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Thread: rat shooting at night

  1. #1
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    rat shooting at night

    hi guys got myself a brand new hw100 carbine to shoot the rats on my allotment .....over the last 2 weeks shot quite a few just as its getting dark but when it gets dark there is loads and loads of them turn up from every angle ........my problem is lighting ...i put a few solar garden lights (x10) in and around the bowl where they head for but its just not bright enough i am using a nikko sterling laserking 3x9x42 when i put the red laser light on it scares them away any advice on lighting or scopes would be much appreciated

    cheers ian

  2. #2
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    Hi Ian
    The best lamp for airrifles is the variable power, like the Deben mini pro with a red filter, you can put just enough power on to shoot so there's less chance of spooking the rats, a cheeper but not as good a way is from Deal extreme they do a ultrafire 501 r2 torch with a five mode switch its rated at 250 lumens at full power they cost about £11 then there's the cost of batteries e c t on top of that. The idea of you putting out the solar lights is a good idea in that it will get the rats used top a little light, there fore maybe allowing you to use a lowish powered lamp. Do you have any torch at al that you can put a bit of red bag/paper over just to try how jumpy the rats are, if there not too jumpy a red filtered gun lamp/torch should work. If say the rats are comming out from under a shed couldnt you put the solar lights around this hot spot, and bait it for a few days, even if this ment that you had to move the lamps to charge in a different position in the day time then put them back around the hot spot for when it gets dark, if you can just get enough light from the solar lights to see to shoot, the rats will eventully come out and feed on the bait, they might not do it first night though, if the solar lights dont give you enought light like this it will still help for you to use a low powered red filtered gun lamp/torch. You need bait that they cannot pick up and carry away ( peanut butter, runny cat food e c t ).

    Dave (warbucks)
    Theoben Rapid MK1 177
    AA S410 22
    Bushnall Scout Range Finder
    Hawk 3 x 9 x 40 m.a.p scopes
    Deben mini pro lamping system

  3. #3
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    thanks for the reply ...the rats are used to the lights now as they are positioned round the bowl that the food is in .
    got another 6 last night would of had more if i had of had a bit more light ....
    i will try wot u said with the torch

    cheers ian

  4. #4
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    Ian.
    With the gun lamp/torch, if you can just see a rats come out with the solar lights, but there's not enough light to see to shoot, start with the gun lamp on as lower brightness as you need to shoot with, and start with the lamp above the rat, then slowly bring it down onto the kill zone. If youve to scan with the lamp to find the rat in the first place, move the lamp slowly, when you see the rat at the edge of the beam, again move the beam above the rat and come slowly down on to it, and get the shot off as quick as possible, a red filter is good in two ways one is it doesnt spook the rats as much and two the rats eyes glow back at you red, giving you a perfect aiming point, just be careful moving the lamp about on the rat, because they see this as movement, and it can spook them. You sound to be doing very well so far, as there numbers get lower and the remaining rats wise up they will get harder to get, but its possible that you might just about get them before they have chance to wise up, keep up the good work.

    Dave (warbucks)
    Theoben Rapid MK1 177
    AA S410 22
    Bushnall Scout Range Finder
    Hawk 3 x 9 x 40 m.a.p scopes
    Deben mini pro lamping system

  5. #5
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    cheers dave being quite new i am trying to take in as much as i can ....always had an air rifle laying about but after reading through dozens of topics on here didnt realise how tactical shooting can be .....

    thinking of buying a walther 3x9x56 illuminated scope as i had one of these on a rifle i had a few year ago and when the light went to minimum what i can remember shooting in same allotment this scope was really clear .....only reason i know its this scope as tnite i found the original box in the attic ....i bought this from a gun shop in gloucester about 10 yr ago with a hw97k while i was working down there ....

    good choice or not ?????

  6. #6
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    The Deben Atom with a dimmer might be worth considering as well
    Rabbit Stew, no artificial additives except lead.
    IF THE MUD REACHES YOUR KNEES GET OUT OF THE FIELD QUICK.
    WANTED. UNF MOD.

  7. #7
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    Gen 1+ NVRS or an Add on or a Torch with Red filter

    Have you considered buying yourself a Gen 1+ night vision scope you can get one for about £250.00 to £300 and at the ranges you are probably shooting at you would get loads and no light problems to worry about, this would mean that you would have a dedicted rifle for the purpose so could get expensive.

    Or you could get an add on (a night vision device that attaches to your dayscope), often they come up for sale on here

    I know its an expense but you cant beat night vision i have just come back from rabbiting tonight and my Dad has 9 rabbits ready for him in the morning all taken with a night vision scope (albeit it is a Gen 2+ unit) it just makes shooting in the dark so much easier

    Failing that then what about a torch with a red filter attached, i found that a red filter doesnt seem to bother them as much as white light does.

    Whatever works for you, all the best

    Vince

  8. #8
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    You can take the cheap option or go all out with night vision.
    I used the HW100KT .177 with a hawke night eye 4-9x50 IR zerod at 30 yards with a 70 meter deben stinger tracer with a red filter just a few nights ago and my mate had a BSA scorpion T10 .22 with a night vision scope zerod 10 yards. He shot 8 within an hour, i didnt even get chance to see a rat nevermind shoot one! It depends on your budget but night vision will always make a set up like mine look inferea, well it did the other night

  9. #9
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    Hi Ian
    For ratting ive used a Hawk 3x9x40 map6 scope and it been spot on, as for your idea of getting a Walther 3x9x56 ill scope, ive tried illuminated scopes and i found that even on the lowest setting it was too bright, your eye was picking up the cross hair and you lost the rat behind, the 3x9x56 spec should be ok???, but for a ratting/allround scope a wide angle scope is of more use than highish mag. Ian as a suggestune if you thinking about treating yourself to a new scope, what about getting one that is known to work well with a night vison add on (Cobra Merlin e c t) this will then do your norml day shooting and if you later choose to go night vison add on, you dont have to buy a scope again. Over the last few weeks ive use the Cobra merlin n/v on a M T C cobra 3x9x50 for short distance rat shooting and there very good, with a laser there capable of getting out to 80 yds, AGS and Falcon scopes are also compatable with n/v add ons. Over the last four years ive averaged over 50 rats per week all at one permission with a v/p red filtered gun lamp, but at differant places rats act differantly, some times even a little bit of red light and there off, if there used to total darkness.

    Dave (warbucks)
    Theoben Rapid MK1 177
    AA S410 22
    Bushnall Scout Range Finder
    Hawk 3 x 9 x 40 m.a.p scopes
    Deben mini pro lamping system

  10. #10
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    once again loads of advice to ponder on


    thanx guys

    really really tempeted by this

    http://cgiWalther-3-9x56-Illuminated...item35a2095dd1

    ####
    Last edited by pigeonian; 06-04-2010 at 03:00 PM. Reason: #### link sorry

  11. #11
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    going to try the torch with a red filter tnite .let you know how it goes

    cheers ian

  12. #12
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    Looking forward to hearing how people get on with red filters as couldn't contemplate nv with my budget.

  13. #13
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    A friend and i used to have a rat shoot on a farm many years ago. he bought a lamp that you couldve signalled Batman with and unsurprisingly unless we were quick, when the lamp went on, the rats would scarper.

    He then purchased a red filter for it and the difference it made was amazing.

    This was before NV was commonplace though so i think if the funds were available NV would probably be the most efficient method but then sometimes its the challenge thats the fun part. Unless of course you have a real vermin problem and ruthless efficiency is what you need.

    As i said though i've never used NV so i can only go from what others say on that subject.

    Good luck and enjoy your ratting!

  14. #14
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    night vision isnt really a viable option yet.

    the garden i full of bushes and mesh fences you have to shoot threw and all you get is flash back with the IR light.

    my plan is still the best i can think of, ill be ordering some IR led flood lights to set up inside the shoot area so we can stand back threw the bushes and behind the fence but the light will only be in the area we want to be shooting in. so we should be able to view threw all the bstructions without the glare of the IR whiting out the nv.

    the range we were shooting at was under 10 yards. we sat on the path and a rat was sniffing at my jacket while we were sat.

    ive used the red filter on the torch and i thought it worked ok but you said it was scaring them away?

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by jenky View Post
    night vision isnt really a viable option yet.

    the garden i full of bushes and mesh fences you have to shoot threw and all you get is flash back with the IR light.

    my plan is still the best i can think of, ill be ordering some IR led flood lights to set up inside the shoot area so we can stand back threw the bushes and behind the fence but the light will only be in the area we want to be shooting in. so we should be able to view threw all the bstructions without the glare of the IR whiting out the nv.

    the range we were shooting at was under 10 yards. we sat on the path and a rat was sniffing at my jacket while we were sat.

    ive used the red filter on the torch and i thought it worked ok but you said it was scaring them away?


    No mate, the bright white light scared them away. the red filter was very effective at not scaring them away straight away.

    EDIT: Sorry, i got you mixed up with the OP and i thought you were asking me about the filter. The OP said his red laser was scaring them away. i'll stay off this thread before i confuse anyone anymore. Sorry lads.

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