Rats

[Millet]

A decent .177 will kill them no problem, also good for rabbits, pigeon, squirrels, etc, I have one, an old springer in 177 and they do give a much flatter trajectory (believe it is what Millet also prefers) but I still prefer a .22 and have a collection of those, the oldest being a 1913 Lincoln Jeffries underlever, which still gets used, but now mainly use an AAS400 pcp and for night vision have one of those ready made video camera offerings, pretty much as described in the you tube video, but found I don't like it at all, too many bits getting in the way, so now have one of the cheaper models of night vision scopes coupled with an extra nightmaster ir light, where I can look directly down the scope.


... would of liked an Archer like one of my sons uses on his .243 but could never really justify the thousands those cost.

That is true Pete, i go for head shots on rats and rabbits and i am yet to see one run on, the only downside imo to the .177 is they are affected more by side winds but that can be over come with practice.
The Air Arms S410 is a cracking rifle, i bought mine when they fist come out several years ago, it has never been serviced and it has never failed me yet.
On the thermal subject a friend of mine sells them and also does a lot of pest control, he has one on his .243 and one on top of his landrover with a screen on his dashboard so he can drive around without his head lights on, they are deadly unfair IMO but very effective if you have a job to do.

 

[Millet]

Have you shot rats.? .[/QUOTE

I have and do ... from an upstairs window it's about 40 feet to the bird table and I get them when they can't resist the seed we put out for the birds - being higher than them they don't seem to spook as easily as when you are at ground level and the few seconds they are still when feeding is enough for a shot. I have a Weirhauch HW77 springer with an upgraded (but still legal) spring and piston assembly and a Tasco scope - I use H&N Barracuda extreme which drops them like a stone (they are supposed to be longer range than 40' but the kill at this range is usually pretty near instant, they sometimes twitch for a second or few but I can live with that). The underlever action means you don't have enough time for a second shot but I've only had one that limped off very slowly and the second shot finished it quickly. I don't like killing things but rats are an exception. The ones I get are relatively small - I don't know how my .177 would deal with some of the 18" monsters you seen on you tube hunting vids ...

I'd love an HW100 PCP but at £800 it's out of my budget for killing a few rats. I have been thinking of making one of these as I'm pretty sure there are a few that only come out at night - it's not as pretty as the real thing but at a fraction of the cost worth a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg5-z_RXQp0

There's a few variations on the theme - but mostly use the same bits off Amazon or ebay and the only difference is how you mount in on the scope.

They are good heavy pellets but they drop like a stone at distance, i used to use them also in my HW 77 for roost silhouette shooting magpies, if the rifle has been tuned and put through a chronograph using a lighter pellet those barracuda could push it over the 12ft lb mark.
A friend of mine got stopped for shooting rabbits out of his car window, the rifle was legal with lighter pellets but the police will put the heaviest pellet possible through the rifle to get it firing over the limit, he got a £500 fine and a firearms ban, that is just a heads up.

 

[user 6228]

Nope. Mrs redwood won't let me have one but I'm secretly making a Welsh war bow [emoji144]


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I've got the bow (recurve) and did have the skill, but unfortunately its illegal to shoot any animal with it in this country otherwise there would be rabbits in the freezer.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

if the rifle has been tuned and put through a chronograph using a lighter pellet those barracuda could push it over the 12ft lb mark.
A friend of mine got stopped for shooting rabbits out of his car window, the rifle was legal with lighter pellets but the police will put the heaviest pellet possible through the rifle to get it firing over the limit, he got a £500 fine and a firearms ban, that is just a heads up.

A lot of people don't realise that although TBH they should be testing the rifle with the pellet they caught you using (or is on your person)
Same with all firearms - if you have a perfectly legally held shotgun/rifle but are caught with section 5 ammunition without the permit to hold them then the firearm automatically becomes s5 and you're right in the Kaka.

 

[Swarm]

I've got the bow (recurve) and did have the skill, but unfortunately its illegal to shoot any animal with it in this country otherwise there would be rabbits in the freezer.

Unfortunately?
Thankfully there is a law that prevents ********* leaving animals suffering all over the country. A kill zone arrow that is easily achieved on a 3D or animal target is a different thing entirely with a live animal.

 

[pargyle]

A lot of people don't realise that although TBH they should be testing the rifle with the pellet they caught you using (or is on your person)
Same with all firearms - if you have a perfectly legally held shotgun/rifle but are caught with section 5 ammunition without the permit to hold them then the firearm automatically becomes s5 and you're right in the Kaka.

Fortunately, I only shoot rats on my property - the rifle never goes anywhere else and 'er indoors would go beserk if I shot rabbits or pigeons ... sadly, as to my mind there's nothing much better in food terms than a nice rabbit casserole ....

 

[user 6228]

Unfortunately?
Thankfully there is a law that prevents ********* leaving animals suffering all over the country. A kill zone arrow that is easily achieved on a 3D or animal target is a different thing entirely with a live animal.

so why is leaving animals suffering from a shotgun any better
with a bow unless they put in a heck of lot of time gaining the skill they arent even going to get near the rabbit, think of the the time it takes to get par in golf.
and shooting a rabbit with a bow you will pin it to the ground or stun by shock or miss mostly miss as the little so and so decides to hop.
it.
Yes it is different you need to be able to track and then get within 20 metres and then put in your best Portland shot ( thats an inner target the size of a 10p piece)

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It was mostly to stop nob heads with little dick syndrome hunting deer and such like and invariably wounding them. Look at the Americans they even try to hunt lions with bows. Anyone who even sees the need to hunt rabbits with a bow needs his head read

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[user 6228]

It was mostly to stop nob heads with little dick syndrome hunting deer and such like and invariably wounding them. Look at the Americans they even try to hunt lions with bows. Anyone who even sees the need to hunt rabbits with a bow needs his head read

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why? its a difficult challenge and you get to eat the prize(rabbit).
it was to stop the anyone but the filthy rich(i.e. can afford a gun) going hunting, and god forbid they do it stealthly. At the time the law was passed(1950's) the rich and their hangers on, were still hunting deer with hounds so I dont think animal welfare had anything to do with it.

 

[mbc]

Best ratting I've ever done was with a couple of mates with spades and a jack Russel, took out five dozen rats in an afternoon on their farm.
I also have a hw35 .22 which minces rats at 20 yds with a wasp pellet when they start nicking the hens food.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

why? its a difficult challenge and you get to eat the prize(rabbit).
it was to stop the anyone but the filthy rich(i.e. can afford a gun) going hunting, and god forbid they do it stealthly. At the time the law was passed(1950's) the rich and their hangers on, were still hunting deer with hounds so I dont think animal welfare had anything to do with it.

Coming from a poor working class shooting and hunting family, you're talking rubbish and obviously know nothing about the mechanics of shotgun shooting. Stick to your last. That's safest

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[user 6228]

Coming from a poor working class shooting and hunting family, you're talking rubbish and obviously know nothing about the mechanics of shotgun shooting. Stick to your last. That's safest

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Deer requires a rifle according the wild life and country side act and you dont get a shotgun for £50. even a second hand USSR gun costs more. more likely closer to £500
2nd hand rifles will be closer to £500. Put this back into the economics of the mid 1950's and you can see the motive.

 

[Swarm]

so why is leaving animals suffering from a shotgun any better
with a bow unless they put in a heck of lot of time gaining the skill they arent even going to get near the rabbit, think of the the time it takes to get par in golf.
and shooting a rabbit with a bow you will pin it to the ground or stun by shock or miss mostly miss as the little so and so decides to hop

For one, you're less likely to miss your target and the spread of the shot is way more forgiving. You also need a shotgun licence.

When you shoot with a bow, your arrow is far more likely to pass completely through the animal (most definitely with a small rabbit) it's the reason for the razor sharp broadheads they use on hunting arrows, so the animal bleeds out. Bow hunting relies on tracking skills to enable you to get within 15m of the target, much more than that and no experienced bow hunter would risk the shot. Kill zone on a rabbit won't be more than inch and a half when perfectly presented, I wouldn't trust an exceptional compound unlimited archer to hit that at more than 15m. Even with a kill zone shot, it's necessary to track the animal via a blood trail to retrieve it. Don't use one of your match carbons or you won't find it or your trophy.
It's barbaric, even when perfectly executed.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Deer requires a rifle according the wild life and country side act and you dont get a shotgun for £50. even a second hand USSR gun costs more. more likely closer to £500

Try these for price ....... and re check on the laws regarding deer and use of shotguns in certain circumstances.

https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/shotguns/baikal/single-shot/12-gauge/161208170244177

https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/shotguns/baikal/single-shot/12-gauge/161208170244226

https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/shotguns/baikal/single-shot/12-gauge/ij-18-e-161203145443001

Anyone who even sees the need to hunt rabbits with a bow needs his head read

I agree, but they are around.

 

[user 6228]

For one, you're less likely to miss your target and the spread of the shot is way more forgiving. You also need a shotgun licence.

When you shoot with a bow, your arrow is far more likely to pass completely through the animal (most definitely with a small rabbit) it's the reason for the razor sharp broadheads they use on hunting arrows, so the animal bleeds out. Bow hunting relies on tracking skills to enable you to get within 15m of the target, much more than that and no experienced bow hunter would risk the shot. Kill zone on a rabbit won't be more than inch and a half when perfectly presented, I wouldn't trust an exceptional compound unlimited archer to hit that at more than 15m. Even with a kill zone shot, it's necessary to track the animal via a blood trail to retrieve it. Don't use one of your match carbons or you won't find it or your trophy.
It's barbaric, even when perfectly executed.

I was hitting that reliably hitting 10s on a portland target with ally shafts and I was only a club shooter. With a small animal you have to take account of the kinetic energy of projectlile i.e the shock effect as well. Ally shafts are the norm hunting anyway.
The practice I thought for small game was blunts not broadheads i.e. stun

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Deer requires a rifle according the wild life and country side act and you dont get a shotgun for £50. even a second hand USSR gun costs more. more likely closer to £500
2nd hand rifles will be closer to £500. Put this back into the economics of the mid 1950's and you can see the motive.

Now you are talking absolute rubbish. Go to any auction and you can pick up a clean safe and well maintained firearm for a lot less than you seem to believe and in the fifties (which you seem obsessed with) it was even cheaper. Stick to hive cosies!

why? its a difficult challenge and you get to eat the prize(rabbit).
it was to stop the anyone but the filthy rich(i.e. can afford a gun) going hunting, and god forbid they do it stealthly. At the time the law was passed(1950's) the rich and their hangers on, were still hunting deer with hounds so I dont think animal welfare had anything to do with it.

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[Swarm]

Portland round?? LOL
Sorry mate, chalk and cheese.

 

[user 6228]

Portland round?? LOL
Sorry mate, chalk and cheese.

its a smaller target its at a fixed distance and it isnt moving or likely to runoff

 

[user 6228]

Now you are talking absolute rubbish. Go to any auction and you can pick up a clean safe and well maintained firearm for a lot less than you seem to believe and in the fifties (which you seem obsessed with) it was even cheaper. Stick to hive cosies!



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but a good wage then was around a tenner
I'm not familar with 50's 2nd hand shotgun prices but a new one in the states was the equivalent of £30 in 1950's money so thats £1200 today.

 

[Swarm]

its a smaller target its at a fixed distance and it isnt moving or likely to runoff

Don't forget everything else that's consistent in target archery, the lighting, the terrain and the neatly drawn circles of the target face.
Chalk and cheese.