Farm Ratting

[airedale]

Rat hunting was a common practice when I was a young guy, farms and any of the many town dumps were favorite places to find large numbers of them. 22 rifles firing shorts was the preferred weapon and both daytime and nighttime hunting could be productive. As the dumps were closed down Rat hunting became less and less popular, these days there is not much activity when it comes to Rats. 

Hunting them with Terriers on Farms was fun, I still have my home made smoker made from an old string trimmer used to flush them out of their holes.

The fellow in the video below hit paydirt big time, I like his up to date equipment, ahh for the good old days, the fun and opportunities were never ending. Things have changed a lot in my lifetime.

Al

 

Edited December 3, 2022 by airedale

[New York Hillbilly]

11 minutes ago, airedale said:

Rat hunting was a common practice when I was a young guy, farms and any of the many town dumps were favorite places to find large numbers of them. 22 rifles firing shorts was the preferred weapon and both daytime and nighttime hunting could be productive. As the dumps were closed down Rat hunting became less and less popular, these days there is not much activity when it comes to Rats. 

It was your dog pics, and the news yesterday talking about NYC hiring a "Rat Czar" that got me to thinking about my rat killer dachshund. Also, with our garden growing in size each year and getting chickens soon, mice and rats are a major consideration for me. A couple childhood experiences really freaked me out when it comes to rats, so I'm not embarrassed  ( well maybe a little..lol) to admit I not only hate them but have something of a fear of them.

I trained our Westie from a pup to search for and kill mice,and she is good at it. She has a high prey drive and always on the hunt. But, with her being really small for a Westie (she was the runt of her litter) and now almost 9 years old, I would fear for her safety if she tangled with anything that put up much of a fight.

I've been actively looking at adding another member to the family pack and thinking either dachshund or rat terrier/feist type dog. I even considered miniature schnauzer based on what I have read. Something short hair, somewhat non shedding that won't require frequent trips to the groomer for haircuts.

Also. needs to be good around kids for when my 6 year old grandson comes to visit.

What's your thinking?

[airedale]

8 minutes ago, New York Hillbilly said:

I've been actively looking at adding another member to the family pack and thinking either dachshund or rat terrier/feist type dog.

Those are both good choices, a well bred Feist will also have bred in treeing abilities which makes for a good Squirrel dog which is another whole subject but is about as much fun as it gets.

A well bred Jack Russell is tough to beat on Rats.

Al

[New York Hillbilly]

1 minute ago, airedale said:

a well bred Feist will also have bred in treeing abilities which makes for a good Squirrel dog which is another whole subject but is about as much fun as it gets.

Also, why thinking Feist. I have lots of squirrels here and think it might be fun treeing them. :  )

[Grouse]

I have fond memories of shooting rats at the dump with my uncle when I was a pre-teen.  I got very good at it with a .22 single shot and a .22 caliber semi-auto pellet pistol.

They would start showing themselves at dusk and we would shoot as many as we could before it got dark.  It really was fun and really taught you how to shoot.  The dump closed and was covered over with dirt.  I wonder what happened to all of those rats.

[First-light]

I've seen this done in England it was a big practice and looked like a lot of fun for the dogs!

[hueyjazz]

As a young teen my dad would volunteer me at times out to a good friend of his that had a dairy farm.  It was very hard work as the farm was understaffed and my main working partner was his son "Tool".  (Never was there a better nickname)  So after a hard day's work there was absolutely nothing to do.  At night the only TV was occupied with Heehaw and such and I wasn't a fan.

  My dad was a WWII vet and a Battle of the Bulge participant.  He didn't want guns in the house even though his father provided food with them.

The one thing Tool was good at was shooting and he taught me to shoot a 22.  Our nightly ritual was to go down to the corn crib and shoot rats.  I likely owe all my shooting ability to this practice. 

[Cory]

That was one of the most satisfying videos I’ve ever seen. I hate those damn things!

[airedale]

When I get down to the last few bales of hay in the barn there are always a few Rats living under them, I use one of my 44 revolvers for that action with the cases loaded with rat shot using the Speer shot capsules. They cause zero damage to the concrete floor and are pretty darn deadly at 15 or 16 feet.

Al

Edited December 19, 2022 by airedale

[Paula]

That is disgusting! Were they cuddling with that pig?  I would do this I think. I would be so paranoid that one would crawl on me. A few of those looked like Chihuahua size. 

I can't imagine you would ever get anyway at the rate they multiple