Dispatching with head shot. Anyone do it?

[shortgrass]

What's so hard about putting it in a cone and lopping its head off with hedge shears?

Well, that just doesn't sound like as much fun.... And I'm not a man, but I assume there might be something along the lines of "just lopping his head off" is in no way showing any kind if manly skill other than wielding a knife?

A well placed head shot though, that takes either skill or boredom, doesn't matter which, or both, now does it? Ha-ha

 

[gregg3]

As a long time hunter, I'd disagree with the head shot approach. I consider myself an above average marksmen, but I don't hunt turkey with a .223 - we have bird shot for a reason. All things considered, with an animal we can easily grab off the roost, I can't find a huge excuse to go for a head shot vs. a tried and true harvest. It doesn't have to be 5 am...I typically place cockerels in dog crates shortly after they return to the coop for the night, let them sleep in the garage (or the side yard) and then harvest at my leisure the next day. No chasing or early mornings required.

 

[Blooie]

I, too, have been a long time hunter. Started when I was 11 pheasant and duck hunting with my dad. I'm going to be 65 next month and have never lost my zeal for the sport and for the meat it provides. And if I may brag, I'm pretty doggone good at what I do - and confident enough to put dinner in the crockpot before dawn, drive up to the Big Horn mountains with my .50 cal muzzleloader, and hunt all day long by myself.

That said, I wouldn't try a head shot on a chicken or turkey either. Hubby Ken, who has been my hunting partner for almost 48 years, will do that, and I'm grateful to him for it. It's worked well every time. The others are cooped so they can't see what's going on, the bird to be culled is calm, confined in his/her familiar environment, and it's very quick. It doesn't work for everyone, but after doing it both ways we prefer this.

 

[BBQJOE]

Well, that just doesn't sound like as much fun.... And I'm not a man, but I assume there might be something along the lines of "just lopping his head off" is in no way showing any kind if manly skill other than wielding a knife?

A well placed head shot though, that takes either skill or boredom, doesn't matter which, or both, now does it? Ha-ha

Myself, being a pretty good shot, as well as a caster and reloader, I see the fun aspect I guess. I've also never seen a bird's head removed with a .44mag, but I doubt I'd do it. I'm down to about 20 rounds of .22 bird shot, and I can't seem to find any more.
I do think it would be fun to sit a chicken on a half pound of Tannerite and set it off, but it would probably be called something in the way of excessive.
I also have no way of knowing what it's like to be hung upside down and have a jugular cut, but I would bet there's a pretty mind numbing high as the blood leaves your brain. Personally, I think I'd rather smoke a bowl and have a nice cocktail with the chicken, and thank it for its life before choosing to end it, and do it as peacefully as possible, although I have yet to face doing this yet.

As a long time hunter, I'd disagree with the head shot approach. I consider myself an above average marksmen, but I don't hunt turkey with a .223 - we have bird shot for a reason. All things considered, with an animal we can easily grab off the roost, I can't find a huge excuse to go for a head shot vs. a tried and true harvest. It doesn't have to be 5 am...I typically place cockerels in dog crates shortly after they return to the coop for the night, let them sleep in the garage (or the side yard) and then harvest at my leisure the next day. No chasing or early mornings required.

I think you might have it nailed. Besides, there's no need for napalm and hand grenades to dispatch a stupid chicken.

 

[Blooie]

I really don't consider a pellet from a pellet gun on a par with napalm and hand grenades. However, I respect that some disagree with what has worked for us.

 

[shortgrass]

Myself, being a pretty good shot, as well as a caster and reloader, I see the fun aspect I guess. I've also never seen a bird's head removed with a .44mag, but I doubt I'd do it. I'm down to about 20 rounds of .22 bird shot, and I can't seem to find any more.
I do think it would be fun to sit a chicken on a half pound of Tannerite and set it off, but it would probably be called something in the way of excessive.
I also have no way of knowing what it's like to be hung upside down and have a jugular cut, but I would bet there's a pretty mind numbing high as the blood leaves your brain. Personally, I think I'd rather smoke a bowl and have a nice cocktail with the chicken, and thank it for its life before choosing to end it, and do it as peacefully as possible, although I have yet to face doing this yet.

True, lol, that's why when it was first posted, I figured it was a huge waste of 22 ammo... But then I realized we were talking pellet gun... I'd much rather it be relaxing too, quiet and peaceful as possible, at least for chickens. It just seems to me like too much effort for something that's tame and doesn't require as much effort as a wild bird, but it is a good way to keep up on target practice

I, too, have been a long time hunter. Started when I was 11 pheasant and duck hunting with my dad. I'm going to be 65 next month and have never lost my zeal for the sport and for the meat it provides. And if I may brag, I'm pretty doggone good at what I do - and confident enough to put dinner in the crockpot before dawn, drive up to the Big Horn mountains with my .50 cal muzzleloader, and hunt all day long by myself.

That said, I wouldn't try a head shot on a chicken or turkey either. Hubby Ken, who has been my hunting partner for almost 48 years, will do that, and I'm grateful to him for it. It's worked well every time. The others are cooped so they can't see what's going on, the bird to be culled is calm, confined in his/her familiar environment, and it's very quick. It doesn't work for everyone, but after doing it both ways we prefer this.

I'm right there with you, Blooie. My problem is I am a horrible aim lol; DH and I agree that I am an ammo waster unless it's a turkey or a deer, something big


He kills, I clean. If he wants to do a head shot, he can. I asked him which he would rather do, and he said, "for a chicken?" And that was that ha-ha, not really an answer either way...


I guess it would depend on his "mood"

 

[big medicine]

Thirty some years ago, just out of college and starting my career, I rented a old cabin on a farm that the neighbor rented for a beef cow/calf operation. There was a about a twenty acre pasture next to my place that had a couple old hog sheds on my side of the field. Checking with the landowner and the neighboring farmer renting the farm, I got the ok to close up the front of these low structures and recoated the old tin roof. After some work I had a very low, but chicken, and predator proof, structure to get back into raising chickens.

Now your probably thinking that's interesting and all, but what does that have to do this thread. Well I'm getting around to that.

I used the second hog shed for setting broody hens. Before long I had pretty decent size flock, with a bunch of youngsters that did come back to the hog sheds to eat and roost, but free ranged the pastures full time. When the cockerels got to be butchering size, I went into the low shed, (maybe 4 ft. tall on the front side and 3 ft. in the back) before opening in for the morning. My mistake was letting the sun get up enough that these semi feral youngsters could see well enough that they wanted no part of this, and suddenly I was inside a pinball machine.

Well I could have regrouped and went back earlier the next morning with a flashlight, but the whole deal of 6'4" 300lbs of me, squatting, crab crawling, knocking my head around in there was getting old fast. Plus I wanted to keep a couple of the best young males back as replacement breeders, and it was very hard to evaluate/compare these guys under these conditions.

So what I opted for was to turn them out,(there was no catching them once loose), throw a little scratch, look them over good. take a rest on a wood fence post, and put a .22 long rifle round through the skull of a obvious cull. (this was back when you could by a brick of 500 for $12). This resulted in instant thrashing and flapping about by our chosen victim, drawing every other cockerel over to see what the heck is wrong with Jim, some even giving him a flog for good measure. After Jim became still, they all just looked around like "well that was weird". By that time victim number two had been selected, and the process repeated. When I had enough down, went out, pulled heads, and hung them on the fence to finish bleeding out, if needed. The head shot in itself seemed to do a pretty efficient job of bleeding them out.

Given the situation there, this method served the purpose. Once I moved and was better equipped, coop wise, I resorted to more conventional methods. I am a strong advocate for a stump with two nails to hold the birds head in place and a meat cleaver as a sure/quick/clean method.. .

 

[eggsaxctly]

Got to say I thought this was a joke post.
Seriously, why would you bother?
Bizarre. I don't post here very much, now I know why.
If you are going to be a poultry keeper learn to deal with it. Culling, or what ever term or euphemism, you want to use, isn't that hard. Use a cone or just grab the feet with one hand and the head with the other and pull. No blood and if you aren't killing for meat it doesn't matter if you bleed them.
I still think this is a joke post. From 75 feet? Hey make it a real test of skill and go for a 1000 yards.
You got us!

 

[Blooie]

Here's the deal for our situation....my husband has a condition called Sarcoidosis. He has nodules in his lungs, liver, spleen, parotid glands, eyelids, and his joints. His joints are the worst. He recently had major work on his right - predominant - hand. They replaced the middle joint on his index finger, fused the end joint, and scraped the knuckle where it joins his hand. In the joint between his wrist and the first knuckle on his thumb they went in, scraped the joint, then took a bit of tendon from his arm, coiled it, and placed it in the space to act as a cushion.

This is why his one attempt to cull a chicken using a knife ended up being horrific for him and for the bird. He simply doesn't have the strength and mobility in his hands to do that cleanly and quickly. So after that one time, he has gone back to what works for our circumstances. I won't apologize for it, nor will I feel stupid, bloodthirsty, or be painted as folks who love the target practice using chickens as targets. If we had anyone in our area who processed chickens, we'd gladly pay to have it done.

 

[shortgrass]

Here's the deal for our situation....my husband has a condition called Sarcoidosis. He has nodules in his lungs, liver, spleen, parotid glands, eyelids, and his joints. His joints are the worst. He recently had major work on his right - predominant - hand. They replaced the middle joint on his index finger, fused the end joint, and scraped the knuckle where it joins his hand. In the joint between his wrist and the first knuckle on his thumb they went in, scraped the joint, then took a bit of tendon from his arm, coiled it, and placed it in the space to act as a cushion.

This is why his one attempt to cull a chicken using a knife ended up being horrific for him and for the bird. He simply doesn't have the strength and mobility in his hands to do that cleanly and quickly. So after that one time, he has gone back to what works for our circumstances. I won't apologize for it, nor will I feel stupid, bloodthirsty, or be painted as folks who love the target practice using chickens as targets. If we had anyone in our area who processed chickens, we'd gladly pay to have it done.

X2

Mine has degenerative discs... Severe back pain, and just holding the chickens still is exhausting for him.

Thanks Blooie.