Next Step; Rat Gun.

[Coypu Hunter 486]

I used to have the 850 AirMagnum, which was the CO2 forerunner of the R8. If the R8 is anything like as accurate as the 850 was, then you'd be on to a winner. The trigger on mine was excellent, which helped, even though it was polymer rather than metal. The rifle was very light in CO2 configuration, dunno about the new HPA version.

[davyt63 1,839]

hi

you need a multi shot pcp really,for shooting rats.because as you will know it can be at a very fast pace.

calibre dose not matter,what matters is a decent backstop when taking the shot

 

if your on a budget get ya self a decent spring rifle AA or HW.

[shergar 42]

Don't bother with the walther r8 get something tryed and tested for a bit more money get yourself a bsa ultra se in .177 cracking little gun nice and light very pointable and stupidly accurate . You won't regret it

 

Shergar

 

Whatever you do don't get a lightning

Edited October 20, 2014 by shergar

[kanny 19,387]

I personally wouldent go for a .25 for a beginner if you get the bug you will soon want to move onto things other than rats and sub 12 .25 is a little limiting I would say go .22 and run bisley mags for rats and what ever else the barrel likes for the other stuff..if you dont want to spend to much look at a second hand hw Springer if its been looked after it will be far superior to anything new with a similar price tag.

 

Atb

 

Kanny

[RemyBolt 420]

Mate, if you're looking for cheap...that rules out PCP. If you're ratting, a springer won't get you many in a night. After the first bang sound...they'll all be gone. It'll be a long time between shots. What kinds of distances will you be shooting?

 

If you're super close up, it might be worth having some fun with a CO2 pistol...although you need to make sure you get accurate head shots and beware of stray pellets damaging stuff. It's a lot of fun though! I'm thinking of getting another air pistol and going Matrix style under a chicken house and seeing how it goes. I think I'll be lucky if I hit any at all haha. Joking aside, the distance you shoot will be a major factor. If you're taking longer shots, you'll want a higher powered gun, so a springer would be a reasonable option in this instance. If you're taking closer shots, what's wrong with what you've got?

 

If you've got a ratty, stick with it. I've got a 3 day ratting session coming up, and I'm taking my ratty with me. Expectation is to bag around 10-25 rats a night (maxed out with 35 confirmed kills in one night, but a load of 90's...where you're 90% certain it was a kill, but body cannot be retrieved), depending how many rats there are. Anything less than double figures is annoying...any I'm using my Rat Catcher.

 

Only mods you'll really need, silencer, and a scope. I also have a night vision set up on mine, but that's just a modified camera, an IR torch, and a normal torch, all pressure switches. But you'll not really need that to start with.

 

Maintenance for a 2250...minimal. A drop of gun oil on the top of the CO2 cartridge (the little 12g ones) before you drop it in and a drop into the breech (where you load the pellets), and you're golden. That's all the maintenance I've given mine, and I've been using it for years. Probably should give it a good clean, but it's still doing it's job perfectly, so I've not bothered changing anything.

 

The first 3 or 4 shots with a ratty will be off, but then shots 4 or 5, until shot 22ish will be consistent.

 

As for scope, it depends on what kind of shooting you'll be doing. If you're shooting in the day, evening, or at night, you'll probably use a different scope. For my ratting, I used a fixed 4x mag, because it works perfectly for my needs. Although I'm looking to change to a variable 3-9 or around there, just to make spotting easier.

[Morgham 0]

I've been considering a ratting/close range gun for use at home. I currently use a .177 Axsor gemini and I'm a bit worried about over penetration at close range.

 

Would a .25 be overkill, or would I be better off getting a .22 and using a heavier pellet something like a JSB exact jumbo? Maximum range will be about 20 metres.

[Mr Muddy 141]

Thanks again everyone.

 

When I said ‘not expensive’ I really just meant not top-of-the-range that you have to be an expert to use properly. I don’t mind spending a few quid.

 

But anyway:

I’ve gone out and got the scope one of you guys suggested I get, and a now I’ve got a silencer too. I’ve stuck them all on my rat catcher, and it’s even more fun. My only problem is I’m going to have to wait for the rats in my garden to build their numbers back up again

 

 

If I’m going to be brutally honest with myself; I think I just don’t want to be laughed at as the tw*t who turned up for a pest control job with a ‘toy gun’.

But if you guys think a ratcatcher 2250B is a perfectly respectable little weapon for rat control then that’s probably good enough for me.

 

Maybe I should spend the ‘new rifle’ money on a cheap night vision instead?

 

P.S. good luck with your ratting session Remy, and thanks for the ‘gun oil on the top of the CO2 cartridge’ tip, I didn’t know about that.

[Coypu Hunter 486]

I use Pelgun Oil from Crosman, they recommend it for their PCPs and CO2 guns.

 

Here's a question for you Ratcatcher owners. I have a Crosman 2240 pistol, and have added sight mounts, a small scope and the rifle stock.

 

I've been trying to sort out a longer barrel for it, plus a silencer, but haven't had any success getting an answer from GMAC Custom Parts. Does anyone know if the 2250 and 2240 barrels are interchangeable? I'm trying to find out if the 14.5" 2250 barrel will fit the 2240. It's this one: http://www.gmaccustomparts.com/epages/BT3197.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT3197/Products/2250-019

Edited October 22, 2014 by Coypu Hunter

[treecreeper 1,136]

Nothing toy about a ratcatcher mate, perfectly capable little gun at short ranges you can fettle them to get more power/flatten the trajectoy but you would get less shots per cartridge.

[tomburras 2,721]

Personally I'd go for a quality PCP multi shot with a good shot count in .22 and invest the most money you can afford and use it as an all rounder. Messing with co2 in cold temps is a nightmare and the capsules are expensive. Better off with a good pcp like a falcon fn multi shot, air arms s410, bsa ultra multi ect. I wouldn't buy several guns to suit, but a top quality all rounder. Iv used hw97 and single shot fn19 and had big rat bags and my mate uses a s200 with home made nv and does + rats a night with it. I'd leave the rat catcher and go best you can afford PCP then you cover all bases. You will also get to know your gun better while using it for other shooting such as targets or rabbits. Just my opinion but that's what I'd do.

[RemyBolt 420]

One thing to think about, there are always going to be different opinions on different things. That's a part of being human.

 

Don't ever be worried about what other people think. Me and my 'toy gun' can happily bang along with the best of them. The thing to consider, will a £500 BSA Ultra make you a better shot? Will it make a rat any more dead than a ratty? Will you be more upset WHEN you knock it? Do you know what you need to do to fix it if something goes wrong? What will you do if you drop it? What will it do that the Ratty won't do?

 

Don't get me wrong, the PCP group are sporting good guns, as are the HW springer boys. All the advice you are getting is good. But if you're new to air rifles, stick with cheap and cheerful to start. Who knows, you might end up hating it. To take out rats, you don't need to spend a few hundred pounds. Plus I've never seen anyone get a big bag of rats with a springer. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I've not seen it, or heard any write ups with double figure springer rat kills. A PCP would certainly perform well in cold conditions against CO2. Many PCP's will be getting 30-40 shots on a fill. Considering I look at kill count, 30 confirmed kills might mean 40 shots, if they're twitching out and become unretrievable. I can carry over 100 shots worth of pellets on a velcro bullet strip on the side of my gun. Time to change the cartridge...a hell of a lot less than than it takes to walk to the car and fill up from a tank, or less than it takes to get out the pump and start pumping. But it's like I've said before, at the moment you don't need that if what you have works for you.

 

Oh, and back to the 'Toy Gun' thing. When you bag 20+ rats a few sessions in a row, gradually getting less and less, then pop down the farm to find rat numbers are few and far between, you know you're doing something right and the gun you're using is working. Then when the farm manager gets a second site and you have sole ratting (and rabbits) rights to it...please laugh at the Rat Catcher. Small, light, and loved by everyone that's shot them.

[tomburras 2,721]

Nowt wrong with ratcatchers! or been a "toy" gun they do a good job. I went through the co2 phase and I could have baught a better PCP and a pump for the cost of all the co2 I used and without re zeroing each time I went out and the temp changed. Do what you want you don't need to follow others like a sheep but I'd buy nice, or you will buy twice. Confidence in your set up is priceless.

[kanny 19,387]

I dont know how us old ones managed pre pcp /c02 lol ... ive moved on from springers but to say there not capable of large rat bags is just not right infact I would go as far to say I could probably get accurate close range shots of quicker or at least as quick with my old hw35 with iron sites than I can with my rapid now with a scope had plenty of big bags with springers and not just rats .your going to be limited with a ratty and im not dissing them there good little tools for close range but there limited the clue is in the name lol....my advice what has been passed down to me is buy well buy once.

 

Atb

 

Kanny

[tomburras 2,721]

I dont know how us old ones managed pre pcp /c02 lol ... ive moved on from springers but to say there not capable of large rat bags is just not right infact I would go as far to say I could probably get accurate close range shots of quicker or at least as quick with my old hw35 with iron sites than I can with my rapid now with a scope had plenty of big bags with springers and not just rats .your going to be limited with a ratty and im not dissing them there good little tools for close range but there limited the clue is in the name lol....my advice what has been passed down to me is buy well buy once.

Atb

Kanny

Well said! Had good bags with my old tx200 used to fill 25kg pig feed sacks full of rats with it from a grain store. Accuracy is miles more important than rifle length or what its powered by. Must admit a multi shot PCP is handy tho.