Epic Battles with Rodents

5 Responses to Epic Battles with Rodents

1. Nate says:

   December 13, 2011 at 3:14 pm

   Umm..raccoons aren’t rodents.

   Just sayin’…
2. Gerry N. says:

   December 13, 2011 at 5:18 pm

   Here in the Glorious People’s Socialist Republic of Mountlake Terrace, WA taking on a raccoon with a .22 rifle is absolutely verboten. So all I have available from my battery is a freakin’ air rifle. A Gamo Delta that will propel a hollow pellet at around 900 fps. Not much in the face of Rory Raccoon. So I developed a more lethal yet equally quiet solution. A .310″ roundball propelled from a specially prepared .30-30 cartridge case and fired from a break action single shot rifle. I dunno the specs on this load except that at ranges of less than 100 feet, a decent head or body hit on a ‘coon or ‘possum is almost always quick death. Rats are always killed by a half decent hit. My practice target is a Doug Fir round with the growth rings 1/16″ or less apart. The little balls disappear into it when fired from 60 ft. By disappear, I mean bury themselves an inch and a half. Even a teevee CSI with a magic penlite and a mosquito hemostat couldn’t retrieve one. I reamed the flash hole to 1/8″, belled the mouth of the case slightly and power the round ball with a magnum pistol primer (’cause I got a thousand of ’em for free) and a measure made from a .22 short case full of Bullseye. this load patterns about two inches at 60 feet and allows a lethal hit on sundry rodents, ‘possums and ‘coons at a hundred. Always watching the back drop, of course. We wouldn’t want to shoot out someone’s window, would we? You WOULD NOT believe the amount of paperwork that involves.
3. Kristopher says:

   December 14, 2011 at 9:07 am

   Gerry N:

   When dealing with large critters inside city limits, consider a large crossbow, or a muzzleloader if that is not considered a firearm in your state.
4. Gerry N. says:

   December 14, 2011 at 5:23 pm

   I tried a crossbow. Reloading and cocking are a nightmare, and accuracy (at least in my case) sucks filthy monkey balls. I can reload and shoot my H&R Topper 148 in about seven seconds, depending on state of excitement. I have a metric carload of Muzzleloaders, too much smoke, slow reload and the caps are more costly than the Magnum Pistol Primers I got for free. Free is very hard to beat. I do recognize your interest and appreciate the suggestions. If I had a large critter to deal with , such as a bear or cougar, (both are well within the realm of possibility here) I would most likely arm myself with my Yugo SKS loaded with ten 154 gr Wolf soft points and my 72# Very Territorial Pitbull Bitch, Bella, then fight any subsequent charges in court. Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6, don’t you think? Much, much better than being partially eaten by one big furry or another, too. By the way, coyotes and deer are fairly regular visitors, but I consider them to be in the catagory of “furry friends” because they cause me absolutely no harm and have always left peacefully.
5. Mad Rocket Scientist says:

   December 16, 2011 at 6:19 pm

   Nate – True, technically they fall somewhere into the bear family.
   I suppose that along should indicate that a .22 is gonna do little more than piss them off.

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