Wanting to kill Starlings legally

[Lurch]

Hello all, I have researched this to the best of my ability and cannot find a direct answer, so I figured I would ask here.  Here is the situation: I want to kill Starlings who are eating all of my bird food and chasing away the songbirds in the area.  I know that I could just not put food out until they move on, but am not willing to do that, and I know that there are no rules/laws against killing these birds year round.  The problem I'm running into is this: I live in an apartment and while the area our patio faces has a lot of trees, there is a very minor possibility that anything fired might go to the nearby road, which is a busy one. Overall, I'm not too concerned with that, but I do have some since it is a possibility, despite how small.

 

I have picked out a .177 pellet rifle which would suit my needs just fine, but it does send the pellets out at a high rate of speed (1,300 FPS).

 

I have discovered the Aguila Colibri powderless rounds which I could use in my bolt action .22 and does not travel as far/fast as the pellet (376-420 FPS).

 

My conundrum is this: While the .22 round won't travel as far/fast, it is still discharged from an actual rifle, which could be a no no within city limits/while living in an apartment. On the flip side, there are no regulatory laws/rules that I can find governing firing a pellet rifle within city limits/while living in an apartment.  Does anyone have any insight on this? I want to get rid of some of these aggressive birds, but certainly do not want to get into any trouble for how I do it.

[monkeylizard]

Have you tried other deterrents? Like sitting near your feeder with an air horn and blowing it when they come to feed? It wouldn't take any more effort than shooting them. They'll likely learn quickly to move on to quieter grounds.

[Lurch]

2 minutes ago, monkeylizard said:

Have you tried other deterrents? Like sitting near your feeder with an air horn and blowing it when they come to feed? It wouldn't take any more effort than shooting them. They'll likely learn quickly to move on to quieter grounds.

The only problem with that is that it will also chase off my song birds. While the starlings chase them away, the song birds won't go far because the starlings are just after the food and won't chase them past the feeders. The song birds go hang out in nearby trees until the starlings go away, then come in for their turn.

[Alleycat72]

A good airsoft rifle will kill a bird.

[peejman]

There's way too many of them for you to make a dent with a pellet rifle (which will kill them just fine).  I suspect you'll end up with more trouble than it's worth. We have lots of starlings on our feeders too.  I just shoo them off when there's a bunch. If it's just a few, the other birds don't seem affected. 

[MacGyver]

1 hour ago, Lurch said:

Hello all, I have researched this to the best of my ability and cannot find a direct answer, so I figured I would ask here.  Here is the situation: I want to kill Starlings who are eating all of my bird food and chasing away the songbirds in the area.  I know that I could just not put food out until they move on, but am not willing to do that, and I know that there are no rules/laws against killing these birds year round.  The problem I'm running into is this: I live in an apartment and while the area our patio faces has a lot of trees, there is a very minor possibility that anything fired might go to the nearby road, which is a busy one. Overall, I'm not too concerned with that, but I do have some since it is a possibility, despite how small.

 

I have picked out a .177 pellet rifle which would suit my needs just fine, but it does send the pellets out at a high rate of speed (1,300 FPS).

 

I have discovered the Aguila Colibri powderless rounds which I could use in my bolt action .22 and does not travel as far/fast as the pellet (376-420 FPS).

 

My conundrum is this: While the .22 round won't travel as far/fast, it is still discharged from an actual rifle, which could be a no no within city limits/while living in an apartment. On the flip side, there are no regulatory laws/rules that I can find governing firing a pellet rifle within city limits/while living in an apartment.  Does anyone have any insight on this? I want to get rid of some of these aggressive birds, but certainly do not want to get into any trouble for how I do it.

Unfortunately - assuming you’re within city limits in any metro area in Tennessee - everything you want to do and all your proposed methods for doing it are quite illegal.

While a pellet gun *might* be looked on with less disdain than an actual firearm - your concern about the road beyond your target means that you’d almost certainly be breaking a fundamental rule of firearms, “know your target and what’s beyond it.”

Starlings are a pain - but you wouldn’t be able to kill enough of them to make a difference - and in your case would almost certainly open yourself up to the judgement of your neighbors and the complex management.  The Aguila SSS is probably the quietest option mentioned - but it still sounds like a gunshot.  A modern pellet rifle propelling a projectile over 1040FPS isn’t quiet either.

You need another deterrent. 

[MacGyver]

Knoxville city ordinance 19-109 is the one that’s relevant to your case. 

[derf]

You may want to contact your county agent to see if there’s anything that might attract the starlings away from your feeder that the songbirds wouldn’t eat. Long shot but who knows !! 

[10-Ring]

You will not find any case law in Tennessee pertaining to hunting within city limits, because there is none.  Seasons are set by the TWRA, a state agency.  The TWRA does not limit hunting to specific areas.  Several cities ban hunting within city limits, but their rules are not enforcable so long as you are not in violation of TWRA rules.  

All that said, shooting starlings one at a time is like pissing in the wind.  

[KahrMan]

Any animal in Tennessee that does not have a "season", as listed in the TWRA hunting regulations, is illegal to kill.

[Grayfox54]

Sounds to me like you're just asking for trouble. In a word: DON'T. 

[10-Ring]

2 hours ago, KahrMan said:

Any animal in Tennessee that does not have a "season", as listed in the TWRA hunting regulations, is illegal to kill.

I came here to argue with you that starlings fall under "open year around, no limit" like most other pests, but apparently TWRA has removed them from that category and like you said, there is no open season on them. 

[peejman]

1 hour ago, 10-Ring said:

I came here to argue with you that starlings fall under "open year around, no limit" like most other pests, but apparently TWRA has removed them from that category and like you said, there is no open season on them. 

European Starlings are a non-native destructive species according to TWRA and can be killed if found to be causing damage and you're the landowner.  ...  https://www.tn.gov/twra/law-enforcement/wildlife-damage-control.html

Being annoying doesn't classify as damage and the OP isn't the landowner.  And it'll likely piss off the neighbors. 

[chances R]

change over to safflower seed

 

[Rob112o]

You have a break barrel pellet rifle. Get a pump pellet rifle. Starlings and most birds are very fragile, 2 to 3 joules and they are done. Decent pump rifle with 3 pumps. 
 Know what’s behind your target. Shooting outside of property lines is a no no. 
Sounds like you are in an apartment complex? So is this feeder on you patio? And are you then shooting them from inside your living room?