8 replies to this topic

[ratassassin]

Went over to my sister's house this afternoon to help her boyfriend install a door. Brought along my AA ProSport .177 just in case because she's been having problems with a bunch of feral cats that piss and poop in her yard. The old lady across the street feeds strays and of course she never spays them. So they breed and a bunch have grown up wild. They fight at 2 a.m., leave fur all over the place and the place reeks. The other neighbors hate it. When we arrived with the new door, I opened up the side gate and there sitting on the sidewalk about 10 feet from me was a big fat rat! It was acting sort of sluggish and was slowly rubbing its face. It didn't bolt off right away and didn't seem to take much notice of me. It was probably sick. The recent fires in the foothills may have pushed it down to look for food and water because all the forage and cover has been devastated across the entire mountainside. Anyhow, I slowly backed away, pulled my ProSport out of the truck and quickly loaded up a JSB Exact 8.4 gr. The rat was still there, facing me head-on. I dropped to one knee, adjusted my objective down to 10 yards quickly and took aim. The image was a bit blurry but I didn't waste time focusing further. I aimed right between the eyes and gently squeezed the trigger. Whap! The rat immediately fell forward, curling over on his head and a pool of blood starting pouring out of it. I was surprised there was that much blood. I figure the shot hit him in the head then continued down into its body tearing up its vitals and exiting its underside. At that close range, the pellet would have been traveling about 814 fps with about 12.4 fpe at impact. Plenty for a fat rat. My sister's boyfriend scooped it up real quick with some plastic and threw it in the trash can before I could snap a picture. But here's a photo of the pool of blood that poured out of it. (Lousy cell phone camera, sorry.) No feral cats today but got a rat instead!RA[attachment=5860:rat_blood_Nov24.jpg]

[mackeralboy]

Well done on the rat! I have a Prosport in .22 cal and it is by far the most accurate springer I own. I don't think that there is a pellet out there that it dosen't shoot well. As for the Crazy Cat Lady be careful. I posted a topic a while back about feral cats and Crazy Cat Ladies. It's in Forum members Forum on the second page titled Crazy cat people and feral cats. you get my drift if you read it.

[Bozsik]

Rats are fun. Sounds like somebody close by is poisoning them. It surely wouldn't have hung around otherwise. It is a good thing you finished it off.db

[ratassassin]

Well done on the rat! I have a Prosport in .22 cal and it is by far the most accurate springer I own. I don't think that there is a pellet out there that it dosen't shoot well. As for the Crazy Cat Lady be careful. I posted a topic a while back about feral cats and Crazy Cat Ladies. It's in Forum members Forum on the second page titled Crazy cat people and feral cats. you get my drift if you read it.

Thanks! I'll be sure to check out your post on CCL's and will be careful. RA

[PredatorMaster]

[ratassassin]

Rats are fun. Sounds like somebody close by is poisoning them. It surely wouldn't have hung around otherwise. It is a good thing you finished it off.db

Yeah, you're right. It may have been poisoned by the next door neighbor. Tell you the truth, I was surprised to see it out in the afternoon at all. Most of the time, I only see them at night. And if it was dying of poison and crawled into the attic or into a wall, that would have been a real mess. Just glad my air rifle was in the truck.RA

[mackeralboy]

I have to agree with Bozsik about the poisoning. I remember being told in paramedic school that certain rat poisons kill by causing massive internal bleeding. That could explain the good amount of blood (other than it being a good head shot. )

[ratassassin]

Mackeralboy, I read your post about CCL's and CCP's. You hit the nail on the head, amigo. They're a menace to Western civilization. I don't know what it is about my sister's house. When she bought it over 20 years ago, she had a problem with male cats spraying the front door. It was gawd-awful. She shot 9 cats in 2 days with .22 short CB's. Very quietly, of course. Guess what? No more cat pee. RA

[indyjrt]

That's funny that there is such a rat problem considering all the feral cats. What about buying a large "livetrap" and taking the cats for a ride to coyote country?