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Old February 16, 2002, 05:47 AM   #1
Glamdring
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our house was invaded last night

by a tree rat. By the time we found the intruder, at 2:00am, he had made a serious mess.

We had the squirrel trapped in the laundry room, which is in the basement, so I had the brick wall backed by yards of dirt for secondary backstop. Since the squirrel could get back into the walls thru at least two different routes from the basement we didn't really want to wait and see if he would leave in his own good time if we opened the little basement window.

Also we weren't sure impact weapon would work, too many escape routes available to the little rat. Because I couldn't find any ammo for my bb gun so ended up using one CB short from my 22. Lined up so that some plywood, two 1/2" boards, that I had stored down there was primary backstop before I fired.

Was surprised that I actually got an exit with a raking lung shot. Exited out the far shoulder and knocked a small chip out of the first plywood board. Thought about a head shot but wasn't sure if the CB would penetrate the skull or skid off and couldn't line up a clear head shot with the backstop I wanted to use (ie the plywood leaning against the wall).

First time I have used the CB on a living target, usually use it for plinking. It worked but wasn't as quick as I would have liked. And it got me thinking about 22rf options for varmint control. Has anyone used CB for varmints? If so, how well did it work? I would have much preferred to use a Stinger but didn't want to use those inside the house.

Would CCI's 22 Short hp have worked better? Does their short hp actually expand at all? What about the 22 shot shells?

IMO a high powered 22 pellet gun would have been best choice, but it wasn't an option at the time.

Not that I plan to do this again, but any suggestions for large rodent control?
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Old February 16, 2002, 08:56 AM   #2
Ewok_Guy
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Shotshells!
They work fantastic inside 5 feet.
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Old February 16, 2002, 10:09 AM   #3
TheeBadOne
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I've used CB's and they are accurate for me out to a tested 20 feet or so. I had rats, yes rats! come visit my bird feeder. I have an older lady living next to me who probably wouldn't like me shooting at anything period, so I got the caps. They don't kill as quickly as I'd like but work and are very quite. I did shoot 1 rat with a Quick-Shok round, blew him up like a water ballon, very impressive tissue destruction (but loud). I found out a neighbor kept his out door dogs dish full of food all the time and that was what drew the rats to the area. Once that food source was elliminated and I started putting my bird feeder away at night the rats disappeared.
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Old February 16, 2002, 10:14 AM   #4
Sesoku
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About three years ago Christmas morning we were gathered around our tree opening presents. My dad started a fire in the fireplace with the wrapping paper. About two minutes later a squirrel ran out of the fireplace and up into our christmas tree. It took us 15 minutes to get it to run out through the sliding glass door onto our deck. In the meantime my dad was trying to shoot it with a pellet gun but he couldn't get a clear shot without hitting the tv or windows. It was like a scene from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.
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Old February 16, 2002, 10:44 AM   #5
Quartus
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Welcome to TFL, sesoku! Glad to have you aboard!


My best friend's Dad was a sharriff in Kansas in the 50's. Made money off hours doing rat control in basements. Silenced .22 and a chunk of meat thrown in the middle of the floor. Said it worked great.
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Old February 16, 2002, 12:44 PM   #6
Sesoku
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Thanks Captain, I have been lurking a little while, mostly trying to absorb some of the knowledge here.
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Old February 17, 2002, 02:59 PM   #7
woodland
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I have shot lots of rats, ( the big 12- 18" long pack rats) with my 10-22 with cci std vel and win t-22 with great results. They did not seem to have too much over penetration. I have also used a daisy(I think?) single pump (barrel breaks) pellet rifle too. It puts them out at about 800 fps I think, and it's .177 . I've never had any problem with head shots with it at 20 feet or so. Any thing inside a house or shed.

A little more on the fun side: My brother and a friend and I were exploring an old mine shaft in our area once and found a family of pack rats living about 40' inside the entrance. Desperately wanting to prove our superiority over these vile creatures, yet not exactly wanting to start discharging firearms inside a 70 year old mine that had been abandoned for 50 of those years, we were at a loss until I remembered our paint ball guns. 4 lb pack rats don't seem to like .68 cal. projectiles traveling at 300 fps. In fact, they did not survive the whole little experience. Then, on our way out, this poor, obviously suicidal, bat starts flying around like it thought it would freak us out. Why would we be freaked out standing in a shaft six feet wide by seven feet high with just a couple flash lights for light and a bat flying around our heads?!?! No, we just very calmly, in a very cool manner began to empty our paint ball guns as fast as we could. My friend actually did hit the flying bat! It died immediatly. (only took a couple hundred rounds!) We then went home feeling very manly indeed!
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Old February 17, 2002, 03:30 PM   #8
Quartus
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Okay, chant it with me...

WE'RE MANLY MEN AND WE DO MANLY THINGS!


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Old February 17, 2002, 05:19 PM   #9
Al Thompson
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I've used CB rounds bunches. In fact, I sighted in my 77/22 with them at 15 yards or so. Head shots are a breeze.

Be nice to the bats.. Keeps mosquitos down!

Giz
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Old February 17, 2002, 05:46 PM   #10
woodland
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It was self defense!!!!!
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Old February 18, 2002, 09:29 PM   #11
Glamdring
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Gizzmo99: So CB's are reliable for headshots? Do they usually exit?
What type of sight are you using on your 77/22?
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Old February 18, 2002, 09:47 PM   #12
Ewok_Guy
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I've exterminated a few skunks on the ranch with a single CB cap to the skull.
Dirty work, but someones gotta do it.
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"Death and honor are thought to be the same,
but today I have learned that sometimes they are not."

---------------------
" I like big fat men like you. When they fall they make more noise!
...and sometimes they never get up."
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Old February 19, 2002, 12:03 AM   #13
LoneStranger
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Ewok_guy

I've exterminated a few skunks on the ranch with a single CB cap to the skull.
Dirty work, but someones gotta do it.

The question is whether anyone would get downwind of you afterwards??
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Old February 19, 2002, 10:39 AM   #14
Rickmeister
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Is it strictly rodent control you want, or rodent control and target practice? Don't get me wrong, but if all you want is to get rid of the nasties, why bother shooting 'em? A heavy duty mouse trap will do every bit as good a job. The sticky ones are best, providing a real horror show for surviving members that will live in their memories for a long, long time. An effective deterent for future invasions.

The large spring loaded ones are good too---messier, but lethal. They work well with all sorts of pests: squirrels, possums, rats, birds, and yes... even mice.

Shooting or poisoning varmints in or around the house is not an option in my book. Some manage to get away wounded or sick, and then die in your walls. Then you wonder where on earth the leftover sushi is hailing from.

Outdoors is another story. A .62 caliber blowgun with 5" hunting darts will do the trick. Quick and deadly. Just make sure it's legal in your area.
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Old February 19, 2002, 10:55 AM   #15
Quartus
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The nice thing about CB caps is, from a long barrel, they are purty quiet.
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Old February 20, 2002, 08:45 PM   #16
Cheapo
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For mice under the couch, I just use .38 Special primed cases and a wax bullet.

Head shots break that tiny skull quite well. Penetration, or lack thereof, is NOT an issue. Inside 5 feet they might even do for rats.

Since there's no recoil, you really gotta aim high. No "barrel time" torque to bring the barrel up to the line of sight.

For more power, about one grain (weight) of any pistol powder should make 'em lethal for head shots on any North American rodent. They just don't have thick skulls!
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Old February 20, 2002, 10:05 PM   #17
MrClark
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Up here in Canada we prefer to get up close and personal eh?

A trimmed corn broom with 2" nails stuck through it and then duct taped in place works well for mice and squirrels and a hockey stick works for rats. If you whack them enough times they stop moving.

For when our yard is invaded by muskrats and the like we have a 12 gauge Remington pump-action loaded with #9 lead shot. We just have to be careful of the dog.
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Old February 23, 2002, 10:43 PM   #18
Glamdring
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Cheapo: Have you ever used CCI/Speer's plastic training bullets & cases? They use just a primer. I have thought about getting them for my 357 & 44.

***
Rickmeister: Never had a problem before with tree rats in the house, and at 2am didn't feel like taking 30 plus minutes just to find a store that carried rat traps and was open. And then see if he would stick his head in the trap.

But for future control what do you bait the traps with for tree rats?
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Old February 23, 2002, 11:01 PM   #19
444
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Sesoku
ROFLMFAO
That reminded me of my dad when I was a kid. He used to never let up on us about leaving the basement door open. He even has a sign on it. So of course someone left it open and a squirrel got in. He grabbed my Daisy slide action BB gun and opened fire. He was pumping BBs out of that thing at what seemed like 2-3/second as the squirrel ran along the plumbing. He got it without too much trouble.

A guy was just telling me yesterday about a group of guys at a fire station who all bought blow guns. A pidgion (sp) got in the garage, so they shut all the doors and started hunting. He said it had several darts buried to the hilt in it before it finally threw in the towel.
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You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
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Old February 26, 2002, 01:26 AM   #20
weldonjr2001
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.22 CB's

Several times a year I trap skunks in my back yard. The CB's work very well at dispatching them. It's either that or they end up living under my deck. No city agency will come pick them up so what's a guy to do?
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