Rats rats everywhere - help

[rapidresponse1]

no probs does the job

[jefrs]

I don't post on here very often but read with interest. I don't mind rats particularly and have caught a few in humane cages, fed them and then released them miles away. However, they are now starting to eat the vegetable patch that we have created and need to go.

I loved airguns when I was younger and still have a couple of pistols, but need to get an air rifle again to take them out as they are completely ignoring the bait box. I don't want to spend lots of money (<£300 ideally). Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to buy?

Many thanks.

Traps should be inspected daily.
In England it is illegal to release a live rat, they must be killed humanely, drowning in the water butt is not permitted now. An air pistol, pellet not BB (too weak), will humanely dispatch a trapped rat. A Webley Junior can do the deed point blank with ~2.5 ft lb, but about as accurate as a peashooter..
In England it is illegal to release a live squirrel elsewhere away from where it was trapped. They may be killed or released on site.

We do not need a high power airgun to kill a rat. We do need accuracy, rats are small and scurry in an unsporting manner. Being small it will be close range, say out to 20 metres. And anywhere in between, where the faster flatter trajectory of a 177 may be a better choice for rapid change of distance.
An air pistol cannot be brought to bear accurately quickly enough to do the job, an air rifle is needed
Rats are small, a scope will be needed, and that's another can of worms.

My CP2 long rifle, just after I had zeroed the scope, deaded a rat as 20 metres on its first capsule of CO2

[Kuyajonathan]

Traps should be inspected daily.
In England it is illegal to release a live rat, they must be killed humanely, drowning in the water butt is not permitted now. An air pistol, pellet not BB (too weak), will humanely dispatch a trapped rat. A Webley Junior can do the deed point blank with ~2.5 ft lb, but about as accurate as a peashooter..
In England it is illegal to release a live squirrel elsewhere away from where it was trapped. They may be killed or released on site. 2

This refers to Grey Squirrels I think, not one of the few remaining Red's ?

[Muskett]

Good advice already given. Rats aren't stupid, so you do need to give them some respect and your time to beat them. More than one method may well be needed. I use both traps and shoot with NV.

Be careful poison doesn't kill other things like hedgehogs, or birds; same goes for kill traps.

When shooting air rifles then its accuracy and hitting a vital organ that counts, nothing else. Calibre prety irrelevant.
PCP's require much less skill than a springer to shoot well. Springers are tricky at the best of times.
With your budget then second hand is the way to go. Plenty of good rifles little used can be had. Same goes for scopes and NV.
Up your budget a bit and digi/ir night vision is available. Way better than any torch.

Without good kit then you are going to get frustrated, and get no where.

[PCPShooter]

THE OP hasn't been on for week.... just saying

[Edtwozeronine]

If you have previously shot rifles the chances are that you know what models you enjoyed in your youth, for your budget a second hand example of a TX200, HW99 or similar with scope should be attainable and already fettled by a previous owner. All you need then is pellets and you're onto a winner.

[rapidresponse1]

found another one poisioned this morning

[JoanHab]

There are no truly humane ways to kill rodents, only methods that are less inhumane. Rats are killed with poisons, snap traps, glue boards, and maze-type traps that drown them. A more humane and faster method than live trapping and killing is the use of a well-designed snap trap.
If you're looking for a humane mouse trap that won't harm the mice, check out the five best humane mouse traps https://menacetopests.com/best-humane-mouse-traps/. All of these traps are effective at catching mice and are significantly more compassionate than traditional methods like poisoning or using snap traps.