Thread: HELP WITH MAGPIES

Haha @Dundee. A good pile.

The absolute best combination of tools for pest Australians is a Larsen trap with a live bird inside in one compartment, a Bluetooth speaker in the other compartment, and a shooter with a phone and a rifle about 40 yds away hidden in the bushes.

Setup around 1hr after first light with the trap close to - but not under - the trees that the birds use in the mornings on their daily squawk before they head off to feed. Wait until 2 or 3 or more birds from one mob arrive - use the general song call if necessary. When one bird shows interest in the trap, hit the distress call for a few seconds. Guaranteed a bird will fly down to the trap. Try and shoot the first couple of birds on the ground near the trap - then play the distress call LOUD on repeat - more birds will come hurtling into the lower tree branches and that’s when marksman 101 comes into play. Whack ‘em and watch more arrive. A winged bird or two on the ground is good, don’t try and shoot them again, get them with the dog later. With a properly silenced 22 subsonic, some birds will fly away at the shot and circle and return, but other birds will just stay rooted to the spot fascinated by what’s going on.

My record is 22 birds in a few minutes out of pines next to a homestead - mobs of juvenile birds all competing for territory - magpie mayhem. That property hadn’t been shot for many years and it was insane how the birds kept coming in. A normal session is 7 or 8 or more, not unusual to get into the teens.

I have bought a second 10 shot mag for my CZ as there’s no time to mess around reloading.

An older adult magpie that survives a cull like this will wise up pretty much immediately and flatly refuse to come to the call. You can see the adult birds pretty easily from the plumage and it’s really important to get these birds first. On one of my sessions recently I screwed up the first shot in the wind and clipped an adult bird - feathers only - and since then the three of them (parents and this season’s juvenile) have played games with me and just won’t come in. So I have to get them in the paddock feeding, not always easy as they’re so sharp.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Haha @Dundee. A good pile.



An older adult magpie that survives a cull like this will wise up pretty much immediately and flatly refuse to come to the call. You can see the adult birds pretty easily from the plumage and it’s really important to get these birds first. On one of my sessions recently I screwed up the first shot in the wind and clipped an adult bird - feathers only - and since then the three of them (parents and this season’s juvenile) have played games with me and just won’t come in. So I have to get them in the paddock feeding, not always easy as they’re so sharp.

I have this problem, been chasing them for a couple of weeks, either just too far for me (newish shooter), or sit in the trees beyond which are more lifestyle blocks (so can't take the chance), or like the rabbits on the ground but in front of my water tanks another no go area.