Send em over here, I was really impressed with the magpies I saw when I was out west, much cooler looking than the UK ones...there are none in Ontario

If its not a rude question why are they such a PITA?

There are many of them, they are noisy, they kill the young of smaller birds, they drive other birds away.:curse::curse:

Basically like Bluejays then, only more monochrome?

:curse: Correct, and they are so darn clever, we tried shooting them with a catapult but I swear as soon as we took it out the garage they all disappeared then as soon as you sit down they all come back again, and they divebomb my cats!

OH, and they rip your garbage bags open

True, but Bluejays are cuter!

Still cant play baseball though can they

I think they are actually related.

A case of familiarity breeding contempt perhaps. I suppose I thought they were cute when I first came here, but no so much now.

Yeh, I dont mind the Bluejays too much, prob cause there are less of them and may cats keep the number down by snacking on them, they are not as clever as the Magpies.

Sidetrack, my cats ate something last summer, 2 things, all I found were the tails, I showed the tails to lots of locals & my vet and no-one knew where these tails came from......?

This year I shall take piccies and see if anyone recognises them, I still have last years in the drawer but they are a bit shrivelled up now(Not sure why I kept them really)

It's open season on magpies in Alberta -you can shoot as many as you want. They're pretty canny though!

You could try a .22, or a .17 rifle (which will make them explode!) or an air-rifle.

HOWEVER! It's illegal to shoot a firearm within 250 meters of a dwelling!

My guess is they are on a tree outside your bedroom window otherwise they wouldn't really bug you. You could toss a cat into the tree However, the cat would probably just end up being mobbed and all the magpies from round about would join in.

ThanksNot a problem, I am on an acreage, my closest neighbour has to be at least that away unless its illegal near my dwelling?!
Can I buy these in Canadian Tire, how much should I expect to pay?
Thanks
Pam

as for bringing firearms/ammo over its easy.i have just brought over two centre fire rifles,one rim fire and one semi auto shotgun.
the only problem i had was at manchester airport were i had unload the security case(checked in baggage,cost £40 for flight) with my firearms in at the check in desk,with Uk customs standing and checking my relevant paperwork match all firearms in full veiw of the public.
this is appalling as there was atleast 80 people wanting to check in but all in full view of me and my toys.Uk customs need to get their arses in gear so NO alarm/concerns is raised.

i am un aware of the current laws in BC but check here http://www.cfc-cafc.gc.ca/default_e.asp

you can email them and they will reply.

personally i would leave your air rifles at home.get your PAL license(test is dead easy) and start buying some big rifles.
tip,bring your scopes.scopes here are not upto what the UK consider as good ones.
all the top scopes are very hard to come by and very expensive.
for example i have a schimdt and bender 8x56 and you can get one in the UK
for nearly £500,over here £750

hope this helps

LOL
magpie shooting.

google 'larsen trap' and build one.make sure its a double trapper and see those magpies come flocking in.
you will need either a magpie decoy(which will be hard to find in canada)
dead chicken/rabbit in trap or a live magpie.

away you go.
i have been building traps for farmers over here and soon it will be time
to start trapping the buggers.

also look out for their nests.they are cone shaped as magpies build them with a roof.waiting for either bird to go in with food for the chicks and give the nest
a good blasting with a shotgun.job done.

other method is to stick something dead in a field and wait for them to start to feed off it. a nice round from either 223 or 22-250 and no more mr magpie.

RE scopes

Nght hunting is (I believe) allowed in Europe, hence scopes with the huge objective lense. You don't "need" over 40mm here since you can only hunt in daylight. This keeps your scope lighter and closer in to your rifle.

You can buy a good Bushnell Elite 3200 from $200-$300. You can, of course, pay much more. But most hunting is in the 100-300 yard range - or even closer in bush or wooded areas, so a 2-7 x32m or 3-9 x32m is perfect.

For the 500 bucks just saved you could get a Ruger SR9! (9mm semi-auto pistol)

Marlin 60 .22 semi-auto costs $214.00 in Calgary!
Air-rifle
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/pr...romSearch=true

I wouldn't shoot a proper rifle in your situation (if there's a bunch of houses on 2-4 acre lots for example) but the airgun could work!

NB Magpies are smart. They'll soon learn to scarper!

NB obey all laws - they are strict on firearms violations over here!