You need an air rifle Trish
That could land me in hot water!

....anyway, I'm afraid I'd find it hard to kill something to be honest.
I often thought about such a solution (merely musing, not intent) when a particularly persistent peregrine used our garden as an easy larder, until one day I managed to walk up to within a few feet of it sat in a corner eating it's 'lunch'! It was one of those times with long moments of eye contact, and as I stared back I absolutely knew that had I actually had a gun in my hand, I'd never have been able to use it.
....and yes, I do know they're protected birds.
.22 for magpies. They take a bit of stopping.
I love them, actually. Intelligent birds.
I used to be really fond of them when they were less common, but when we got a number of them living in a row of tall conifers in a nearby garden, our opinion changed - first thing was when one snapped the head off an unsuspecting starling eating bird food on the lawn, and the last straw was when we had the crows nesting in one of our trees for the first time, and the magpies sabotaged the nest and
threw the baby crow out.
Normally, a clap of the hands will chase them, but not that time. The crows never came back to our garden much after that.
Just what i have got Pipe
Do you use it? I've never actually fired a gun, but have thought about getting one of those pellet/bb guns. Be good to scare such things away I think.