In reply to Post #15
With an unexpected afternoon off and loads of messages from the mrs I had to stop at the local shop for the remington. Pretty horrible tbh, not as loud as I expected but very front heavy with a real kick. I can't hold it steady without resting it on something at the moment, was getting a 4 inch spread at first resting on the back of a chair but after half a tin of pellets and putting an unhooking mat over the chair I'm getting a grouping about the size of a pound coin at the longest distance diagonally across the garden. Have setup the baited spot at about half that distance now so it should be pretty clean.
Seems overkill for the range I'm shooting.
It's likely that I'll get the ratcatcher next year and get rid of this, although I do quite like that it's ready to go in an instant

In reply to Post #16
Main thing is you got something,and you can put your wife's concerns at ease now..

Just remember about eye relief,and try sitting on yr haunches,or bottom when holding your gun at first,it'll soon become second nature..

There seems to be even more rats,mice around this year,I don't know why,out cat brought in this big barn rat recently,was huge..

Good luck,with gun remember squeeze trigger,don't pull or jerk it Duggs,and wrap the whole of your finger around that trigger..

In reply to Post #17
The guy in the shop reckons he's selling 10 of these in a slow week for this purpose only. With all the bars and restaurants shut down there heading to the residential areas, and with the bins overflowing in the park the population must be booming

I set up my sniper station with a comfortable chair and a second chair to act as a front rest

We'll just have to see how long they can resist the Icelandic red boilie paste with a bird seed garnish

Breathing control finger position/pull and follow through will all help with your accuracy.

In reply to Post #19
I'll have to work on that. I can see why target shooting is a popular hobby, I was having loads of fun drawing smiley faces.

I can't see me ever enjoying the other bit, I got three this morning, absolutely horrendous!

I read back through this earlier and googled a few bits that went over my head
Eye relief-after moving the scope quite a bit I'm in a much more comfortable position, getting a tighter group without needing a front rest
Not quite sure what follow through is or how to work on it. Doesn't seem to be an issue at the range I've got but I like to learn new skills

I'll make a dent in the population in the next week then do what I can to block access

Had lots of rattys and rifles ranging from budget to silly money over the years then discovered the amazing SMK range total Quality

for a budget rifle with top price accuracy and performance nothing comes close IMHO to this LINKY POO

In reply to Post #22
If that's a budget rifle my one must be bargain basement

It feels it tbh, makes me wonder what the 1st one I looked at would be like at £80

Got a job coming up out in the Surrey countryside, I dropped a subtle hint about getting some target practice at longer distance and he's happy for me to do it, with the condition I use non toxic pellets. Are these any different in use?
I initially just bought hollow point pellets but went back for domed ones when I realised they were half the price for twice the quantity. I see a difference in accuracy between the two with the domed ones seeming more accurate. Can pretty much get ten shots through the same hole without enlarging it much with the domed but 10 shots with the hollows gives me a 5p sized hole. It'll be interesting to the spread at double or triple the range

No signs of rats for a few days now, and had a mouse in a trap this morning which is a good sign apparently, but I know I haven't got the big one that chased the cat away so I'm not concreting this week.

This gun being a legal limit .22 is probably a lot more than I need, but I think I'll keep it for now as I can just grab it and shoot if it's needed in future. But I do want something quieter and more suited to 10m shooting

Stocks of the ratcatcher seem pretty sparse at the moment, but that really does seem perfect for what I want. I also came across the smk victory cp2 which appeals being a multi shot gun. Will have to do some research on reliability of that gun vs the ratcatcher, plus the rat catcher wins on simplicity

Noticed a dead rat in my yard which set alarm bells ringing.

Fortunately I've a little waste ground over the fence down the back side of my garden. Purchased the blocks from amazon and threw over a dozen where I could see them. Next morning all of them had gone. Next door neighbour phoned the council and said he'd seen rats in his yard too. With his home being council property there was no charge to get the rat catcher out. Put in a rat food ‘believe it's on like of a spit rod as the rats when they get in cannot take the bait with them'. Rat catcher came back 2 weeks later to take a look in it and there was nothing nibbled at. I put another block over 1 week ago and it's still there so hopefully the ones I threw around have killed them.

From modern combat sports I purchased a Umarex T4E TPM1 paintball pistol which also fires rubber and rubber/steel bullets. Legal to own and doesn't half pack a punch.

In reply to Post #25
From what I read they have to eat a lot of the poisons we can buy. They're deliberately less effective due to careless, irresponsible use like you did, just chucking a bit about so anything could eat it.

Plus with falcons, owls and reports of a red kite in the area, not to mention people's pets, amazingly it seemed to me a rifle was the more responsible solution

BBs are too bouncy for my liking, my neighbours would love that

In reply to Post #27
Oops.....

Edit - Thankfully I've not heard of anyone's pet going missing and I've seen their pets on my walks.

In reply to Post #28
Any good for the neighbours

In reply to Post #29


Unfortunately I've seen one or two around earlier....