bird hunting

[scuba]

i noticed that alot of people on here are against head shots and low percentage shots on big game how about all the bird hunters out there, how many birds do you hit that get away injured? i was watching canada in the rough this morning and noticed alot of birds looked hit but continued to fly away. is this not bad ethics?

[Barracuda]

I always here people saying that they only shoot the heads off of grouse etc.:roll: . Most of the time i shoot the body with solids and with the shot gun i just cover the mass (either completly or partially) . The meat loss is minimull and a hit bird is in the frypan every time . even a chest shot leaves very little damage to cut out .

[overthetop]

Yea I have heard people here say they shoot the heads OFF with a 410 at 50 yards.......:rolleyes:

[Wildfoot]

This summer I found two ruffies that had holes in the breast meat from a .22. The meat was full of pus and the birds were exremly thin and sick looking. I left them for yote food. I was happy to put them out of their misery!

I use a 12ga for ruffies with a full choke and aim for the head. I don't loose too many birds with that setup. And the meat is rarely hit.

[Barracuda]

sorry but i find that hard to believe. a 22 in the breast of a grouse will do enough damage to kill them . how do you know it was a 22?

[Wildfoot]

sorry but i find that hard to believe. a 22 in the breast of a grouse will do enough damage to kill them . how do you know it was a 22?

It didnt kill them.. they were alive. I shot them because they looked real sick and skinny. I know it was a .22 because another local said he had lost a few grouse up the same road a in the last few weeks after shooting them with .22 target bullets. These birds were shot within 20 feet of where he had last seen them.

Both birds were shot only in the meat. it went through the breastbone missing all vitals. There was some dried blood on the birds, but not much. I may have some pictures, if i can find them I will post them.

[Derp]

what about hunting rabbits, would you do the same thing? shotgun, aim for the head? (and what shot size) also .22 or .17HMR head shots?

[Rackmastr]

If you're talking any flying bird and bad ethics by hitting a bird and having it fly off, then I'd say no...its not bad ethics. Bad ethics would be shooting at birds you know are too far and having the pellets hit them but not kill them. As long as they are in range and you are trying your best to kill the birds and ethically harvest them, then I'd say that your ethics are fine....

I've shot plenty of waterfowl and upland, and some birds that are well within range just dont seem to drop if you hit them hard. Its a shame, but not unethical to be shooting at birds.....just gotta do your best at putting them down and knowing your killing range...

[Wildfoot]

for bustin bunnies i usually use .22, i find the 12 puts too many holes in the fur and make it unuseable sometimes. I usually headshot or lungshot bunnies with my rifle. The head is a nice target because you either miss or kill it. Ive had a few bunnies that have been gutshot run quite some distance in the bush. its no fun following injured bunnies.

[30-06]

when i o hunting the people i go with as a rule you have to throw a rock near the bird to get it to fly and you have to shot it out of the air...make it tougher and more fun that way

[overthetop]

That sounds fun but most of the time they are on the side of dense brush and would fly in to it...

[LeverActionJunkie]

I shoot all my birds with a shotgun, wether over a dog or on the side of a road. If on the side of the road i shoot for the upper body/head area and rarely ever pull pellets out of the meat 2 or 3 at most.

[30-06]

I shoot all my birds with a shotgun, wether over a dog or on the side of a road. If on the side of the road i shoot for the upper body/head area and rarely ever pull pellets out of the meat 2 or 3 at most.

ya i aim for the head area when i do just shoot grouse not playing around and trying to make them fly.and i rarely have to get pelletsout of the meat