I might be at 30 rats so far. I shot at 4 or 5 last night with 2 confirmed kills, and the rest made it back to the hole. Pretty sure I got them all, but hard to tell. I know the coop is a bit more smelly now, so likely dead rats in the walls. The remaining rat(s) are very cautious now. Bot even climbing into the food bin. Have to use some suet and sunflower seeds and see if they like that. my light is still not here, so I am running on fumes.
Sat for a little while tonight. Have to go to bed “early” because I have to get up at 7am. Not by choice either…. Got one rat. They refuse to get into the feeder. They will jump on the edge and grab a paw full of food and go snack for a minute or two and then return for another paw full. They are there and gone in a second or two, so you have to learn the pattern quick and catch them as they grab the food. My new light should be here tomorrow. I am hoping that will allow me to turn off the coop light. They love darkness, and if they think they are unseen, they get very bold. I might hold off on shooting the first rat and see if a big one comes out. I have also been thinking of setting up my hunting blind. I have been sotting at a metal framed picnic table and being quiet is not easy. If I was inside a blind, at least some sound would be contained. Rats two biggest senses are hearing and sound. They hear ultrasonic sounds that we could never dream of hearing. 80-90 khz from what I can find. Crazy. I will update when the light gets here.
Adopt a couple of barn cats. I used to find mouse nests in my woodshed. We had a cat that would just show up in our yard so I put out a bowl of dry cat food and water to encourage her to hang out. Then I made an enclosed house for her I keep in one corner of the wood shed and during the winters I have one of those heated outdoor pet mats I plug in to keep her warm in the snow that is inside her cathouse. It comes on when the temperature drops below 40 degrees. No more mice. I haven’t even found a single dropping since she moved into the shed. Just make sure you get them fixed or you will have a different problem.
My light arrived. It’s not as visible as the 850nm, but I can see a faint spot in a dark room. I’m not sure if the rats can see it or not. Half of them walked right out and the other half were wary. I learned a very important lesson. Yardage matters with a scope mounted 3” above the bore. Plus or minus a yard or two can mean a miss on a rat at 50 ft. We had moved the picnic table back 4-5 ft and I started missing rats. Lesson learned. I re-sighted the scope and should now be dead on at feeder range.
I am convinced that some rats are more astute that others. I believe that some can see that faint light. That light looks faint at a short distance from behind the scope but may seem a bit brighter looking back from the other way. The lights like the you are talking about definitely allow for a more shooting just a smaller field of view.
If you could set up a bait station on a small pedestal for them, forcing them to stretch upwards (giving you a bigger target to hit) you may nab a few more before they get wise to that too. They're not easy targets as I'm sure you've figured out by now. Fast, unpredictable movements and a narrow silhouette make for frustrating plinking. But boy, when you nail one center mass and you can hear the impact, satisfaction!
That’s a good idea. I was going to make a sunflower seed bait station with a roof over it to make them feel a bit more secure, but I like the idea of elevating it. I was also wondering what they would do with a roasted slim jim on a string just at the edge of their reach….
My son helped me move the shooting station. We left the picnic table where it was as a decoy. There was a scout rat that would come and check to see if I was there. Now he sees an empty table and signals the coast is clear. I am sure he is getting a good beating tonight after costing a few rats their lives. Behind where I was sitting before is a large compost pile. We set up a pop-up hunting blind on the other side of the compost pile and cut a groove through the pile so I can just see the chicken door and feeder. I have a chair and a couple of firewood rounds for the bipod to sit on. The door is facing the house so I can walk out and get right to work. I went out twice so far tonight and scored right away both times. I may have shot a third one, but might have missed too, and it was my fault. I assumed the rat would jump off the feeder like before, not into it. A barcalounger and wood stove would make things a bit more comfy, but then I would most likely live out there. We didn’t set up the sunflower seed station yet, but that is coming soon. I am going to see how this works first. It’s a little cramped getting in and out of the blind, but it’s not too bad once I get settled in. I tried using my 940 nm light tonight and it doesn’t work well from the blind. The light bounces off the blind, compost pile, hoop tunnel, and floods the whole picture out.i tried zooming the light and it worked much better, but was way too bright for the rats and they would not come out. I turned it off and a rat immediately came out to eat. I ordered a dimmer switch from sniper hog lights to hopefully fix the brightness issue. They said it should fit the light I have, and I hope it can dim the light enough to get the rats to come out. I have to shoot at least one rat every night just to keep up with 3 breeding females. I think the kill count is up to 35 now.
I’m in for the night. I have two confirmed and one possible. It was very quiet after that. No noise in the walls and no scurrying through leaves. The coyotes lit up just down the hill from me, but I was focused on rats and did not really want to give away my new location. It was VERY tempting though. I don’t know how many rats are left or where they are holed up. I am going to get as many as I can before the snow flies, because the snow will make it very difficult to sneak out to the blind with all the squeaking under foot. The one good thing about winter is that the rats won’t want to venture out in the cold and will be mostly confined to the warmth of the coop and a good food supply.
Two more tonight. I will go back out later. The first one was huge. It lumbered right up to the feeder and stuck its head in. I dropped it right there. I knew there was a big one in the coop because I heard it in the ceiling. Pretty sure it was the one I shot. Easily over a pound. the bright moon the last couple nights has been helping a lot. I will be going to get some sunflower seeds and making a raised feeder to put on the back wall.
I’d have some money if they were even a few bucks a piece, but these hollow points are not fur friendly. I did get one more last night, for a total of 3. He went into the feeder instead of backwards, so I got his rear half, but I did get him. It doesn’t really matter to me, as long as they are gone. I try to kill them quickly, but they are quick and move a lot. I think I am doing pretty good to be up to almost 40 now. I hope I can clear put the rest.
What type of dimmer did you get ? The dial or the corded sliding one ? Just spin off your push button cap & spin the dimmer cap on.
I got the dial cap. I am trying to keep everything compact. I have very limited space on my picatinny rail. I am using my CZ455, and it has a very nice walnut stock that I don’t want to mess up. The twist cap seemed to be the best option, and it will be a snug fit between the length and diameter. I might have to turn it down in the lathe for clearance, but I am hoping it fits without modification. my light came with a pressure switch, but the amount of pressure it takes to activate is stupid. And I don’t have anywhere to mount the switch.
The dimmer came in today, but it doesn’t fit. I talked with the guy’s wife when I ordered it and she said it would fit, but it doesn’t. I called them today and he said I have to mail it back to get a refund and I already paid $17 just to ship it here. It’s not worth sending back. I think they hosed me on the shipping to start with, so there is no way I’m paying to send it back. I am tempted to use the clicker cap to make an adapter to get the dimmer on it. Have to see what the thread is on the dimmer and see if I can copy it in the lathe. We put out two snap traps last night baited with roasted slim jim and nothing bit.
Yeah….BUT….. I made it a little less sucky…. I was in a bad mood and my wife took me for a drive through the hills and woods. I calmed down a bit and then stacked some firewood. I grabbed a scrap piece of cast aluminum, the light, and the dimmer switch, and fired up the lathe. The thread on both the light and dimmer are 1mm, which I can’t currently cut on my lathe because I don’t have the gears for metric threads. (Have to get some). 1mm is 25.4 threads per inch, so 26 (which I CAN make) is close enough on a short piece like this, so that’s what I did. It fits like a glove and makes every other flashlight thread feel like garbage. It’s a perfect fit. The dimmer goes dead above about half brightness, but at least it works on dim. (I’m still upset, but at least it works) I don’t have enough length on my pic rail as it is currently, so I will cut another slot up front for the light and then it should just barely clear the scope. Here are a couple of pics for your enjoyment.
