Update: The rats wised up to everything we were doing. I finally left them alone to let them get used to us being around again. I got lucky and was able to get a night vision scope for half price for an early christmas present last week. An AGM Neith. It’s a pretty nice unit and has a great picture. There was a firmware upgrade that added some cool features. I really wanted a thermal, but it wasn’t in the budget. I put the scope on my 22lr. I am using subsonic hollow points. The rats are launched/thrown across the coop when they get hit. I am so glad the scope records video, because some of the hits are amazing. I leave the rats in the coop because the other rats will eat them to dispose of the bodies, and that saves chicken food. Maybe I should remove them? Let me know. I think the score is over 20 now. I lost count. It started out like whack a mole, and then they realized they were losing numbers. They got smart to the IR light, so I put a very dim red light in the coop so I could make out the rats without using the IR light. That has been working pretty well. The scope likes to overexpose the image because of the small hole I am shooting through, but it works. We put a pan of chicken feed and a tub of water inside the chicken door and cover all but the very bottom of the opening with cardboard. The rats are very nervous to come out now, but they do venture out. I sit several times a night and at different times so they don’t know if or when I will be there. I got two tonight, and ran over a third with the car. I suspect the bigger one I shot may have been the alpha male, but I’m not sure. He was being sneaky and he got busted by setting up a rhythm at the feeder. He would hide behind the wall and poke his head out real quick to get food from the tray, then repeat. He repeated one too many times and I got him. I can’t stay up all night, and I have to close the door when I’m going to bed to keep the chickens safe. That means safe eating for the rats. I ordered a 940 nm light this week so I can see without getting busted and turn the coop light off. That should make them more willing to come out. I am also thinking of putting some screen over the chicken door to make them feel more secure. (I can shoot through that) We try to change things up every few days to keep the rats on their toes and it seems to be working. They don’t know what is coming next and there seems to be a pretty steady trickle of rats to the feed and water. Not a lot but enough to pick off a few almost every night. It has been rainy, so I haven’t been out as much, but that changes things up for the rats too. They never know when the next meal will be their last. They try to wait me out, but I just go in the house for an hour and come back out. There is usually a rat by the feeder by that point. I tried sitting and waiting when they get stubborn, but it just wears me out and I get cold. Going inside and warming up works better. The goal right now is to reduce the numbers enough that we can catch the last few in traps. Winter is cold here, so they will need a lot of food to stay warm. That means frequent trips to the feed pan, and in turn, more sips of water. I might try a small tin of sunflower seeds. I have read that rats get addicted to them.
The only kind of good vermin is dead vermin. I've eliminated 19 chipmunks going back about 3 weeks. It was time to cull the herd when they were noticed near house and vehicles .
Remember this? Click on the link!!! "I smell varmint poontang. And the only good varmint poontang is dead varmint poontang, I..." - Caddyshack quote
There is a neighborhood cat that prowls the yard. We don't chase it off. I add the bodies to the same flat rock on a rock wall. "Dead Munk Rock". They bodies disappear after a day or two. Guessing a possum is eating well. Or a fox, or a hawk. I should set my trail cam up with the next passing.
I got a few more big ones. The action is getting slower and the yard and coop are much quieter. Total is over 25 now. My 940 nm light should be here tomorrow, and then I can use the light to find them without spooking them. The 850 nm light on the scope is visible to the rats, so they avoid it. I also discovered that my velocity is just a shave more than it says on the box. Most of the time a gun will never get the velocity listed on the box, but I am 50 fps over it. I am using cci subsonic hp that says 1050, but they are going supersonic right at 40°. That means they are doing 1100 fps. I have to pick up some slower stuff to keep the noise down.
Get a couple boxes of these & thank me later. Match them with a muffler ( Silencer Co Sparrow $359 ) & you are pellet gun quiet. They are much quieter than standard velocity without a muffler but with one. I have shot raccoons out to 75 yards with the 710fps segmented. I have some 970fps CCI, there is not much difference between them and 1040fps. In my experience with the segregated 22LR ammo, it works much better than hollow points. I have some Winchester Silvertip that is segmented & is 1040fps, much better expansion than hollow points. Here is the stuff I have used. I prefer the CCI Quiets 710fps for close in/after dark stuff small & the Winchester Silvertips for basic varmint disposal.
They can definitely do some damage too! We’ve got an outdoor cat that eliminated that problem for us. Such a pain with all their digging around in the flower beds and all! Completely agree…..the only good vermin is a dead vermin
Sounds like you're putting a serious dent in the population, and having fun doing it Stay vigilant and eventually they'll (almost) be a non-issue. Lately the ones at my house have been chewing right through the OSB wall on my coop With winter coming they're getting desperate to bulk up before the cold sets in. More 1/2" hardware cloth and pine boards to shore up the wall cut off their access once again. They dug all sorts of tunnels under the run, but at this point I've poured so much concrete on the floor in there that there's no easy way in. Even if they hit a spot with no concrete, there's more hardware cloth stopping their entry. My only chance to plink them at night is on the weekends, and they've grown wise to my presence on my back deck.
Beats me. Scent? I've even gone outside with the lights completely off and they won't go near the coop so long as I'm outdoors. I've also sat outside for an hour in the dark waiting, to no avail. They just know somehow that the coast isn't clear.
Here's what I've used in the past. Never shot them much over about 20 yards. Was gonna take a picture of a box I have and then realized I'm out. 22 LR Sniper Subsonic
Agree, I used to use them when I stayed with my girlfriend in the city right across from the police station on "varmints", I think they are quieter than pellet gun.
That’s a big chunk of lead to expect a rat to stop. In my experience solids go right thru , the segmented stuff doesn’t cause as much peripheral/background damage in enclosed shooting.
Solids definitely go right through. The subsonic hp’s I have been using either gut the rat if hit behind the shoulder, or they throw/launch the rat across the coop. Do the segments exit sideways? I am shooting with birds in the coop, so the bullet has to stay on course so I don’t hit any birds.
I haven’t seemed to notice any extra debris flying around. They do a fine job of damaging the intended target & there is no danger of them exceeding sound barrier no matter what the temp is. I am shooting under & around grain bins with a machine shed in the background. The bins are sitting on concrete pads/floors. I haven’t heard any splattering under & around the bins. I definitely haven’t heard anything hitting the stin siding shed.
