62 SHOOTING SPORTS MAGAZINE
AIRGUN | AIRGUN HUNTER
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The woodie and crow taken proved the BSA Ultra MS was not only a superb
rifle for this type of shooting but if you have the opportunity to shoot in
this mannerWith a clatter of wings the other previously hidden birds left the trees so I
decided to quickly nip out to retrieve the woodiestruck up to scatter in several directions
with more than a few heading for trees that
bordered the fi eld to my right. I slowly drove
over to see if the birds that’d headed for the
trees would tolerate the vehicle close
enough for a shot. They’d seen and become
very tolerant of farm vehicles working the
area the week previous so they should to
some degree tolerate my presence - it was
a just case of how much!
As I reached the area I’d seen the
woodies head to in the trees, I took the
Ultra from where it was snugly sitting
angled down in the passenger foot well
and readied it for a shot. From my now
static shooting position I could clearly see
two woodies hanging on the very outer
branches of a large beech tree. Using a
window mounted shooting bag for a
comfortable support I slowly raised the
compact rifl e to carefully place the
crosshairs on the closest woodies head,
depressed the cocking knob and squeezed
off my fi rst shot of the day sending a
10.9-grain .177 calibre Bisley Magnum on
its way resulting in the woodie targeted
crashing to the deck. With a clatter of
wings the other previously hidden birds left
the trees so I decided to quickly nip out to
retrieve the woodie and having disturbed
the area I knew it best to move on and try
the fi elds further down the hill.MOVING ON
With the un-cocked Ultra now resting
across my lap I proceeded to trundle the 4
X 4 slowly down the slight incline
eventually coming to a reasonably wide gap
in the hedgerow where I could clearly see
the freshly cut grass fi eld on the other
side. Still half expecting old bugs to be sat
somewhere along this run, instead I was
surprised to see a crow with its heed down
seemingly oblivious to my presence. As I
slowly pulled up I waited before evensighting in on the crow to ensure nobody
was in the vicinity and also watched as it
pecked and dug furiously into the grass for
insects, worms and other grubs. Despite
what many think they’re not just meat
eaters and have quite a varied diet.
This was a much longer shot but I
couldn’t risk moving any closer as not only
would the crow more likely high tail it, but
due to my angle of travel, I’d effectively
lesson the size of the gap in the hedge I was
able to shoot through. Slowly lining up the
shot resting on the window bag I judged the
range to be approximately 46 yds - not the
easiest but the compact dimensions of the
rifl e didn’t have me struggling to attain a
solid and comfortable shooting position.
I placed the cross hairs barely an inch
over the top of its head and with a slight
squeeze of the trigger the crow just fell over
like a knockdown target sprawling with one
wing outstretched stone dead. As I left the
motor for a second time and made my way
over to the downed bird to retrieve it theskies were beginning to darken and it began
to drizzle slightly. As the ground in this area
can quickly become waterlogged and for the
unsuspecting be a mud trap for any 4 X 4
the wise thing to do was to acknowledge
this heralded the end of a rather unusual
‘drive by...’ But the woodie and crow taken
proved the BSA Ultra MS was not only a
superb rifl e for this type of shooting but if
you have the opportunity to shoot in this
manner – then it’s not only rabbits that can
fall foul of you using an off-road vehicle as a
‘mobile hide...’I judged it to be
approximately 46yds - not
the easiest but the compact
dimensions of the rifle didn’t
have me struggling to attain
a solid and comfortable
shooting positionKIT BOX
■ BSA Ultra MS PCP .177 Calibre
■ BSA Panther 3.5 – 10 X 50
■ Bisley Magnums
■ Dog-gone-good™ Shooting Bag
■ Harkila Pro Hunter Cap and Fleece
■ Nash Combat Trousers
■ Tenaya Boots
■ Mitsubishi Shogun SWB – a luxury but also
an expensive ‘necessity’ in this case!