We had threads on bear, armadillo and coyote guns...how about a rat gun?

When I was young I found the best way to get the most bang for the buck killing rats was to use Dads double barrel 12 gauge. On a hot day I would place a tuna can full of water next to the wooden corn crib, then climb into the barn loft overlooking the can. Sometimes you could get as many as 5 rats around the can before taking the shot!
 
Does that mean that?
"It's a Rat writ,
writ for a Rat, and this is lawful service of same"?
(Was Rooster using a .45 L/C, .44/40, or a .38/40 SAA?)
 
Rat Gun

Hi:
Living at the time in an old two story house my wife complained of rats in the pantry. One of our sons was on leave from the Marine Corp. He would sit in the pantry with a flashlight and a .25acp. Soon after no more rat problem. Afterwards a racoon made a home in the attic and at night you could hear him walking. Marine Corp son used a .45acp one night to fire though the ceiling ending the raccon problem. The next morning I told my wife "Honey, please don't tell son about the problem neighbor next door".
Jimmy
 
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max said:
It was M-16's in Vietnam, but it usually took more than one shot. Biggest rats I have ever seen.
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I was hoping there would be another Vietnam Vet up here as thay were the biggest damn rats I ever saw. I was in a sleeping bunker one night with no shirt on and one climbed up on my chest and I laid there as it sniffed my chest and neck. The damn thing felt like it weighed 10 pounds.

Needless to say - I hate rats and would take great joy killing any I see with a Law's rocket if I could. OK, that's over kill how about a 223 round instead.
 
those Nam rats were large and plentiful. I was bit by one and had to take the 15 shots in the stomach treatment. I killed alot rats after that. for shooting the inside the bunkers, I would pull the bullet on a M-16 round,,seal in the powder by pushing the neck into a bar of soap and push in a small map plotting pin of about bore dia. they woulk kill rats out to about 10 yds.
 
Back in 1959, I visited relatives n a small town in Iowa. I met a fellow a few years older than me, and he showed me a ".22 Varminter" built on an 1917 Enfield action. Looked like a sledge hammer tapping in a carpet tack. I seem to remember a name Gebby?
We took it to the local dump for a rat patrol. IIRC he only had 6 or 8 cartridges. But we actually tagged one-well it seemed adequate...
 
they were monster size

Some of this sounds like "Community Service" and "The One That Got Away" fishing stories. I'm surprised that the 22 Short was not sufficient but then they were monster size and a 30-30 was probably marginal also.
 
When I was stationed at Bien Hoa, VN, I was going to the shower/latrine hut one night, and this huge rat came running out of the hut with a guy chasing it. He yelled to stop the damn thing as it had one of his boots in its mouth while running away with it. I never saw a rat that big again. I also hated getting that damn shot we had to have before going over there.
 
Long ago in a place far away......

Long ago in a place far away (Korea) there were rats which yielded to none as far as size goes. In fact standing orders for those on guard discussed rats (prevalent), and shooting of the same at night (forbidden!).
Around buildings, guards usually carried M2 carbines, dark nights, youth and enthusiasm usually resulted in at least one attempt to kill a monster rat, full auto, per week at about 3AM. ..... This was in clear violation of guard orders, collateral damage was frequent, and the subsequent uproar caused all to fall out. In any event, the shooting seldom resulted in dead rats.
But wouldn't you like to be in a large dump with an M2, several banana magazines, and bunch of overgrown Norway Rats?
 
It's unlikely that those living in areas, such as Bangladesh, where rats are really a problem could afford a firearm, let alone sufficient ammunition, to deal with the problem. Even using cheap .22 bulk ammunition at around 3 cents a round, the cost in ammo to kill 80 thousand odd rats would add up rather quickly.

Traps are probably the best option, that way you can use the meat. It tastes better on a stick for some reason, but then it is said that most meat does.

There are anecdotal reports of 40 pound rats the size of medium dogs in some areas. That'd be a big rat.

Since rats like to frolic at night, one might want to equip themselves for after dark shooting if they were going on rat safari. A suppressed 10/22 and a PVS-14 would probably be just the ticket, perhaps in combination with an IR illuminator. If you use a PEQ2, it'lll actually cook the rats insides if you leave it focused long enough. (Fun with science, you can cook an egg in its shell with one.) Though since rats may be able to see IR light, that might be counter productive.
 
Bullseye 2620 said:
motivatorc3f170b9ebba3a0ede5b0d1f9f.jpg
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Hah, grateful for the custom poster.

My .455 rat was a lot of fun to take. I think I told the little tale here before. I was mowing out at our old family place at the lake. It's in the middle of nowhere so I always tote a holstered pistole. This particular time I wanted to play with the Boer War era Webley Mark IV, a revolver which fits perfectly into a 4-inch N-Frame holster by the way.

Anyway, I mowed around and around, the center of high grass becoming ever smaller. I frequently have shot rats, mice, snakes, and ground squirrels that bolted from this center of tall grass. Sure enough, this rat finally must have felt crowded so began scrambling across the mown portion for safety. I gleefully snatched the Webley from its holster, and snap shot the rat as he ran, the big slug coring out a deep circular furrow along the left side of his head, relieving him of his left eye and ear. I probably could have never duplicated the shot again. Was all very gratifying though. Sent the photo to a Yorkshire friend so he could see that his country's arms were still put to good use.

Used to have good luck as a kid against field rats and the odd snake, employing the Benjamin pellet rifle against them while mowing on a tractor. Later used a Winchester Model 190 .22 auto rifle.

Regarding the Gebby Varminter mentioned above by Jim in Wisconsin. It is nothing more or less than the excellent .22-250 that Remington introduced in the mid 1960s. Same chamber dimensions. I hand load for one with the barrel marked ".22 Gebby Varminter." It's my dad's and he acquired it from the original owner who had J. E. Gebby build it in the early 1940s from a pre-war Supergrade Winchester Model 70 .30-06. This rifle accepts all factory .22-250 loads and cases are easily hand loaded with standard .22-250 dies. A very accurate rifle for ratting.
 
Maybe they need a rat*coon* gun, eh?

Raccoons Attack Woman in South Lakeland | theledger.com | The Ledger | Lakeland, FL

I think I'd have used a shovel on that.

The news fellers showed some footage of a sow coon with several kits. I'd imagine she was feeding a sow with kits, and perhaps on of the little ones got behind her and the sow went crazy as animals with offspring often do.

I'd hit those coons in the head with a shovel and place in a plastic bag- no problem.

What gets me, is there was a mom out there stating that she was scared to let her kids out. Sheesh! When I was 10, I had trapped and killed my first coon...cat accidentally too. :o

If they wouldn't have been feeding the coons, they'd spared this problem.
 
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