Rats I Say

[slatebuilder]

David Petzel once wrote on the pleasures of shooting dump rats. So in the words of GW McClintock “let’s get to the rat killing”.

In full disclosure this is not a DIY public land hunt. It is a guided, private land, high fence affair.

From the toilet in our upstairs bathroom one can look out the window directly through the chicken coop door in the yard below. This morning my wife spotted a large rat at the feed trough in the chicken coop. The chickens were already out wandering for the day. The rat was helping himself to their layer mash.

I grabbed a Stevens double barrel and a #4 Remington nitro mag. Into the left barrel for a rear trigger shot. The window sill was a prefect rest for the 35 yard shot.

Biggest dam rat I’ve ever seen. Boone and Crockett for sure.
For reference that’s a 12” block and the chocolate lab weighs about 110 and has a fat head.

 

[MarvB]

Hmmm…hunting over bait!

 

[Scott85]

 

[TakeABreakAndTouchGrass]

Oh I have a rat story!

Two years ago after getting home from my trip to MT, while catching up with my wife out in the garage, she mentioned that she'd seen a rat in there. I assumed that she was being silly and mistook a mouse or particularly large cockroach for a rat and brushed her off. I planned to take no action.

BUT! Later than night while grabbing a drink from the garage fridge I saw a rat run across the top of our garage door and then climb up into the attic. Using traps with peanut butter and crackers I killed 7 rats over the next 48 hours and had to apologize to my wife with shame LOL.

 

[morley.tyler]

Found some rats had taken shelter from the winter Portland rains in our garage a few years ago... Traps and PB did the work. One was 97% decapitated and bled out all over the floor. I picked up the trap, dumped him in the can, rebaited, and moved on.
My wife asked if I'm gonna clean up the pool of blood?
"Nah, let it serve as a warning to his friends"
She wandered off muttering under her breath... I can't be sure, but I think I heard, "why did I marry a guy from Idaho?"

 

[Jbotto]

We had rats in an old hog barn growing up. I shot a few as I swung the door open, hit the light switch and opened up on them with a single shot .22 and rat shot. I got smart after they got smart of that.

I took a 12Ga empty shotgun shell and cable tied it under the barrel. In that shell fit perfectly, a MiniMagLite with its dim beam focused as tight as it could. I’d line that up with the sights on that old Remington and go in all stealthy like, without turning the barnlights on. At rat shot distances I could swing the rifle around and whatever the flash light beam touched, I could pull the trigger and shoot rats without using the sights. Got pretty good at that actually. Still surprised I never even touched a lightbulb with that combination. I did have a revelation on it though when one night I stepped inside and heard a rat running along the wall towards me. The light was on it as it ran closer and closer, right over the top of my boots. Thankfully I didn’t get caught up in the moment as my finger found the trigger just as it went across my toes. Hesitated an extra second and gave it the heavy payload of #12 shot in the east side of the now westbound rat as it was about four feet off the barrel. Killing rats is serious business! Glad you got a trophy!

 

[44hunter45]

I've told this story before. Back on the ranch, my brother and I would sneak open our bedroom window and "snipe" ground squirrels off the horse trough when they came in to drink. I put the word in quotes because my dad showed up one day with a handful of nuts,bolts, fender washers, and rubber washers and made us plug all the holes we had shot in the galvanized trough with our .22.

 

[WYWINCHESTER]

Found this guy at elk camp. Biggest pack rat in the mountain's.