lamping rats

[tony2]

i need some genral information for shooting rats , i have found the runs they are using do you bait them? what kind of filter on the lamp would you use .

i lamp rabbits with a red filter would this be ok to use?

i would be using a bsa lighting .22 i do have a .22rf but the runs are around grain silos so i think the air rifle would be best.

any information would be welcome.

thanks tony

[Baldrick]

I lamp them with a barrel-mounted Lightforce 170 with a red filter, on either a 20b O/U or a 10-shot 12b (I have a lot of grainstores and farm buildings to cover). I usually use 25g #6s in the 20b, which has yet to damage any asbestos cladding. The 12b is much more damaging to the building, but comes into its own when shooting down onto grain heaps/concrete floors. I also use a .22RF under the same lamp.

 

My problem is always recovering the dead rats from heaps of grain, inside grain bins and silos, and other hard-to-reach areas. However a dead rat serves as a good bait, as rats seem to retrieve their dead mates. I've watched it happen when using NV.

 

Eggs are good bait though, if needs be.

[luckytrigger]

I use a deben mini pro cable tied to my .410 hushpower pump its a devastating ratting combo i shoot a lot more rats with it than with any airrifle ive had. I shoot around cow sheds on a dairy farm which is flood lit in parts meaning i dont even need to use the lamp all the time.

Ive never bothered using bait and with using the .410 hit plenty of 'runners' unlike with the airrifle. 22rf comes into its own on those longer shots (obviously checking that the backstop is sufficient).

Edited November 6, 2008 by luckytrigger

[moxey]

hey up tony

i use a rapid7 .22 a logan lamp with a red filter, when i say filter its a bit of red blowup water wing, when i bought the logan they were that new out you could,nt get filters, it has worked well for over 5yrs realy makes ther eye,s shine up, if you can get a vehicle near the silos shoot in comfort, with abit a pipe lagging over me window, i also put abit of wheat down just to hold them ther for a second an crack on all night.

happy hunting moxy

[andovian]

I use a 9mm shotgun for the rats ideal for close range work without the fear of filling your face with hot lead and ive found a few handfuls of fishing groundbait keeps them in the area long enough to get the shots off

dont fall into the trap of picking up the dead after every shot as rats will happily eat around their dead pals pick them up at the end

[30-6]

Deben Mini lamp on a .22 S200 with variable switch and red filter, use as little light as possible.

 

Old squeezy type sauce bottle filled with cat food (and water if you want it to go further), that has been put through an old blender, squirt around outside the holes so as to get them out in the open. Personally I do not shoot them at the entrance to the hole as this can block the hole up for others to come out. Also peanut butter spread around is very good.

 

I bait a couple of areas when it is light and sit at each in turn, shoot one or two move on type of thing then come back again and start again, use an old litter picker upper to dispose of bodies.

 

Downfall of this method is if you are near any houses it can attract the local cats and stops play dead, but otherwise very effective, also I find that if a rat is wounded and goes back in it seems to send out vibes which stops play for a while so get them first time even rats deserve a clean kill with no "iffy" shots taken.

Edited November 9, 2008 by 30-6