1st Ratting session

[Phantom 631]

Hey guy's,

 

Since comming back into airgunning I have had the real pleasure of chatting to and meeting a number of really nice genuine people, both here on THL and via the UBC. Many of these people have become great friends will remain lifelong friends

 

Last night I met Dillan another member of THL who has a passion for various Field Sports including Airgun Hunting.

 

Dillan very kindly offered me the chance to have a wander around one of his permissions and do some vermin control. As I had never shot this particular vermin species I jumped at the chance. And boy was it a night to remember!

 

Dillan picked me up at 19:00 and we got to the permission half hour later and after changing out of his work gear he took me on a guided tour of the permission. The permission is a sizable Pig Farm.

 

I was actually wondering if I was up to it, as I knew shooting rats was going to be a fair bit faster paced than I am usually required to shoot. I like good lights out kill and I like to take my time getting everything right before squeezing the trigger.

 

As it got dark we split up and I took my first wander around the nursery unit.

It was very warm and the lights showed a couple of glints at the far end down the central walkway. I lifted my baby up placed the IR in the general direction and sure enough there's a scaley tail. Not huge but a good size I estimated the rodent to be about 30 yards from me and I flicked on my lamp placed the crosshair where I wanted the FX 16 grain to land. Me being me, wanted the pellet to land in the noggin but the damn thing seemed to move as this glowing silver red missile streaked towards it. The pellet impacted the wall behind the rat about half a cm above its nose and off it went at lightning speed across the floor.

Feck me these things can't half move!

 

Wasn't long before I spotted another pair of eyes, they seemed to be watching me and I quickly shouldered the rifle and sent the next pellet off to meet its quarry. This time I aimed in the vacinity of the heart and lungs and I heard the thud of the impact a squeel as the rodent jumped in the air and landed down on its side.

I had been told to leave them where they fall, so I did. Its up to the workers to remove the bodies using the appropriate tools

 

Not seeing anything else I wandered over to another shed, the door of which was slightly open and there was a metal gate on the inside so I could rest myself on it as I scanned the shed with my red filtered lamp.

 

Just as I had raised the gun and put my left arm on the gate I got the first shock of the night! :shock:

As my arm came to rest a dark figure jumped from about a foot higher than my right shoulder, it landed on my scope and immediately jumped onto my left arm and from there ran across the gate and dissapeared into the darkness.

Well I must admit I almost needed clean pants and just about every hair on my body stood up when I realised just how big some of these ballsey rodents are and how fearless they seem to be.

 

I backed off again and shone my lamp in the area from where it had come from. Thank feck there were no more there!

 

I approached again and this time steadied myself against the gate and lit up the walls. I could hear them, but at this time I could not see them. A few more sweeps with the lamp, scanning through the scope I then made my way to the next shed.

 

This time I remembered what Dillan had said about the guttering and how they liked to use it as a motorway between buildings.

I stood high looking through the scope and sure enough there were three or four large rodents moving up and down the guttering; on went the lamp crosshair settled on one rodents chest, a gentle squees and NOTHING happened! Damn I'd forgotten to reload (I really need a 10 shot conversion). Lamp off, reload and cock and back into position, Lamp on, crosshairs settled behind the shoulderblades of the nearest rodent and off goes the micromissile. I heard the pellet thud and the rat dropped instantly followed by a squeel from another rodent as the pellet hit the wall next to it. The remaining rats vanished in all directions.

 

Now it was time to enter the next shed. I opened the door and entered, a quick flash of the red lamp saw numerous rodents from litterally a few feet away from me out to the far end of the shed. They were all on the feeders and the walls of the pens. Although I knocked over a couple on the floor at the far end, I was very wary of hitting the ones on the hoppers and the walls as a stray shot or richochet would undoutably hit one of the pigs. As I turned round to look at the other side of the shed I saw a rodent climb at speed out of the feeder unit and climb a water pipe.

WOW these things are agile and very fast and some were frighteningly large

 

I left this building and as I walked around I noticed another pair of eyes glaring right at me, no more than 20 yards probably even 15. I took aim and shot it right through the centre of its chest, a squeel and over it went, to my amazement it was still for a second or two before it jumped up and charged right towards me GULP:icon_eek:.

I had already fed another round into the breach and I let fly another lead as it rounded the corner and dodged into a small area

where there was a large grain silo. As the pellet struck the rodent it went down and this time it did not get back up.

 

This is the only rodent that I could get close enough for a pic. Wish I had a rule so you could see the size of the thing. Nose to arse, it was a good 9 inches curled as you see it. So straightened out it would be more along the lines of eleven or maybe more! Then of course there was the tail to add to that.

 

Dillan had reverted to his HW100 complete with the NV infrared camera unit as the Scorpion he was using originally had developed a fault. The 100 is a heavy beast and having a hard drive video camera and large gun mounted lamp on certainly made it a hefty beast. So Dillan had set it up on a tripod, which allowed him to use the 100 to cleanly kill numerous rodents while obtaining crystal clear video imagery of them.

 

I made my way back to the first shed and again managed to take out another scaley tail with a swift shot to the upper area of the chest. It dropped and didn't get back up. The pigs had become very vocal after something had disturbed a piglet that began to squeal. So I left the shed as the noise was a little unbearable for my delicate hearing lol.

 

Again I moved over to where the "R1 Highway" was and the dead rats from earlier had vanished! It was a busy thorough-fare so mabe the number of R1 users had knocked them over or perhaps (I had heard that they will eat their dead) they had feasted on their fallen kin?

Another shot saw another rodent fall and the others scarper across the roof of the shed and further down the R1.

 

Next job was to pop into the shed where the rodents had been stealing and urinating and crapping in the feeders (umm maybe that gammon I wanted for tea tomorrow will stay in the shop).

 

This was going to be the second brown pants moment of the night!

 

As I shone the lamp there were litterally dozens of the vile creatures they were on the feeders, on the walls and on the floor. I dropped another one as it was climbing a wall, I didn't wait to see it hit the deck but I heard a good thud! A second later I had reloaded and just like a fecking good horror movie, rats began a mass migration towards me!

I tried to remain calm but inside my heart was pumping the adrenalin around my system faster than the brain could cope with, I wound up sticking the steel toecaps of my boots into half a dozen of them! The ones I kicked hard thumped into the wall and outside the door. I must admit, it was a little overwhelming and I was beggining to freak out a little

I have never in my wildest nightmare seen anything like it!

As the rest of them passed I noticed a smaller rat and a hefty fat medium sized one duck under a piece of wood that had been tilted against the wall. I bent down and there they both were. Muzzle almost point blank and a click saw the next pellet tear through both the rats and impacted somewhere against the far wall of the shed.

I had to get out not even looking down the other side of the shed, that was fecking MENTAL and my pulse monitor (If I had been wearing it) would have been screaming for the next five minutes until I had calmed down enough to have a wander to where Dillan stood filming his shooting and I was able to tell him of my experiance in the shed.

 

Dillan went off for a quick smoke and left me with the video and the 100 I scanned around and saw a pair of silver eyes that seemed to be looking directly at the scope so I had no option but to close them with a pellet directly toward the centre of the forehead. I'm not 100% sure now if I hit it as it was climbing out of a drain cover. I will find out when I get the video, but I'm confidant I got it in the face

 

I saw the numerous rats that Dillan had shot lying all over the place and I got another couple in one of the grain stores one through the shoulder blades as it was climbing a vertical wall, the other as it walked over a large pile of grain.

 

All in all I had a thouroughly amazing time, not only was I able to shoot a good number of these vile, disease ridden monster rodents, but I also got to see some very young piglets and their mothers who seemed to be HUGE compared to what I thought a pig should be.I spent a fair bit of time watching some of the piglets, they seem to have some form of (dare I say it) 'humanity' in their faces as they came over to investigate me. Really rather nice to see where my next bacon sarnie comes from

 

So to Dillan;

A HUGE Thank You Sir

I really appreciate you letting me tag along and thanks for such a wonderful adrenaline fuelled evening.

I'm looking forward to our next more relaxed outing at the bunnies

 

Phantom

[ArchieHood 3,692]

Welcome to the wonderful world of the rat Phantom,I find ratting the most enjoyable sport as I think you will.Top write up SP4U

[nod 285]

is that all what u could remember

 

very good write up, i shall be after some on friday nite at a recycling centre went 2 weeks ago and shot over 50, going to try and film this time so watch this space

[Phantom 631]

Cheers Buddy,

 

It'll take me a while to get used to that though

 

Phantom

[Phantom 631]

@ nod :11:

 

Hope you manage to film it and share with us all

 

Phantom

[kingoftoosh 15]

crackin post phantom,the hairs on my neck were standin up reading that. Sounds like you had a braw time.next time tuck your socks into your boots

[stealthy1 3,964]

Dont you just love a good ratting session, have a slut for not soiling your pants

[Phantom 631]

Thank you gentlemen

 

It was an amazing night

 

Phantom

[dillan 19]

Good write up Phantom, could`nt have explained it better myself, didnt think you would be disapointed. I made a count up on the cam corder last night of 18 and yes you did hit that rat as you made a comment that said `1st rat with NV` I will down load it later on here for you. Anyway glad you enjoyed the experience, see you tonight for a bit of `Dylan` bashing

[Sweeney-Todd 208]

Hiya Tony.

 

Hope you had a good night's sleep mate

 

What a brilliant read that was, and a great outing too.....well most of it, not counting the close encounter's

 

Have a SP for an excellent write up mate

 

 

 

 

 

Bill.

[rushty 1]

Great story Phantom, enjoyed it. I luv killin the rats but if i am honest i am actually shit scared of them ( i have taught my shootin partner how to give mouth to mouth and the rest cos if a rat ever jumps on me i will collapse). We sometimes shoot a smsll holding with pigs and they will eat the rats if given the chance and to hear them fighting over a rat is incredible , put me ogg pork aswell mate, glad you enjoyed.

[dillan 19]

One of many

 

[Phantom 631]

Ohhhhh YES,

 

That confirms it YEEEHHAAAAAA

 

I've played that back time and again and I can feel my trigger finger move at just the right time

 

Thanks Dillan, I really appreciate that.

 

Phantom

[festa 206]

cracking read up there tony mate im hoping to get some ratting done on friday night after last weeks rabbits i know need a bigger freezer lol so until the freezer goes down a bit rats are on the cards

 

atb gary

[venomviper 129]

hi ya tony me old pal

fantastic read buddy and glad your out having a goood go at the rats they are hard work when it comes to shooting them but it's all good a job is a job buddy and you will do well at it and what a true gent to take you out ratting with him nice going dillon

 

and nice video to

 

shay