HuskyRich Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Went down to one of the beet pads on the farm after work this evening which is over-run by rats. Literally. Stand still long enough and they'll be running over your feet :blink: Wasn't ideal as I was just on my own, kinda hard to lamp and shoot at the same time Ended up giving up on the lamp and just setting up the truck pointing one of the main runs onto the beet pad off a grass ride with the dipped beam on and set myself up just 20ft back from the corner of the run entrance and had a steady supply of ratties coming out. Was using some no.6 32g cartridges but think I might have to consider some beefier loads next time? A couple I shot twice and they were still very much alive and requiring a third go at...Ended up getting through a box of 25 and in total I got 9 for sure and another five I definitely hit at least once but scarpered off making a right racket. What do you guys use for rats? these are some pretty hefty variety of rats... they've been gorging on untold amounts of sugar beet and grain from all the pheasant feeders Also it would be nice to get down the grass ride as that's rat central down there as that's where all the pheasant feeders are but if I'm on my own it's a bit problematic - Can I use a headtorch or is that not very effective? Would be handy to be able to walk it as keep driving vehicles down there in this weather is going to chew it up something rotten...Or are there lights you can strap onto your shotgun? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakeside1000 Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Im not normally a rat hunter, but I get a lot of rabbits with an air arms .177 air rifle with illuminated telescopic sight, you just need a light source , some kind of lamp to pick out the target, once your on it with the tele's its no problem hitting the things, on full charge I can put a pellet right through a large bunnies head at 30 yards, as long as the shot placement is accurate it will stop the rat in his tracks. Im not a fan of shotguns in the dark, too much noise and muzzle flash, the stealth approach gets a lot more targets. from one norfolk shooter to another, good luck with your continued rat hunting and keep posting, photos would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie10 Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Air rifle is much better, quieter and shot placement easier. A 22 through the chest and the rat is dead no running off for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les*1066 Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 +1 for a .22 air rifle. You can use a .177, but run the risk of just injuring the rats because the pellet can pass straight through without imparting much of its energy. A silenced PCP is the ideal tool, but you can just as easily use a springer, although the noise level will spook the rats a lot more between shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sha Bu Le Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Potentially 14 scaly tails for 25 carts' does not sound very cost effective, much better with a PCP. 500 pellets under a ten spot (just) + all the other reasons quoted above. If you know any terrier men get them on the land if you can, very effective way of thinning the rats out. Anyhoos good luck and give the vermin what for, hate the disease ridden things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neutron619 Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) What do you guys use for rats? these are some pretty hefty variety of rats... they've been gorging on untold amounts of sugar beet and grain from all the pheasant feeders I'd probably use an air rifle too (with a small pile of liquidised cat food to attract them) either under the car lamps or a separate lamp. However, in spite of them being "hefty" rats, I imagine they were still moving pretty fast and from the sound of it, they weren't particularly bothered by the noise and flash? If you have to / want to use a shotgun, do - but I'd suggest a slight modification to your cartridge choice: at 20 feet distant, any ordinary pellet of any size is going to have enough energy to go into / through a rat, so your best bet is probably the cheapest skeet cartridge or #8 cartridge you can get, run through a cylinder choke. Even 21g of #9 give will you a really big, dense pattern at the distance you're shooting, which should a) help hit the ******* in the first place and b ) help give multiple strikes, increasing the likelihood you'll kill them in one shot, rather than having to have a second or third go. Should also be cheaper than 32g of #6, since it'll be a "clay" cartridge. Edited February 5, 2015 by neutron619 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougall Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 At 20 feet a 32g load should be turning them almost to mince....rats are pretty tough,I use mostly air rifle,similar range head shots..get the odd one leaping and twitching.Also use 410s 7-7.5 shot,dont get runners...so a 12g at 20 foot you must be missing them for some reason...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neutron619 Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) At 20 feet a 32g load should be turning them almost to mince....rats are pretty tough,I use mostly air rifle,similar range head shots..get the odd one leaping and twitching.Also use 410s 7-7.5 shot,dont get runners...so a 12g at 20 foot you must be missing them for some reason...? Well I thought he might be using a choke that was too tight, hence my suggestion of a cylinder choke. A full choke pattern at 20 feet is only going to be about 6-7" across, so if that were the case, using the shotgun would be a bit like trying to hip-shoot them with an air rifle... Even an IC pattern would only be in the region of 12-15" across at 20' at most, so it's probably an "aiming" job anyway. Edited February 5, 2015 by neutron619 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 theres lots of lights you can put on a shotgun, I use a red filter on the 410's, yes it's an expensive way to shoot them, but it's fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyRich Posted February 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 I don't have the option of chokes, my gun is just a bog standard rizzini e which is set up as it is with a modified choke.Will definitely try clat shot though, I just have a lot of boxes of no6 shot which I was given for free so am starting to chew my way through those at the moment. And yeah, I'm not an ace shot by any standards, as said last night was the first time shooting vermin and also shooting at night so I'm not going to be perfect. If I had a better light setup then it would have made things easier as visibility really wasn't adequate by any means. Also I'd quite like to stick with my shotgun as a) i need the practice as I want to get good b) don't really want to spend out money on another gun and c) I enjoy it.Can anybody link me up with a mount and /or light setup for less than 100 quid? I will be doing a lot of rats and rabbits at night and will be on my own a fair bit so something I can slap on my O/U would be ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakeside1000 Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 One tip shooting ground vermin with a shotgun is always aim slightly low, any shot hitting hard ground in front of the target will ricochet up off the ground into the target, its a trick I learned trying to shoot rabbit clays at the club, hits increased by about 50% when aimed at the feet rather than the main body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 this is the type of torch and fitting I use on mine, it'll fit on either my 410 o/u or the 12 gauge, as the mount is rubber and pushes on nicely, torch fitted with filters http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultrafire-XML-T6-ZOOMABLE-scope-gun-light-lamping-kit-hunting-air-rifle-torch-/271260439199?pt=UK_SportingGoods_Hunting_ShootingSports_ET&hash=item3f2861d29f Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tignme Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Choke choice wont come into it at 20 feet/ 6 n 2 thirdyards. Shot gun patterns do not open up until at 48 feet/ 16 yards. One tip shooting ground vermin with a shotgun is always aim slightly low, any shot hitting hard ground in front of the target will ricochet up off the ground into the target, its a trick I learned trying to shoot rabbit clays at the club, hits increased by about 50% when aimed at the feet rather than the main body. Everybody using a shotgun on ground targets needs to shoot their feet off because all shotguns shoot high unless altered to shoot to point of aim for individual. do not depend on rick osheas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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