Rats

[870P]

Sounds like your doing well despite of the 495 fps. When I was a kid back in the late 60's I had a Czechoslovakian made pellet rifle, I can't remember the make. It was accurate and was faster than the anemic non pal rifles they sell nowadays. No problem killing rats with it, lol. 200 fps faster doesn't sound like much but 40% more power is a lot in an air rifle and that's what it amounts to. 900 fps will almost double the power. I shot a pellet rifle the other day, 495fps, it wouldn't penetrate a 1/4" sheet of plywood.

The power is sufficient IMO, my longest shot at a rat passed dead center through its midsection at 30 yards, and will embed a pellet flush into plywood at that distance, even if it doesn't quite fully penetrate a 1/4 sheet at point blank range.

I wouldn't want a whole lot more than that anyway where backstop is concern, as it definitely is here.

 

[stampede]

The power is sufficient IMO, my longest shot at a rat passed dead center through its midsection at 30 yards, and will embed a pellet flush into plywood at that distance, even if it doesn't quite fully penetrate a 1/4 sheet at point blank range.

I wouldn't want a whole lot more than that anyway where backstop is concern, as it definitely is here.

Sound like you got it figured out.

I found the best quick kills are if you can wait util you can get a face on head shot. As you have shown, with skill a 495 fps .177 will do the job.

 

[Gatehouse]

 

[geologist]

Not enough gun.

Use poison and insure no pets or friendlies eat it.

 

[870P]

Not enough gun.

Use poison and insure no pets or friendlies eat it.

Not an option here, especially given that most of the rat activity is inside a chicken run and coop.

Sometime next month I'm supposed to go up to a rural family property and help get it ready to sell. They have a serious rat problem and I'm legally allowed to use a firearm there.

I'll still bring the pellet rifle though.

 

[geologist]

What about a higher velocity .177 or better yet .22 springer?

 

[870P]

What about a higher velocity .177 or better yet .22 springer?

Not willing to spend money on something I might hardly use in the future.

I will pick up some Destroyer pellets soon however, we'll see how those do.

 

[garmic]

Head shots

 

[870P]

F*uck, I just hit a small rat in the head, 3 times, two of those point blank, and still had to finish it with a shovel.

No wonder most of them are able to run off with little reaction.

 

[GerardSamija]

I'm guessing either some sort of super-rat, or the impact was midway up the skull from directly in front at a low angle such that the pellet glanced upward. I've not had either, but have long ago seen two squirrel shots from the front with a low angle impact that they were able to run away and heal - in both cases I got them within a week or two with side of the head shots between eye and ear. The healing scars were placed in the thickest region of the skull. So I don't take those shots any more, unless the squirrel or rat is facing downwards such that the angle of impact will be less than 45 degrees.

 

[geologist]

I have one of these cheap made in China Diana 34 copies. It hits hard.

 

[870P]

I'm guessing either some sort of super-rat, or the impact was midway up the skull from directly in front at a low angle such that the pellet glanced upward. I've not had either, but have long ago seen two squirrel shots from the front with a low angle impact that they were able to run away and heal - in both cases I got them within a week or two with side of the head shots between eye and ear. The healing scars were placed in the thickest region of the skull. So I don't take those shots any more, unless the squirrel or rat is facing downwards such that the angle of impact will be less than 45 degrees.

All shots passed through, the first left it stuck running around in left hand circles after it flopped around a bit, the next took out an eye on its way in, and weirdly seemed to restore its equilibrium.

The last probably would have done the job shortly but it was still in enough distress that I decided to use the shovel.

 

[RogerWW]

Well there you're running into another problem; relocating wildlife is illegal in many municipalities. Certainly is in Vancouver. I used to live-trap the invasive Eastern Grey Squirrels many years ago, using a Hav-a-Hart trap. I'd catch one with some peanut butter, strap the cage to my bicycle, ride to Stanley Park through downtown Vancouver and release them to go and play with tourists and other squirrels. The 4th time I did this I was stopped midway by a VPD officer who challenged what I was doing. I explained that these animals were basically destroying my little food garden, so I was relocating them to a better habitat. Nope. He told me he would turn the other way this one time, but if he caught me again there would be a minimum $200 fine and potentially charges for wildlife abuse. Okay... Wish I had a time machine so I could go back and slap the silly bugger around a while, the man who thought that what Stanley Park really needed were some squirrels. Apparently there were two of these silly buggers, something around a century ago and one more recent. Same happened in Victoria and Calgary. It mystifies me that someone can be so stupid. But hey, Australia has cane toads, Central America has Africanized bees, Western North America has probably the most destructive of all invasive species, the eucalyptus tree...

Wildlife abuse - WTF!!

 

[GerardSamija]

Wildlife abuse - WTF!!

Yeah, well... consider the times we're in. That happened in the early 1990's. Things have only gone more and more towards a world of 'Karen' type thinking (sorry to all legitimate Karens who aren't creepy at all) where absolutely everything merits complaint, calling the cops, warning of inherent bias, a race to the bottom of political correctness. Sad times indeed.

Regarding 870P's rat running in circles... it sort of sounds like maybe it was dead and the nervous system didn't know it yet. Ted has an excellent short video on this where he discusses the phenomenon with a surgeon. A heart/lung shot may seem more merciful because the animal (whether rat or deer) drops quite quickly and dies more or less sitting still. But a brain shot often deactivates the disinhibitive control of nervous system signalling, whereby the normal control of muscle twitching is controlled it is now left to fire indiscriminately until the body finally runs out of steam. It can take as long as 15 seconds and can even involve some squealing. Not a comfortable time, but indicative of an instant cessation of consciousness. I can't say of course whether your rat situation was like that... just a possibility.

 

[870P]

Yeah, well... consider the times we're in. That happened in the early 1990's. Things have only gone more and more towards a world of 'Karen' type thinking (sorry to all legitimate Karens who aren't creepy at all) where absolutely everything merits complaint, calling the cops, warning of inherent bias, a race to the bottom of political correctness. Sad times indeed.

Regarding 870P's rat running in circles... it sort of sounds like maybe it was dead and the nervous system didn't know it yet. Ted has an excellent short video on this where he discusses the phenomenon with a surgeon. A heart/lung shot may seem more merciful because the animal (whether rat or deer) drops quite quickly and dies more or less sitting still. But a brain shot often deactivates the disinhibitive control of nervous system signalling, whereby the normal control of muscle twitching is controlled it is now left to fire indiscriminately until the body finally runs out of steam. It can take as long as 15 seconds and can even involve some squealing. Not a comfortable time, but indicative of an instant cessation of consciousness. I can't say of course whether your rat situation was like that... just a possibility.

It seemed fairly responsive and coordinated to me, they're tough buggers, I've seen them get absolutely mangled and still be in conscious motion.

 

[garmic]

F*uck, I just hit a small rat in the head, 3 times, two of those point blank, and still had to finish it with a shovel.

No wonder most of them are able to run off with little reaction.

Then your gun is a pos and needs to be fixed or replaced

 

[870P]

Then your gun is a pos and needs to be fixed or replaced

It is a POS but seems to be working fine.

 

[dr.fire]

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thank you for the tip
have to check more recipes
those things wreck garden when I leave my springer unintended
otherwise every pull of the trigger is a head shot
any distance (0 to 30meters)

 

[kg]

The British "camera screwed on scope for night vision" videos are from snypercat.

 

[sillymike]

Not willing to spend money on something I might hardly use in the future.

I will pick up some Destroyer pellets soon however, we'll see how those do.

What?
- You are turning down a perfectly reasonable reason to buy a new airgun and develop a new hobby!?!?!?

Might just has well build yourself a rat-bucket-trap... and move on to something else.