Air Rifle Advice Sought

[Giantvanman]

Inevitably I suppose, as we feed the birds regularly, we have a vermin problem in the back garden. Because we have a dog, it is too risky to put down poison and as the garden isn't big enough to use the shotgun, I am looking at a cheap to buy air rifle. Rather than walk into the shop and let my eyes spend for me, I thought I would ask the august gentlemen (and ladies) of the forum.

From what little I've read, it must be no more than 12lbs pressure (the legal maximum without FAC) and has to be full size (i.e. a decent stock length) to accommodate me. I would rather not pay a fortune and wouldn't mind good used.

All and any advice appreciated.

 

[whitenemesis]

What about using bait stations? The poison is fully contained and inaccessible to anything that can't crawl inside.

 

[merc85]

.22 is the better size for stopping power as .177 will go straight through most vermon.

I had a Airarms TX200 .177 for field target shooting, and a Webley eclipse for Pest control. Also you can get .22 pellets which have plastic outer shell's that help stop the pellet and keep it inside the vermon when shot.

 

[guydewdney]

airarms PCP (pre charge pneumatic) is recoilless and very accurate. 177 is more 'flat' trajectory but less hitting power, .22 is heavier. I use a 177 and reasonable scope for 35 - 40 yard rabbits etc. Yet to get a magpie grrr.

I have 3 x shotguns (410 single, pump 12, sbs 12) too.

 

[Giantvanman]

What about using bait stations? The poison is fully contained and inaccessible to anything that can't crawl inside.

What happens if something eats the dead, poisoned vermin? Not that fond of the neighbours cats but still wouldn't want to poison them or have I got it completely wrong?

 

[Giantvanman]

.22 is the better size for stopping power as .177 will go straight through most vermon.

I had a Airarms TX200 .177 for field target shooting, and a Webley eclipse for Pest control. Also you can get .22 pellets which have plastic outer shell's that help stop the pellet and keep it inside the vermon when shot.

airarms PCP (pre charge pneumatic) is recoilless and very accurate. 177 is more 'flat' trajectory but less hitting power, .22 is heavier. I use a 177 and reasonable scope for 35 - 40 yard rabbits etc. Yet to get a magpie grrr.

I have 3 x shotguns (410 single, pump 12, sbs 12) too.

Blimey. Could start a coup with that lot!
I will keep an eye out in Guntrader/UKGunroom and the like for a .22 based on that advice. Many thanks.

 

[TDE1]

Weirauch HW77.

.22 calibre, beautifully made, fixed barrel, accurate, powerful, and affordable.

 

[mattk1]

Had a few Weihrauch .22 air rifles over the years, HW80 & HW35E to be precise. Both were excellent quality and I imagine you could pick one up reasonably cheaply with a little looking around

Matt

 

[flango]

Weirauch HW77.

.22 calibre, beautifully made, fixed barrel, accurate, powerful, and affordable.

Thats exactly what I have, beautiful gun

 

[j.schmeltzer]

You are right not to rush into it. On my first gun shop visit I shelled out almost £500 for a nice BSA multi shot PCP with all the kit, etc. A beautiful gun, well made but I found that filling the gun after 20 shots was a pain and filling the tank (more £) was even more so. I now have an old springer that I can leave in the closet for months, pick it up and use it. Recommend to buy an Airgunner magazine and have a look, also some airgunner forums on the web that are full of info.

 

[ringway]

We had rats around this time last year - NIGHTMARE!

CLARIFY FIRST, but unless your dog is the size of a rat, I don't think the poison is strong enough to kill a dog unless it ate lots of it. Poison is the most effective way because the adult rats take it back to the nest and feed the young with it. IIRC a pair of breeding adults can produce hundreds of offspring a year and you won't have any idea where they are living - Under the house/shed in the engine bay of your Vito and car - that was our scenario. Priced up a new loom from MB recently?

We had ideal conditions for Rats to flourish.
A pond - Go for a swim/bath. Have a drink. Catch something to eat!
Rabbit sheds x2 - They love the poop.
Two dogs - They love the poop so be quick to pick up!
That broken air brick I kept meaning to fix...
We feed the birds too.
Engine bays - Nice and warm, off ground level away from predators and covered from the elements.
The rats were storing (and eating) berries in both the Vito and 210 engine bays. We added poison to both bays and it was taken for a few days and then... all quiet.

Get the local council Rat Man to visit and he'll tell you all you need to know and provide the CORRECT poison. One thing he did get wrong though was his insistence that the rats would not attack our dogs, "No chance of that, they are too big". Bruce one of our Lurchers caught a rat one night after we disturbed it by lifting the bonnet on the 210. It made quite a mess of his schnozzle, blood everywhere.

If the rats (could be 10, 20...) snuff it under your house, be prepared for the worst smell you'll ever experience. To counter this, we pumped lots of 'Shake 'n' Vac' down the holes where the heating pipes are and the sealed them with expanding foam. Then candles-a-plenty to burn the odour and scent the air.



It's not over yet...

Cue the swarms of bluebottles in December that were the maggots on the rotting corpses a few weeks earlier. They get everywhere!

You will not get all of the rats with a gun. You'll be there a long time...


Thought that'd cheer you up, Kevin.

 

[guydewdney]

I use tube type bait stations (50 chickens plus river = rats).I use wheat based 'poison' - which basically gives the rats massive constipation. 'Wide piper' is the version I use. and this stuff MVF Whole Wheat Bait | Vermin & Fly Control | Mole Valley Farmers

tip - swap the poison for another type and back every few weeks. They do a whole wheat that smells of chocolate but coloured purple, and a plain one.

 

[ringway]

I use tube type bait stations (50 chickens plus river = rats).I use wheat based 'poison' - which basically gives the rats massive constipation. 'Wide piper' is the version I use. and this stuff MVF Whole Wheat Bait | Vermin & Fly Control | Mole Valley Farmers

tip - swap the poison for another type and back every few weeks. They do a whole wheat that smells of chocolate but coloured purple, and a plain one.

Coated some of our poison with curry sauce.

 

[Ted]

The trouble with an air rifle is you need to be there when they are around. Not very likely.
Snap traps out in the open WILL take birds/hedgehogs etc and it really isn't very nice.
Bait stations are pretty safe but as said you don't know where the rat will die and they do stink after a while.
A humane trap with a humane way of killing them, or a snap trap in a safe place has always been my most effective method. You will also find that you have one good trap that you can set on a hair trigger that catches most of them.
Pig of a job once you have them and you really have to be on your toes. Also keep an eye out for 'unusual' things in the garden- piles of earth, holes in the fence etc- this will help to give the game away to a run.
Oh, and give feeding the birds a miss for a while.

 

[camerafodder]

Weirauch HW77.

.22 calibre, beautifully made, fixed barrel, accurate, powerful, and affordable.

This is perfect for the job, great quality without spending megabucks. Use standard good quality domed and waisted lead pellets.

Dont even consider the plastic jacketed pellets or anything similar, they are complete rubbish.

Obviously all usual caveats apply, sensible shot positioning, suitable backstop when taking aim, be aware of ricochet etc... A good tip is to shoot from a bedroom window or high point if possible as this goes a long way to eliminating these issues.

If you need any further advice then feel free to PM me.

 

[Gollom]

Wasn't/Isn't one of our members an arms dealer?

 

[boxbrownie]

A good tip is to shoot from a bedroom window or high point if possible as this goes a long way to eliminating these issues.

If you need any further advice then feel free to PM me.

You might want to be wary of hanging out an upstairs window with a gun, neighbours who are unaware of your problems could get the wrong idea and you don't want to be looking into the barrel of a H&K and you with just a .22 pointing back

 

[brucemillar]

We had rats around this time last year - NIGHTMARE! CLARIFY FIRST, but unless your dog is the size of a rat, I don't think the poison is strong enough to kill a dog unless it ate lots of it. Poison is the most effective way because the adult rats take it back to the nest and feed the young with it. IIRC a pair of breeding adults can produce hundreds of offspring a year and you won't have any idea where they are living - Under the house/shed in the engine bay of your Vito and car - that was our scenario. Priced up a new loom from MB recently? We had ideal conditions for Rats to flourish. A pond - Go for a swim/bath. Have a drink. Catch something to eat! Rabbit sheds x2 - They love the poop. Two dogs - They love the poop so be quick to pick up! That broken air brick I kept meaning to fix... We feed the birds too. Engine bays - Nice and warm, off ground level away from predators and covered from the elements. The rats were storing (and eating) berries in both the Vito and 210 engine bays. We added poison to both bays and it was taken for a few days and then... all quiet. Get the local council Rat Man to visit and he'll tell you all you need to know and provide the CORRECT poison. One thing he did get wrong though was his insistence that the rats would not attack our dogs, "No chance of that, they are too big". Bruce one of our Lurchers caught a rat one night after we disturbed it by lifting the bonnet on the 210. It made quite a mess of his schnozzle, blood everywhere. If the rats (could be 10, 20...) snuff it under your house, be prepared for the worst smell you'll ever experience. To counter this, we pumped lots of 'Shake 'n' Vac' down the holes where the heating pipes are and the sealed them with expanding foam. Then candles-a-plenty to burn the odour and scent the air. It's not over yet... Cue the swarms of bluebottles in December that were the maggots on the rotting corpses a few weeks earlier. They get everywhere! You will not get all of the rats with a gun. You'll be there a long time... Thought that'd cheer you up, Kevin.

Best post here. Rat poison can be dog friendly. Get a pest control bloke in. You will not shoot them all.

Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

 

[Giantvanman]

What about using bait stations? The poison is fully contained and inaccessible to anything that can't crawl inside.

We had rats around this time last year - NIGHTMARE!

CLARIFY FIRST, but unless your dog is the size of a rat, I don't think the poison is strong enough to kill a dog unless it ate lots of it. Poison is the most effective way because the adult rats take it back to the nest and feed the young with it. IIRC a pair of breeding adults can produce hundreds of offspring a year and you won't have any idea where they are living - Under the house/shed in the engine bay of your Vito and car - that was our scenario. Priced up a new loom from MB recently?

We had ideal conditions for Rats to flourish.
A pond - Go for a swim/bath. Have a drink. Catch something to eat!
Rabbit sheds x2 - They love the poop.
Two dogs - They love the poop so be quick to pick up!
That broken air brick I kept meaning to fix...
We feed the birds too.
Engine bays - Nice and warm, off ground level away from predators and covered from the elements.
The rats were storing (and eating) berries in both the Vito and 210 engine bays. We added poison to both bays and it was taken for a few days and then... all quiet.

Get the local council Rat Man to visit and he'll tell you all you need to know and provide the CORRECT poison. One thing he did get wrong though was his insistence that the rats would not attack our dogs, "No chance of that, they are too big". Bruce one of our Lurchers caught a rat one night after we disturbed it by lifting the bonnet on the 210. It made quite a mess of his schnozzle, blood everywhere.

If the rats (could be 10, 20...) snuff it under your house, be prepared for the worst smell you'll ever experience. To counter this, we pumped lots of 'Shake 'n' Vac' down the holes where the heating pipes are and the sealed them with expanding foam. Then candles-a-plenty to burn the odour and scent the air.



It's not over yet...

Cue the swarms of bluebottles in December that were the maggots on the rotting corpses a few weeks earlier. They get everywhere!

You will not get all of the rats with a gun. You'll be there a long time...


Thought that'd cheer you up, Kevin.

Okay fellas; you've convinced me. Although I absolutely cannot shotgun live game, I could air rifle vermin…..an odd position, granted, but it is what it is.

The bait idea has many more pluses than the one potential negative as I see it and I do not want to make a full time hobby out of shooting vermin so bait boxes/tunnels are the way forward.

I will see if we still have a council rat catcher and take it from there. Already identified one definite run; cheeky bugger popped in an out in broad daylight.

Thanks to everyone for their helpful advice. Much appreciated.

"Trigger Happy Kevin" is now man reasoning his way into buying a Weirauch HW77 anyway for no reason other than it sounds fantastic Save me from my inner

 

[Druk]

And what's the legal position? In Scotland unless you're way out of it an air gun in a domestic situation is a complete no-no.

We feed wild birds and have the occasional one with canker. It's almost impossible to sterilise everywhere they land so it would be good to remove that bird before it spreads it about. How to do that without a gun?