Posted on 03/24/2006 12:04:47 PM PST by Supernatural
A worker at a Downtown steam plant who brought a pellet rifle to work to shoot pigeons was mistaken for a sniper Wednesday afternoon, prompting police to shut down part of the city for about two hours.
Richard Wills, of Dawson, Fayette County, a maintenance worker in the Pittsburgh Allegheny County Thermal building, brought the weapon to work to chase pigeons away from broken windows on the building's roof, said PACT President Robert Fazio. Someone apparently spotted him - and his rifle - when he stepped out onto the roof for a few seconds, Fazio said.
At least three witnesses called police, claiming they saw a sniper atop a Penn Avenue building, sparking a two-hour shutdown of several city blocks and a brief manhunt by the city Police Bureau's most heavily armed officers. Police arrived on the scene shortly after 1 p.m., stunning lunchtime crowds as they set up a command center in Fifth Avenue Place and blocked off parts of Penn Avenue, Stanwix Street, Liberty Avenue and highway ramps into the Golden Triangle.
A police officer standing guard outside the door of a Penn Avenue restaurant gave bar manager Carie Wakinekona a terse and troubling answer when she asked him about the massive police presence. "Guy with a rifle," he said. The news traveled fast.
For rest of article: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_435980.html
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
All joking notwithstanding, you make a huge leap from sniper (aka, guy on roof with rifle) to decent sniper. While the latter might be patient and wait for a good head shot, the former might not care to do so, or might not be a good shot. It's prudent to assume the former is a possibility. :-)
“I’m not a madam, I’m a conci-urj.”
Concerns about significant auditory reports can be minimized by shooting through a cracket window or a door that is just 2" ajar. The bulk of the noise is contained in the room.
Only when the pellet reaches 900+fps is there a crack from it. The shorter travel distance in free air diminishes that report substaintially.
That is a very interesting techique you've outlined. To ensure we didn't worry any neighbors, I had jokingly suggested to my father that we could arrange an air rifle on a table inside his house and shoot it out an open kitchen window five feet away so that nobody would ever see (or likely hear) anything. From what you're saying, it sounds like it might actually work!
My home has a similar arrangement...nervous nellie sheeple neighbors...and a bunch of undesirable feral cats attempting to kill the beautiful songbirds I've worked to attract. I don't necessarily wish the hassle of killing the cats, but I'm looking for an inexpensive and reliable method to cause them such a painfully negative experience that they'll just avoid my property altogether.
~ Blue Jays ~
You can sit 20 feet back from the window or cracked door and still deliver quite a wallop. Yes, I have done it myself.
It penetrated my shirt and lodged just underneath my skin. Man oh man did that hurt. If they were much closer they would have perforated my liver and wrecked my whole day.
Both mine and my sons Crossmans stay in the gun safe locked up with the rest of the family arsenal. BB guns are not toys and they can and do kill both pests and people.
L
Sounds perfect for my needs to sting these feral cats without making the neighbors do cartwheels about "people with guns" in the backyard. I'm guessing the auditory report inside the house will be fine as long as we utilize foam earplugs and standard shooting earmuffs? Thanks a million for your help!
~ Blue Jays ~
I'm one of 'em. Pigeons are a type of dove.
Wow, those airguns are incredibly quiet. My theory is that with suburban neighborhoods getting packed (not to mention annoying Political Correctness...) noise is definitely a factor that must be considered. Thankfully I can still pack-up my regular centerfire firearms and go elsewhere to shoot them in peace. Thanks for the helpful link.
~ Blue Jays ~
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