I finally used my new PP700SA to drop some starlings inside dairy farms yesterday after I had gained confidence shooting it between 10 to 30 yards. I was able to obtain 1/2"-3/4" groups with 5 shots. I knew this little pistol/carbine is accurate with the AA16gr as long as I do my part.
I was shooting starlings outside with my Daystate and I noticed quite a few starlings were flying in and out in one of the barns. I figured I might as well check it out and see if I can shoot them with my PP700SA. It is shooting the AA16gr at 480fps, about 8 ft.lb, perfect power for indoor shooting. As I approached the entrance I could hear and see them moving about up on the rafters. I think the barn was 30m tall and I was shooting these starlings ranging from 12 - 25 yards away. I had to be selective with my shots as a section of the roof has clear plastic roofing to allow sunlight thru and most of the starlings were along these section. I only shoot them when they moved to spots where there were wood beam behind.
I took my time observing them when I was inside the barn even though I was overly excited and eager to shoot them. I saw some of them flying thru and disappeared at the end of the barn so I followed and saw where they were nesting and feeding their young. I got as close as possible and positioned myself where I could lean against the fence/beam for support. I waited patiently and finally squeezed the trigger and dropped the first adult starling with a centre mass shot. Down it went with a loud thud on the concrete floor.
Wow, what a relief to realize how easy and effective this little carbine is. My confidence grew with each starling getting smashed to the concrete I began to shoot a bit faster and not needing to use the beam for support. This carbine was light and easy to shoulder which was extremely important as some of the starlings were getting restless and aware that there was danger inside the barn. So they would not stay long and I had only 3-5 seconds window to shoot them before they split, making sure the backdrop was solid before squeezing off the trigger. I shot a total of 14 starlings inside the barn and this number would only increase as the season goes, especially now that I know I can use this pistol.
To top it off, as I left the barn I saw a starling on one of the roofs outside. I figured why not? So I braced against the building and ranged it at 35 yards away. I had done my zeros in the morning shooting from 10 yards to 45 yards so I knew where my holdover was. I took my time and held 3/4 mill. Squeezed off the first shot and just missed to the left due to a light breeze. This was a low power pistol with the 16gr AA pellet so it was very quiet. The starling got startled but made a mistake of not flying off. I quickly loaded another pellet and got it back on the cross-hair. Hold over to the 3/4 mark, breath out slowly and engaged the trigger... Smack! the pellet found its chest and penetrated thru dropping it on the roof. Wow, I was grinning ear to ear with satisfaction and proud with my shot. That was my longest kill shot to date. The 26 yard crow neck shot was my previous record.
What a day of pesting out at Farm Z. My PP700SA actually dropped more starlings than my Daystate Regal XL this day. Too bad I couldn't capture any video with the shots.
I am definitely looking forward to more indoor shooting in the near future.
I was shooting starlings outside with my Daystate and I noticed quite a few starlings were flying in and out in one of the barns. I figured I might as well check it out and see if I can shoot them with my PP700SA. It is shooting the AA16gr at 480fps, about 8 ft.lb, perfect power for indoor shooting. As I approached the entrance I could hear and see them moving about up on the rafters. I think the barn was 30m tall and I was shooting these starlings ranging from 12 - 25 yards away. I had to be selective with my shots as a section of the roof has clear plastic roofing to allow sunlight thru and most of the starlings were along these section. I only shoot them when they moved to spots where there were wood beam behind.
I took my time observing them when I was inside the barn even though I was overly excited and eager to shoot them. I saw some of them flying thru and disappeared at the end of the barn so I followed and saw where they were nesting and feeding their young. I got as close as possible and positioned myself where I could lean against the fence/beam for support. I waited patiently and finally squeezed the trigger and dropped the first adult starling with a centre mass shot. Down it went with a loud thud on the concrete floor.
Wow, what a relief to realize how easy and effective this little carbine is. My confidence grew with each starling getting smashed to the concrete I began to shoot a bit faster and not needing to use the beam for support. This carbine was light and easy to shoulder which was extremely important as some of the starlings were getting restless and aware that there was danger inside the barn. So they would not stay long and I had only 3-5 seconds window to shoot them before they split, making sure the backdrop was solid before squeezing off the trigger. I shot a total of 14 starlings inside the barn and this number would only increase as the season goes, especially now that I know I can use this pistol.
To top it off, as I left the barn I saw a starling on one of the roofs outside. I figured why not? So I braced against the building and ranged it at 35 yards away. I had done my zeros in the morning shooting from 10 yards to 45 yards so I knew where my holdover was. I took my time and held 3/4 mill. Squeezed off the first shot and just missed to the left due to a light breeze. This was a low power pistol with the 16gr AA pellet so it was very quiet. The starling got startled but made a mistake of not flying off. I quickly loaded another pellet and got it back on the cross-hair. Hold over to the 3/4 mark, breath out slowly and engaged the trigger... Smack! the pellet found its chest and penetrated thru dropping it on the roof. Wow, I was grinning ear to ear with satisfaction and proud with my shot. That was my longest kill shot to date. The 26 yard crow neck shot was my previous record.
What a day of pesting out at Farm Z. My PP700SA actually dropped more starlings than my Daystate Regal XL this day. Too bad I couldn't capture any video with the shots.
I am definitely looking forward to more indoor shooting in the near future.
