AndyUSMC1107
Member
Rats LOVE my bird feeder Black Oil Sunflower Seed! I’ve finally hit upon a solution! I have an old Stevens 108 single shot, break barrel shotgun, tho w/o trying, knew a 410 would be too loud! I’ve concocted an outside solution:
Outdoor Rat problem!
- Thread starter AndyUSMC1107
- Start date
What case are you using? what is the load? I had loaded some .44 mag with 3 gr unique and a .38 special case full of #8 shot for carpenter bees.
They worked great in my TC single shot pistol but would lock up my Ruger Redhawk. Need to drill out flash hole to larger size.
They worked great in my TC single shot pistol but would lock up my Ruger Redhawk. Need to drill out flash hole to larger size.
Do you use .45 colt cases? I was using 44 mag cases in my TC super 14 but when I tried using the load in my Ruger Redhawk the primer would back out and lock up the gun. The solution was to enlarge the flash hole, don't use those cases for full power loads.
OP
OP
AndyUSMC1107
Member
sorry, original post had the recipe included:
• 45LC case
•REM 2 1/2 primer
. 020 Teflon underwad
• 2gr. Trail Boss
• 48gr #8 shot
• .0125 Micarta overwad
8/16” shim punch cuts the perfect o/u
wads
• case mouth lightly crimped over top Micarta
wad
Single Shot 410 is the perfect delivery system!
• 45LC case
•REM 2 1/2 primer
. 020 Teflon underwad
• 2gr. Trail Boss
• 48gr #8 shot
• .0125 Micarta overwad
8/16” shim punch cuts the perfect o/u
wads
• case mouth lightly crimped over top Micarta
wad
Single Shot 410 is the perfect delivery system!
OP
OP
AndyUSMC1107
Member
…7/16”… .
epags
Member
gwpercle
Member
That is an awesome idea ... ATTABOY !!!
Thanks for posting .... I have a single shot 410 and a handful of range picked up 45 Colt brass ...
I'm going to load some Mini-shot shells for pest !
Gary
OP
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AndyUSMC1107
Member
Quiet was a MUST for me, since I use it while sitting on back porch in an urban area (mostly in the evenings/night). Targets are w/in +/- 20’ STONE COLD RAT BUSTER!!!
Quieter than my .25 caliber break barrel pellet rifle!
Quieter than my .25 caliber break barrel pellet rifle!
Right now I have a Ground Hog, Wood Chuck or Marmot (depending where you are from).
The first indication was all of my Cucumbers were gone! Tomatoes, peppers etc. were not touched,
Then when cutting the grass I noticed dirt under my deck was disturbed.
The neighbor said she saw it and my wife saw it.
My neighbor (a State trooper) brought over a have a heart trap and said to put out some Cantaloupe for a few days, then bait the trap.
I did both, but I think the squirrels were stealing the bait, nothing in the trap.
So tomorrow I need to step up the game, remove some boards from the deck, water hose and the 870!
The first indication was all of my Cucumbers were gone! Tomatoes, peppers etc. were not touched,
Then when cutting the grass I noticed dirt under my deck was disturbed.
The neighbor said she saw it and my wife saw it.
My neighbor (a State trooper) brought over a have a heart trap and said to put out some Cantaloupe for a few days, then bait the trap.
I did both, but I think the squirrels were stealing the bait, nothing in the trap.
So tomorrow I need to step up the game, remove some boards from the deck, water hose and the 870!
kennedy
Member
I fight the rats around my chicken coop, I use federal 22 rat shot in a high standard 9 shot revolver. Also if you want to use a trap, try the Ratinator live trap system, works great
18:35 8/6/23 HMR 1 Chuck 0 had to have a change of plans. fat boy was too close to deck. 00 buck would have done damage to deck.
Switched to .17HMR. Slipped one in right behind left ear. One shot, one kill.
Hardly anyone has 22 short anymore, I knew a guy in a Chicago neighborhood who had his grandfather's old Marlin 39A chambered in 22 Short and it was perfect for quietly taking out rats in the alley and gangway. Even when Chicago expanded its ShotSpotter network, he never had an issue.
Zygodactyl
Member
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2020
- Messages
- 262
I had a Stevens over under 22/410 that I used to fire BB caps from. BB caps have a case half the size of a short with a round ball and primer only. Accurate and deadly at close range. Very quiet.
dh1633pm
Contributing Member
I always go with the pellet gun. Got two a .177 and a .22. Both have moderators and are not too loud. Kill squirrels dead. Most of the time they just tip over. CB Longs or shorts are pretty quiet, but I think the pellet gun has most umph.
bdickens
Member
Better rodent control than any gun:
dh1633pm
Contributing Member
AndyUSMC I am going to try your load in a 410. Might open up many new opportunities for hunting small varmints that the pellet gun might not afford. Thinking it it most of the day. Thanks.
a_canadian
Member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2015
- Messages
- 189
I've seen one cat on my block which actively hunts rats, and saw it get a rat once. 20 years in this place and probably a dozen cats here. It's pathetic. So I'll stick to my match grade PCP pistol, adapted with a suppressor and folding stock, with 3x scope and an infrared monocular fitted behind that, an IR emitter up top. I use a Sector thermal for spotting as that doesn't spook them but the image quality and clunky zeroing with too-large steps makes the thermal too imprecise for ratting, so the infrared does that job. Just have to be sure to take a shot within about 3 seconds of turning it on, as the red glow makes rats nervous. Head shots drop rats very easily with just 6fpe. Far more fragile than squirrels.
Zygodactyl
Member
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2020
- Messages
- 262
My neighbor gave me a Mendoza pistol. It has a rolling block style action and is in .177 caliber. It's powered by a extra short .22 blank. You can fire either pellets or lead balls. I haven't tried it on rats yet, but it will penetrate a sheet of plywood at 20 feet.
GooseGestapo
Member
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2003
- Messages
- 6,153
I’ve been using a similar load in my .410’s for several years!
I use .45LC cases (I know, I know; .45Colt.. but to avoid confusion!)
I make my own wads using heavy cardboard as used in wine boxes.. using a 7/16” wad cutter/punch. The drill press kind…. A set was ~$8.00 at Harbor Freight..
I seat the wad with a 3/8” wood dowel over 5gr of Bullseye powder.
Then I fill case to 1/8” below the case mouth, place another card wad over shot and apply a modest crimp.
I find that a .45Colt case will hold 4/10ths (0.4oz) of birdshot.
A .45Casull will hold 1/2oz.
I’ve taken several squirrels and a couple of Copperheads with them. A .45 case that’s been fired with a “Ruger Only” as well a .45Casull will have to be deep sized by removing the die from the press; decapper stem assembly removed; and case hammered fully into the die as to size the web/case head.
Otherwise, they won’t fit into the Yidilz.410 O/U chambers.
I’ve found that .44mag cases also work!
Substitute walnut hull polishing media for birdshot, and you have a perfect Carpenter Bee load…
But! These AREN’T Quiet! About like a .22lr standard velocity round. They chronograph at about 950fps… pattern almost as well as a 1/2oz regular shot shell.
I use .45LC cases (I know, I know; .45Colt.. but to avoid confusion!)
I make my own wads using heavy cardboard as used in wine boxes.. using a 7/16” wad cutter/punch. The drill press kind…. A set was ~$8.00 at Harbor Freight..
I seat the wad with a 3/8” wood dowel over 5gr of Bullseye powder.
Then I fill case to 1/8” below the case mouth, place another card wad over shot and apply a modest crimp.
I find that a .45Colt case will hold 4/10ths (0.4oz) of birdshot.
A .45Casull will hold 1/2oz.
I’ve taken several squirrels and a couple of Copperheads with them. A .45 case that’s been fired with a “Ruger Only” as well a .45Casull will have to be deep sized by removing the die from the press; decapper stem assembly removed; and case hammered fully into the die as to size the web/case head.
Otherwise, they won’t fit into the Yidilz.410 O/U chambers.
I’ve found that .44mag cases also work!
Substitute walnut hull polishing media for birdshot, and you have a perfect Carpenter Bee load…
But! These AREN’T Quiet! About like a .22lr standard velocity round. They chronograph at about 950fps… pattern almost as well as a 1/2oz regular shot shell.
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bdickens
Member
Most of what cats do you will never see. All cats will hunt. That's what millions of years of evolution developed them to do.
Despite having an environment very conducive to sustaining mice and rats, the only ones I have seen are dead ones. Or parts of them. Even though I have never seen one of the cats in the act. Do you think they're all committing suicide?
I know this is a gun forum and I know that shooting things is fun, but there's better solutions for controlling vermin than staying up all night with a gun playing whack-a-mole
a_canadian
Member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2015
- Messages
- 189
Well I've never spent more than about 30 minutes playing whack-a-mole with rats, and usually it's between 5 and 10 minutes, doing a quiet perimeter check or two. If I don't hear any high-pitched communication between rats within the first minute outside, I know it's likely to be a failed mission. Rats talk to each other a lot. Of course if I'm bashing around they'll go quiet and I won't know they're around, but I'm quiet, and they keep up the intermittent squealing a few times per minute if I don't spook them. Once I've shot a rat I won't hear any of this for at least 15 minutes. They hear the thrashing of hind legs and go very quiet, knowing one of their comrades has fallen.
I see live rats in the daytime at least a couple of times per week, usually from my workshop window, where I can see much of my neighbour's garden and back porch. Rats love her place for the bugs in the garden and the smell of various pickling/fermenting foods on her porch. They never get into the jars/crocks, but they're attracted to the smells anyway and hang around. So about half the rats I shoot are on her porch floor, usually from the top of my fence, at a range of 5 yards. Holdover becomes important when so close to target, scope-over-bore height making for rapid changes between 3 and 10 yards. I've memorized it thoroughly so I always place the pellet into the base of the brain.
As for other methods - as I said, cats are next to useless, except for one who sometimes manages to get a rat but is usually just a little too slow - he's more than 10 years old and a bit fat. And even he won't do more than poke at a squirrel. They're all interested in chasing squirrels, but if they catch one they immediately let it go, discovering that squirrels bite back. Most will just get a foot or two away, see the squirrel squaring off and yelling at them, then turn and hide. When I drop a squirrel there's usually a cat around that's been watching it, and that cat will run in right away to check it out... then paw at the spasming squirrel a few times, maybe even drag it for a few seconds, then walk away, no longer interested. I chuck them in the city compost bin, layered with leaves and weeds. Makes for higher quality compost on city parks. If SHTF I'll start eating them instead.
I see live rats in the daytime at least a couple of times per week, usually from my workshop window, where I can see much of my neighbour's garden and back porch. Rats love her place for the bugs in the garden and the smell of various pickling/fermenting foods on her porch. They never get into the jars/crocks, but they're attracted to the smells anyway and hang around. So about half the rats I shoot are on her porch floor, usually from the top of my fence, at a range of 5 yards. Holdover becomes important when so close to target, scope-over-bore height making for rapid changes between 3 and 10 yards. I've memorized it thoroughly so I always place the pellet into the base of the brain.
As for other methods - as I said, cats are next to useless, except for one who sometimes manages to get a rat but is usually just a little too slow - he's more than 10 years old and a bit fat. And even he won't do more than poke at a squirrel. They're all interested in chasing squirrels, but if they catch one they immediately let it go, discovering that squirrels bite back. Most will just get a foot or two away, see the squirrel squaring off and yelling at them, then turn and hide. When I drop a squirrel there's usually a cat around that's been watching it, and that cat will run in right away to check it out... then paw at the spasming squirrel a few times, maybe even drag it for a few seconds, then walk away, no longer interested. I chuck them in the city compost bin, layered with leaves and weeds. Makes for higher quality compost on city parks. If SHTF I'll start eating them instead.
bdickens
Member
I guess Texas cats are tougher....
