Air Gun Home :: View topic

whm1974 · Veteran Member

After watching a few rat shooting videos on youtube, I think I may take up rat hunting in the future. Some questions:

What do I need to get started besides an air rifle?

Do I need any sort of hunting permit to hunt rats?

Where do I find them?

toadmyster223 · Senior Member

First things first; where do you live

whm1974 · Veteran Member

Oh sorry I should have posted that first.

Madison county, IL, USA

toadmyster223 · Senior Member

To harvest pests in Illinois, especially with an air rifle, as far as I know, you don't need any special license. Find a big farm, with silos and lots of livestock. Ask if they have problems with rats, or ask if you can go look for signs yourself. If there doesn't seem to be signs of rats, try spotting for them at night around feed bins or what-have-you. If you know of a garbage dump, you might also have some luck there.

whm1974 · Veteran Member

Thanks. There are some farms near where I live, but I have to find out if they are in city limits however.

whm1974 · Veteran Member

So what is a good air gun to kill rats with? I was thinking of going with the Crosman 1377C and getting the stock , and/or a scope for it.

toadmyster223 · Senior Member

You do not need an incredibly powerful airgun to humanely dispatch a rat. They use sub-12 foot pound guns to marvelous affect across the pond, and they have some quite large rats there as well. I could suggest almost any .177 or .22 caliber on the market today, along these parameters:

You want a .177 that will push a 8 or 10 grain pellet at least 825 feet per second to deliver about 12 pounds of energy upon impact; note that this figure is only the bare minimum in by UK regs, and most guns on the market are much faster than this. However, a slower gun can be VERY quiet. I don't recommend using a Nitro Piston equivalent with light pellets as you can break the sound barrier, which is very loud and does not typically lend to the performance you want.

Your 1377C is listed at 600 fps. This is 8 pounds of energy with a 8 grain pellet, which would surely do the job IMO, but shot placement is very important. I would not shoot a very long range with such a short barrel, but I am not an expert on that matter either, perhaps someone else will weigh in. Also, the multi-pump action is not going to be quiet, and is not going to ring rats in. Personally I would find a break-barrel rifle, at least. A hunting pistol should probably be stronger than the 1377C. (They do look to be rather nifty, however.)

Most well-reviewed .22s that I know of like to eat 16-18 grain pellets, shoot at least 700 feet per second, and deliver around 16 pounds of energy on impact, which is well over the (lets just come out and say it, p#ssy) regulation across the pond.

I suggest just browsing through Pyramyd Air or Airguns of Arizona and browse your price range, most importantly read ALL the customer reviews you can, (with a grain of salt, of course) and find something cool. I started out ratting with a .65 caliber Cold Steel blow dart gun (amazon style). Its not as hard as killing, say, crotch crabs.

Just practice on non living targets first, because shot placement is EVERYTHING. This is the absolute most vital thing.

I personally hunt pests with a .22 cal Benjamin Titan that I picked up Wally World for about 160 dollars. It came with a decent centerpoint scope which did me proud until I replaced it with a very nice 90 dollar Leapers upgrade. It is not very loud. I took over 50 starlings, doves, european sparrows (more like shooting mice, on this account), and 2 ground hogs with it last summer. Many of the doves were out of a tree top I ranged to be 65 yards. I would still be behind the trigger but I am currently living in Lima Peru. Some people have reported quality control issues on this model, but I have absolutely no complaints on mine. It goes to show that there are definitely good deals to be had.

Good luck with the city limits, I am not familiar with how your country is laid out.

This site has a handy website you can use to find the same numbers I just vomited at you: http://www.airgunhome.com/pages/calculators.html

Here are some of my favorite ratting and pesting channels on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/feed/UCzDn88QIKKfujIwBtEDMGsA
http://www.youtube.com/user/VerminHuntersTV
http://www.youtube.com/user/EdgunUSA

whm1974 · Veteran Member

Thanks again. To be honest I'm more of looking for a place to shoot airguns. I just figure while I'm there I'll do the owner a favor and shoot any pest I see.

toadmyster223 · Senior Member

I bet you have lots of feral pigeons there!

whm1974 · Veteran Member

I haven't notice any where I live, but I don't live that far from ST. Louis MO. Last time I was there I notice LOTS of pigeons.

However I doubt the city will allow to wander around with an airgun shooting rats and pigeons. I could ask though.

whm1974 · Veteran Member

OK from reading up on rat hunting, I learn a few things I didn't know, rats will eat droppings and each other.

And BTW PETA seems to be against rat hunting....

toadmyster223 · Senior Member

PETA is against everything. Don't worry yourself with what PETA dislikes, or you will never again have a happy day for as long as you live.

I doubt they're gonna let you free-roam in the city, no, although that would be awesome. Might have to drive out into the countryside a ways, but i'm certain there is some great sport to be found somewhere.

And yes, they are pretty dirty animals, but the bright side is if the property owner doesn't mind, you can usually let the dead ones lay where they fall. His comrades will clean him up before you know it.

whm1974 · Veteran Member

oddtodd · Silver Status Member

I want one sooooo bad!!!! YouAreAGod

whm1974 · Veteran Member