Rats
 

My air rifle is a FWB 300 about 7.5 joules or 55 foot pounds. I'm having a rough time killing Rats, after a solid body hit they always make it into the bushes and/or their burrow. I'd like to figure out a way to DRT them. I've been experimenting with different pellets all claiming to be the answer. I'm thinking the answer might be a quick expanding pellet. A soft lead hollow point might be the answer, it needs to expand quickly because my rifle is on the slow side. Most of my shots are at runners, so headshots are iffy. Any recommendations, I've got a decent collection of pellets, at least six types so far that have me underwhelmed. Likely a couple of thousand that I may eventually use for target practice, but pretty much useless otherwise. Last Fall it was mice, we had a bunch of them, this Spring it is Rats, at least four generations running around here. I've been trapping and shooting them and haven't made much of a dent in the population so far, methinks they are breeding faster than I can kill them. My Cat is AWOL I haven't seen hide nor hair of it since the Rats took over. My Terriers are too old to catch many Rats, one is fifteen the other seventeen. I'm anti-poison especially with the dogs running around, if they don't get into the poison the likelihood of them eating a poisoned Rat is high. Any help is appreciated.

Bump up to a .22lr? Probably not a particularly helpful suggestion.

My guess is you're having marginal hits due to them moving and it won't matter what pellet you use. A rat is large enough that you still have to hit it in the right spot to have a quick kill.

Also- does it matter if they aren't DRT? Get a pellet in them and hope they die somewhere along the line. Unless you start smelling and finding dead rats everywhere.

-Jake

I guess it is just the ethical hunter in me, I detest letting any animal crawl off and die a slow death. I wish I thought I could get away with using a 22 LR my neighbors are the rules are for thee not for me types and would likely call the authorities fast. Hunting Rats on your own property with a pellet pistol or rifle is legal here if the rifle doesn't make more than 7.5 joules of energy. I was hoping to find a pellet that would scramble a Rats insides, meat damage isn't an issue :) Rats are tough, a neck shot didn't do the job, a few body shots either, solid hits but no immediate dying going on.

I used to use BB’s with a Pumpmaster 760 to smoke mice and rats in my first (slum hole) apartment in college. In the evenings, I would lay tin foil all over the floor in my kitchen and sprinkle a few bits of peanut butter Captain crunch in the center. Waiting with the rifle ready, pumped 3-4 times, I would shoot from my back bedroom to smoke the tiny intruders. Over the course of a few weeks, I was killing a few per night at first, and in total, took several dozen rats and mice out of our house, until it finally seemed like the issue was finally squashed. Far more productive than traps and glueboards - and more fun.

I'm with more fun, more than one way to scratch the ol hunting itch. :) My garden is full of edibles, rodents are always a problem. I even trapped a Raccoon back there. I wish an Owl or a Weasel would show up and help resolve my problem. They are breeding faster than I can eliminate them.

Mudder, I think you mean 5.5 FPE, not 55 FPE. Not killing a rat DRT with 5.5 FPE makes sense but not being able to do it with 55 FPE doesn't. At 55 FPE, I was thinking those are some tough rats if they're not DRT.

Are you just using body shots since they're moving? Gut shot probably wouldn't stop them DRT. Maybe a shoulder shot if head shots aren't workable? Just spitballing here. You've severely limited with the joules limitation.

.177 seems a little light for rats. Too bad you can't use a AA TX200 like IdahoRon. It seems to stack up chucks for him.

Yes I think it was 5.53 FPE I dropped the decimal point. I moved the bird feeder out into the yard aways. The Rats like the fallen seeds and I am hoping I can catch a few feeding (still, head down) in my safe shooting lane. Most have been body shots, I tried a neck shot and hit right at the base of the neck (works well on Deer) the rat did the death dance then got up and ran away, no doubt it died somewhere. I'm researching picking up a better rifle. Mine has kits available to up it to nine or eleven joules (one even claims 16 joules but I'm skeptical of that one), but most people say don't do it as it will damage the internals of the rifle eventually. I like the extreme accuracy of what I've got, recoilless design. I put a holo sight on it which makes hitting the runners a lot easier. I did make a couple of headshots with my pellet pistol (4 joules), they went down but were still wiggling and trying to get back up. I'm having fun with it anyway. I put up a motion-activated camera, WiFi, daylight and IR that sends a video and alert to my phone when the rats are active. :)

That airgun sounds like a dream but looks like it's made more for target practice. If you stepped up to .22, would you still have the power limitation?

I'll have to double-check but I'm fairly certain the 7.5 joule limit is for all calibers. I know for a fact it makes no difference what the grain weight of the pellet is 7.5 is 7.5, so a logical conclusion is it makes no difference if it is .177,20, 22 or 25.
It is a dam nice rifle, walnut stock, heavier than heck, and same hole accurate. Supposedly what they used to use for .177 ten-meter Olympic shooting back in the day. It has one of the nicest triggers I've ever tried, light but not too light, breaks really clean. I added a Holo sight and a bipod. A buddy owns a shooting range and gave it to me. I guess nobody was interested in shooting it anymore and it was collecting dust and rust. It cleaned up really nicely.