I love my wrist rocket. I do actually take it out with me to the lake for practice.

I have read that this is the type you should use if you are serious about hunting and accuracy and self-defense. The guy in the film is amazing, but I would guess that half his proficiency lies in designing, making and maintaining his gear, and only half in shooting. As soon as the rubber begins to wear too much, he’s going to lose accuracy, and probably he has to break in new ones before they’re up to the standard of his old ones. Besides, look how close he is to everything he shoots.

The other kind is much cheaper, and always available in an emergency when there are hard objects within reach and clothes on your back. Imagine the reaction of a mob who pursues a seemingly defenseless barefoot man when suddenly there are 1, 2, 3 of their people down in the dirt with bloody heads, before they’ve even reached him.

Hi

I have a problem with pigeons around my home. They make lots of mess that nmeeds to be cleaned almost everyday. It bothers my DW. And we husabands have to lose our nerves when DW's feel bad.

OK, I tried a slingshot and it was OK.
Shooting at pigeons at sunset disturbed them enough, but that startegy had its problems. Some small stones changed course and hit something else or flew to neighbours homes. They were too small to break windows but noisy enough to disturb the neighbors.

So, here is the question: Is there a home-made "gun" that I can make and shoot the pigeons with that will be a bit more accurate than a slingshot?

Oh, some friends suggested to me to shoot and cook them
But those old enough in this forum must have read about my "too-soft" heart.
All I can do is try to make my house less comfortable for them and hope they will understand and leave.

Thanks

Well, up in Maine, to keep seagulls off the low-bush blueberry fields, they shoot one gull, put it up on a stick in the field, and it seems to act as a nice deterrent.

Any decent air rifle will do. A lower powered model won't kill a pigeon unless you score a headshot, which is good if you just want to scare them away. If you want something more lethal, get a higher powered air gun, maybe .22. They're all very accurate at least up to 20 yards, which is probably good enough for what you need.

If the pigeons are roosting on your roof maybe you can just put up some of the spike strips or string a wire so they can not land instead of shooting at them.

A site with more information:
http://www.deterapigeon.com/faqs.htm

I have also seem people use chicken wire at some places to screen pigeons out.

Hi Alex,

If you want to learn the 'older' style sling I think I still have a pdf book (out of print). You tube videos are also helpful. Expect (at first) to suck, and be a danger to everything around you.

Remember that you have to practice with full force at all times. When I first started I was easily launching errant stones the length of a football field (in almost every direction...not so far behind me).

IF you can figure out how to send me a private message with your email I can try to hunt down the book.

-NIM

You can also purchase one of the automated repellents. Basically, a motion sensor hooked up to a can of a spray that animals dislike.

A pigeon lands and gets sprayed terrifying it. The cans are good for something like 100 blasts. The pigeons learn quickly.

If you have a water hose there is also a motion sensor for them.

-NIM

Regarding spikes to deter pigeons, I want to see a house with these spikes installed. If I put them wherever there are pigeons, my house will look like Guantanamo. But then again, I shoudl suggest to the company to redesign the spikes in the form of spiky flowers ( shhhh, I am going to the patent office ).

I read something about some sonic devices ( warning sounds in bird "language") but I dont know about their range and cost .. etc. or if the birds will finally figure it out and ignore them.

Someone suggested putting dummy predators like rubber snakes near where birds are nesting. Do you think this would work ?

I made an owl decoy out of brown paper, to discourage a male cardinal from beating himself bloody--fighting his reflection--on my bedroom window. It worked fine, different application, I guess.