Part 3
“AS THE PREVIOUS RAT, IT WAS OBLIVIOUS TO THE DANGER LURKING IN THE DARKNESS”
Because the rats were well on to the poultry pellets, I decided to put out a few heaps of these just after the chickens had settled into their coop for the night. Rather than using them dry, I put a scoop in a builders’ bucket and scalded them with hot water to turn them into sludge so the rodents couldn’t just pick them up and dart off. By placing small heaps of these offerings about 14m from my shooting position, I knew I would be able to aim dead on at any rats that ventured out to dine. With the baits out, I then went about setting up my usual ratting stool and Primos Trigger Stick to create a comfortable seat and a stable shooting platform.
Darkness was really starting to close in by the time I strode back out across the garden after fetching the Weihrauch/Saim combo from my gun cabinet and connecting my Yukon Mobile Player/Recorder, which I was planning to use to capture some images through the scope. It was a still, quiet evening and although the trees are leafing up as the days grow longer, there was a distinct chill in the air. The rustling of my clothes and the subtle creaking of the gun in its rest seemed much louder than usual, with nothing apart from the occasional drone of a passing car on the distant road to mask them, and I was worried that the rats might be able to hear me as I sat waiting in the gloom.
I had chosen the Red Hot display for my nocturnal vigil, but the SCL35 yielded nothing of interest during my first few scans. Eventually, I spotted the squirming red form of a rat’s heat signature. That first scaly-tail was clambering about in the hedge and I couldn’t get a clear or safe shot at it so, to my great frustration, I had to leave it.
Patience finally paid off when I picked up a rat on one of my bait heaps about half an hour into the session. The greedy blighter was too busy stuffing its face to notice me, so I had plenty of time to line up the crosshairs on its head and roll it over: a successful first proper test for the Saim and one less rat in my garden. I swept the Weihrauch’s side lever back and forth to reload and settled down for another wait. The second opportunity came more quickly – probably about 10 minutes after the first. It was a rat that I had spotted trundling along beneath the hedge and tracked through the thermal scope until it stopped at a bait spot. Just as the previous one, it was oblivious to the danger lurking in the darkness and fell to a .177 to the head.
After another hour, I had taken my tally to three. That’s a much smaller bag than I’d been getting on the farms and I must admit that I was pleased not to see more rats in the garden. The relatively quiet evening would suggest that the infestation isn’t too bad and the Saim did a great job, enabling me to take full advantage of the limited opportunities. I’ll be back out soon for another night session, but it looks like the bulk of my backyard shooting is going to be at paper targets and spinners for the foreseeable future.
“AS THE PREVIOUS RAT, IT WAS OBLIVIOUS TO THE DANGER LURKING IN THE DARKNESS”
Because the rats were well on to the poultry pellets, I decided to put out a few heaps of these just after the chickens had settled into their coop for the night. Rather than using them dry, I put a scoop in a builders’ bucket and scalded them with hot water to turn them into sludge so the rodents couldn’t just pick them up and dart off. By placing small heaps of these offerings about 14m from my shooting position, I knew I would be able to aim dead on at any rats that ventured out to dine. With the baits out, I then went about setting up my usual ratting stool and Primos Trigger Stick to create a comfortable seat and a stable shooting platform.
Darkness was really starting to close in by the time I strode back out across the garden after fetching the Weihrauch/Saim combo from my gun cabinet and connecting my Yukon Mobile Player/Recorder, which I was planning to use to capture some images through the scope. It was a still, quiet evening and although the trees are leafing up as the days grow longer, there was a distinct chill in the air. The rustling of my clothes and the subtle creaking of the gun in its rest seemed much louder than usual, with nothing apart from the occasional drone of a passing car on the distant road to mask them, and I was worried that the rats might be able to hear me as I sat waiting in the gloom.
I had chosen the Red Hot display for my nocturnal vigil, but the SCL35 yielded nothing of interest during my first few scans. Eventually, I spotted the squirming red form of a rat’s heat signature. That first scaly-tail was clambering about in the hedge and I couldn’t get a clear or safe shot at it so, to my great frustration, I had to leave it.
Patience finally paid off when I picked up a rat on one of my bait heaps about half an hour into the session. The greedy blighter was too busy stuffing its face to notice me, so I had plenty of time to line up the crosshairs on its head and roll it over: a successful first proper test for the Saim and one less rat in my garden. I swept the Weihrauch’s side lever back and forth to reload and settled down for another wait. The second opportunity came more quickly – probably about 10 minutes after the first. It was a rat that I had spotted trundling along beneath the hedge and tracked through the thermal scope until it stopped at a bait spot. Just as the previous one, it was oblivious to the danger lurking in the darkness and fell to a .177 to the head.
After another hour, I had taken my tally to three. That’s a much smaller bag than I’d been getting on the farms and I must admit that I was pleased not to see more rats in the garden. The relatively quiet evening would suggest that the infestation isn’t too bad and the Saim did a great job, enabling me to take full advantage of the limited opportunities. I’ll be back out soon for another night session, but it looks like the bulk of my backyard shooting is going to be at paper targets and spinners for the foreseeable future.
