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Baiting Magpies


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Thought i'd share with you something i found out by total accident but which may be of use.

 

The last 5 weeks i have spent sat inside due to me having to start and finish my dissertation in this time, anyway i am lucky as i live in the lake district and have a little bit of land that is visible from my dads house.

 

So i am sat inside at the kitchen table doing my work and keep seeing a pair of Magpies dancing around, these are bird i hate with a passion, but i have never had much look shooting them, whether i am too impatient or just not quite good enough to nail them i dont know. I have read that the best way is to bait them and then sit and wait, but i had taken 3 days of work to get my dissertation done so decided i'd best actually do some work rather than go shooting as much as i wanted to get these two Magpies they were gonna have to wait.

 

I have a border Collie sheep dog, we feed him on dry dog food that you mix with water and leave it to adsorb it before giving it to doggy for his tea.

 

On this particular day i had put his food in the middle of the yard in his silver bowl, he was more intrested in lying in the sun than having his tea so left it alone and i went back to the table overlooking the yard. Bingo

 

First one drops down then the other and they start eating from the bowl. Right now my dissertation can wait!!!

 

I get the aa S410 from the other room and as gently as i can open the kitchen window, so far so good raise the rifle to my shoulder and both of the spook and bugger off. DAMN IT

 

Close both curtains and wait, literately 2 mins later both are back, sneak the barrel between the curtains and ones looking straight at me, TWACK, right in the neck and down it goes, easy 20 yard shot, 2 mins later its mate comes back to see whats what and TWACK.

 

Anyway this was last week i have developed this technique and if you mix the food up first then scoop it onto squares of tin foil that really gets them in, it works for me and i have got another 3 in just 2 days and remeber i hadn't had one in over a year.

 

Good luck and sorry for the long post, just happy to have finally bagged a few Magpies

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Guest buster321c

I remember reading in one of the Air Gun Mags last year sometime , a bloke take a take away foil `tin` and some dry dog food out with him and leaves it in the field to bait em , recons it works a treat , well done Hodge ;)

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Over the years I have shot loads of maggies out side our workshop using pie tins with bits of pie left in them, the reason I used these is because around the factoys lads often throw there left over bait in the skips and I found the magpies would rack around in the skips and if some upset them they would fly off with the pie tins, it works a treat

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funny you posted this because today for the first time I decided to bait magpies, i got a crow also. I put a bin liner on top of the shed, no foil, and i put out 2 eggs, ham and bread, within 20 mins i'd shot one. i then went shooting elsewhere and my partner told me while i was gone there had been 3 more magpies down!

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well i got my first the other day ,, he was sat on a barn roof at 40 yards aimed dead on and got him with the s10 bbk . will try some of your tips see if i can get another ... its funny ive baited crows ect but never had a magie land ..

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forgot to move the food i'd laid out and this morning at 6am I could here the little twa*s crowing at each other fighting over it all, i'd of got the rifle out but the baby was asleep in the cot so didn't want to wake him, when I got up for work at 7:15 there was one still there but the neighbours were having breakfast in the conservatory and there bird lovers

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After reading this last night, i thought i would give it a go today.

 

I got some of last nights left over dog food, put it on a bit of tin foil and left it in the garden. The spare room in my house is getting done up, and has windows that open out the way. So left the windows open and checked every so often to see if they had taken the bait. A few times the had, but i must have been too visable in the house and they flew away. Then a while later i spotted a crow taking the bait, and managed to get it.

 

As soon as i'd shot it, 2 magpies were at it straight away, i was going to shoot them also but they spotted me. Ever since i got the crow there has been nothing. Maybe they are wise to it already. It has started raining quite heavy since then, could this be the reason they have not showed in my garden by any chance?

 

Anyway at least i know it works and can give it a go again.

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i gave it a quick go up by the grain shed at the farm and the best i got was a jackdaw after the grain. this was late this evening so whats the bets time and place. also we have a maggy attacking some blackbirds in our garden (its already killed one of the chicks) will this trick work on them or do i have to fake nest them? they are becoming a real nuicasnce and i need help

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Its a great feeling to outsmart them, they are certainly cunning little buggers and no matter how hard you try sometimes, they will not play ball.

 

I chased one pair for a good month before curiosity got the better of him and I got the opportunity ;)

 

Good Luck

SS :thumbs:

 

P.S. Be careful using tin foil and anything that is "shiny" folks, it is in contravention of the Wildlife and Countryside Act ;)

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It is something I do quite regularly when new magpies move into the territory of the ones I have shot. First thing in a morning open the patio doors and prop them open with plant pots, close the full length curtains leaving a thin gap I can see through. Put out the dogs food in their bowl, when they finish put the dogs away and put a bit more food in the bowl. Go and have my breakfast, get ready, put the TV on. I hear the magpies chatting because the back doors are open, creep back into the back room with the S400 just poking out slowly between the curtains and blat the buggers are dead. :clapper:

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hi

nice shooting not the easiest quarry to shoot :clapper: ,and a good read and dont be sorry. not enough pepole put up long posts and i do enjoy a good tail of some ones day out.i have counted around my area of about 15 magpies but dont really like to shoot them in the garden, but may try it out, and see if the two old dears start to complain.

regards

 

davy

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