and arrow, I hope with one made by me. I'm learning to do that.

And I usually don't kill anything alive unless it is necessary, for food, or some other use (My slingshots are made when someone else has fallen a tree or parts from it). I do believe their lives are as sacred as ours and if I eat meat and plants that are as much alive as myself, it is because I know that when I die, some animal or plant is going to eat me in return.

So, have I hunted? I guess yes and no; it depends of what you think hunting is.

Rubén


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