Stealth Stalker Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 As the title says I was out ratting with the keeper & his under keeper today, this was a new one on me & a bit of an eye opener Tactics for the day was one man in amongst the rat holes with a chainsaw smoker & 2 guns strategically placed either side, a few blasts from the smoker & all hell brakes loose, with rats running from under the safety of a fallen tree in to the nearby cover crop, I done 18 carts here & the under keeper 14 for a meagre 6 rats picked although many more were hit but either made it to holes in the cover crop or we weren't able to find them We moved on to another area & this time it was my turn on the smoker, working from the top of one ditchline down about 30 yards we hadn't seen a single rat at the end of the ditch things went ballistic with rats running everywhere, I had em running between my legs, along the holes where I was holding the hosepipe, all this & with shottys going off left & right of me, it needed balls of steel today! Again only 6 rats picked for god knows how many carts We did a few more rat runs & the final tally for the day was 17 scaley tails, not half of what was expected. I don't think I'll be volunteering for this gig again, as it was seriously hairy at times. What other methods of rat control are there? I've read about "bobbery packs " of terriers in the countrymans weekly, are they as effective? & dose anyone know if any exist in the herts area? I could line them up with some seriously good ratting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) Interesting - you are probably right that a pack of terriers and smoker would see a higher kill ratio. Good read, with lots of mental imagery - did they shoot at your feet and shout "dance!" Edited February 12, 2008 by Mungler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 its that time of year for ratting, I love it but as you've realised you need good and safe guns, the kill ratio isn't great but the sport is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Stalker Posted February 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Al4x your spot on there mate The sport is fast & frantic, blink & you've missed em, there 1 second gone the next, & all at very close range. And as you say only to be done around safe guns you can trust. Oh & don't count the cartridges SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 SS having seen how quickly our mutt moves when a rat bolts I wouldn't imagine anyone could get on them with a shotgun with any regularity. It is litteraly a blink of the eye :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead-eye Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 i have never been ratting but it looks good sport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul in North Lincs. Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 A rat Pack and a shovel !!!! greta fun... The is a DVD called 'A day & Night with Yorkshire Ratters'..................... now thats ratting!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Bad enough when you're ferreting and the ******* come running out at you, let alone bending down putting your hand or anything near the bloody holes that you know they're coming out of Still sounds great fun SS, and can only stand you in good stead with the Keeper SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v-max Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 It's great fun with the terriers & good for young dogs to get them going & the older dogs mark the holes there in so no time wasting.I got rid of my wee pat bitch & miss her now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 a good efective and cheaper way is to use rat purse nets and hit them with shovels. just the same as a rabbit net but smaller and be carefull never to put your face in front of a hole and make sure that they are dead b4 you tip them out of the net. You can either buy the nets but not sure where sells them now or you can make your own from fish net stocking legs (wife will love you) or onion bags etc. still use a draw string pegged down. I used to use this method years ago while ferreting rats. I still have quite a few ferrets but after one lost an eye ratting years ago they only go down rabbit holes now. I always wondered about long netting for them and might make a rat long net up one day to sea if it would work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamster123 Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 sounds great i would love a go at it but have no experiance.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 sounds great i would love a go at it but have no experiance.. Give it a go mate. I used to do a lot when I lived in Leeds and ended up getting most of my shooting permission through going round pig farms etc and just asking for ratting permission with ferrets. Farmers always want them gone and after you have been a few times and the farmers get to know you just move on from there. Getting hold of shooting permission on the outskirts of Leeds was like getting hold of rocking horse shi+ and I ended up with more than any bloke I knew that way. Just always remember hygiene mate. I once got sent to hospital with suspected veils disease and thought I was going to die until they told me I just had flu and a sinus infection lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamster123 Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 does it have to be a pig farm because i dont no of any? can any type of farm do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 ratting with a gun length of alkathene pipe is much more interesting bit of rat whacking :blink: terriers are the real job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodp Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Don't know if this works or is even safe but I was told to get an old 12g shotgun, put a blank in, shove the barrel down the hole and stamp the soil around it (but don't block the end) then pull the trigger Apparently most are killed down the hole and the ones that do surface just stagger around. Is this bu****it or not, anyone tried it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodp Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Don't know if this works or is even safe but I was told to get an old 12g shotgun, put a blank in, shove the barrel down the hole and stamp the soil around it (but don't block the end) then pull the trigger Apparently most are killed down the hole and the ones that do surface just stagger around. Is this bu****it or not, anyone tried it? Nobody else heard of this then ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12borejimbo Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 The best way and what we do, is have all the terriers and lurchers you can get, a few blokes with a shovel, and one man with a shotgun waiting bout 20 yards out, on our shoot there are alot of round bails at the flushing point to encourage them to lift even higher, dynamite for rats. We go round every year or 2 and push the round bails over, dogs go in, squeals come out, multiple rats in the bag, same with the flattened maize, before we pigeon shoot, walk around in the maize, find the rat holes, dig until you find the end, all the rats will be at the bottom so put your foot over, call the dogs, let your foot off, and watch them pile in, great fun, they will pull them in half. Best we had was 13 up a small tree on a hedgerow. Get about 80/100 rats per day, Then off to the pub for burger and beers, then back to it till its dark! Give it a go, awesome fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark@mbb Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 We use two plummer terriers and a whippet with a smoker we bought from america of ebay i was stung by hmce when it arrived in the uk Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.