On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 07:54:06 -0000, "Vortex"
wrote:


FOLLOW UP

Thanks for all the advice.

* I'd rather saw my leg off than keep a dog of any kind (personal
aversion).

Might make a goood bait?

T i m

Steve Firth wrote:
Howard Neil wrote:


Yes. Get a Jack Russell.

I took this approach four years ago.


Hunting with dogs is now illegal.


Only more than two.

Otherwise when Ms Hunt Sab takes her doggywoggy for a walk, and it kills
a myxy rabbit, she might get done as well.

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 00:20:00 +0000 (UTC), "Hugh"
wrote:

Are you quite sure they're rats, and not Siberian filigree hamsters?

Try the Jack Russell. If they eat it, they were the dwarf hamsters.

Friends of mine keep all manner of rodents, including a pair of
Glaswegian dwarf hamsters. They're the size of voles, smaller than
mice, and pure evil. One ate most of the face off the other and is now
called "Hanibal".
--
Smert' spamionam

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 01:22:04 +0000, (Steve Firth)
wrote:

Hunting with dogs is now illegal.

Not for rats.


....or it seems for foxes. 91 killed foxes yesterday - that's a third
of the hunts making a kill.

"John" wrote
| This is England and our traditional weapon is the longbow.
| Everyone should practice for four hours a day and have
| overdeveloped right arm muscles g

Four hours a day longbow practice /and/ usenet? I'd never sleep!

Owain

"Vortex" wrote
| * I am reserving available petrol for mowing the lawn
| later

Oh sh!t, is petrol going back on coupons?

Owain

On 20 Feb 2005, Owain wrote

"John" wrote
This is England and our traditional weapon is the longbow.
Everyone should practice for four hours a day and have
overdeveloped right arm muscles g

Four hours a day longbow practice /and/ usenet? I'd never sleep!

You could fire an arrow into the monitor...that'd work..


--
Cheers,
Harvey

"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote in message
...
On 20 Feb 2005, Owain wrote

"John" wrote
This is England and our traditional weapon is the longbow.
Everyone should practice for four hours a day and have
overdeveloped right arm muscles g

Four hours a day longbow practice /and/ usenet? I'd never sleep!

You could fire an arrow into the monitor...that'd work..

Arrows aren't fired.

Mary


--
Cheers,
Harvey

In message , Huge
writes
Harvey Van Sickle writes:
On 20 Feb 2005, Owain wrote

"John" wrote
This is England and our traditional weapon is the longbow.
Everyone should practice for four hours a day and have
overdeveloped right arm muscles g

Four hours a day longbow practice /and/ usenet? I'd never sleep!

You could fire an arrow into the monitor...that'd work..

Remind me to tell you about the time I shot my car with a crossbow.

Probably took less explaining than when I shot a central heating
radiator with a home made "cannon" that used steel ball bearings and 6mm
hilti cartridges. The things teenagers get up to Ehh? I'm now 40+
something and hopefully somewhat saner and safer. ????????????



--
Bill

In article ,
Huge wrote:
Remind me to tell you about the time I shot my car with a crossbow.

Was that after you'd beaten it with a branch?

--
*If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 20 Feb 2005, Mary Fisher wrote


"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote in message
...
On 20 Feb 2005, Owain wrote

"John" wrote
This is England and our traditional weapon is the longbow.
Everyone should practice for four hours a day and have
overdeveloped right arm muscles g

Four hours a day longbow practice /and/ usenet? I'd never sleep!

You could fire an arrow into the monitor...that'd work..

Arrows aren't fired.

Those loose ones are even more dangerous, though.

--
Cheers,
Harvey

"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote in message

You could fire an arrow into the monitor...that'd work..

Arrows aren't fired.

Those loose ones are even more dangerous, though.

Arrows are shot. There's no fire involved.

Mary

--
Cheers,
Harvey

Dave Plowman (News) typed:

In article ,
Huge wrote:
Pipe from car exhaust into tunnels with all possible exits blocked.
Wife thinks I'm mad. Surely this will work?

I've seen professional ratters do this with chainsaw engines.

Yes - no cat. A modern car might take a long time to kill due to the
near total removal of the CO by the cat. What you really need is a
nice old Cortina with a worn carb. ;-)

An old petrol lawn mower works for this, the rats don't stay down the hole
and die but try and escape.
So I leave a hole open and set by this with an old rim fire 22 s/auto with
dum-dum load, great fun

--
Mark §

On 20 Feb 2005, Mary Fisher wrote


"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote in message

You could fire an arrow into the monitor...that'd work..

Arrows aren't fired.

Those loose ones are even more dangerous, though.

Arrows are shot. There's no fire involved.

Aww.....not even a passing acknowledgement of my reference to "loose"
in the context of arrows?

--
Cheers,
Harvey

"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote in message
...
On 20 Feb 2005, Mary Fisher wrote


"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote in message

You could fire an arrow into the monitor...that'd work..

Arrows aren't fired.

Those loose ones are even more dangerous, though.

Arrows are shot. There's no fire involved.

Aww.....not even a passing acknowledgement of my reference to "loose"
in the context of arrows?

I thought about it but you used 'loose' as an adjective, not a verb :-)

Mary

--
Cheers,
Harvey

On 20 Feb 2005, Mary Fisher wrote


"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote in message
...
On 20 Feb 2005, Mary Fisher wrote


"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote in message

You could fire an arrow into the monitor...that'd work..

Arrows aren't fired.

Those loose ones are even more dangerous, though.

Arrows are shot. There's no fire involved.

Aww.....not even a passing acknowledgement of my reference to
"loose" in the context of arrows?

I thought about it but you used 'loose' as an adjective, not a
verb :-)

Sometimes ya' hafta' stretch a point to make a pun work...

--
Cheers,
Harvey

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 16:06:00 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

Arrows aren't fired.

Suddenly I have the urge to recreate the Chinese black-powder arrow
firing cannon, just so that I really can "fire" an arrow.

"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote in message
...

You could fire an arrow into the monitor...that'd work..

Arrows aren't fired.

Those loose ones are even more dangerous, though.

Arrows are shot. There's no fire involved.

Aww.....not even a passing acknowledgement of my reference to
"loose" in the context of arrows?

I thought about it but you used 'loose' as an adjective, not a
verb :-)

Sometimes ya' hafta' stretch a point to make a pun work...

I know and I'm sorry you didn't hit gold but it might have been accidental
....

Mary
Off to make dinner now
--
Cheers,
Harvey

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 16:06:00 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

Arrows aren't fired.

Suddenly I have the urge to recreate the Chinese black-powder arrow
firing cannon, just so that I really can "fire" an arrow.

I'll have one! But I can't think that a wooden and feather arrow would stand
much chance ... mind you, the tip could be nasty. No need for the wooden
part then though ...

.... back to the drawing board. Nice try.

Mary

Andy Dingley wrote:

Just how old are you ? Haven't seen those seriously in decades.

Um...
well, My first gun was the Webley Vulcan Mk 1

Sold and upgraded to the Mk II when it came out.

They
were made obsolete by pre-charged rifles (and more to the point
carbines). It was now easy to achieve any muzzle velocity you could
legally have, so the old need for a heavy pellet to reach 12 ft lbs
with a spring made of old halfshafts disappeared. You no longer
needed the barrel length either, hence full-power carbines.

I though it was more a case of bigger pellet = greater impact damage
Like the stopping power of a magnum.

--
http://gymratz.co.uk - Best Gym Equipment & Bodybuilding Supplements UK.
http://trade-price-supplements.co.uk - TRADE PRICED SUPPLEMENTS for ALL!
http://fitness-equipment-uk.com - UK's No.1 Fitness Equipment Suppliers.
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"Vortex" wrote in message
...

* What about ferret assisted assassination? Are they too large to
flush
out rats?


I think some rats might win that one.

"Huge" wrote in message
...

Remind me to tell you about the time I shot my car with a crossbow.


Okay - consider yourself reminded :-)

Now dig the dirt :-)

"Vortex" wrote in message
...
* I am reserving available petrol for mowing the lawn later (it's
surprisingly dry here).


Where are you ? Half of the country is under several inches of snow and the
rest has suffered persistant drizzle for so long now that everywhere is
waterlogged. We're even on the point of approaching the council for
temporary closing orders on public paths in case somebody drowns in the mud.

"Bill" wrote in message

Remind me to tell you about the time I shot my car with a crossbow.

Tell us about the time you shot your car with a crossbow.

Please.

And why.

And if you killed it or just winged it.

Mary

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"Vortex" wrote in message
...
* I am reserving available petrol for mowing the lawn later (it's
surprisingly dry here).


Where are you ? Half of the country is under several inches of snow and
the
rest has suffered persistant drizzle for so long now that everywhere is
waterlogged. We're even on the point of approaching the council for
temporary closing orders on public paths in case somebody drowns in the
mud.

That's only on the surface though. The rats won't drown :-(

I suspect Oxfordshire.

Mary

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 19:29:23 GMT, "Pet @ www.gymratz.co.uk"
wrote:

I though it was more a case of bigger pellet = greater impact damage

It's a British air rifle, so physics doesn't really apply - just laws.

The legal limit is 12 ft lbs of energy, no matter how you achieve it.
With spring guns it was hard to go fast enough, so a heavy pellet was
a cheaper route than the really good design you'd otherwise need. I
used to have a .25 "Jackal" about 20 years ago, an awful piece of junk
that was "upgraded" with a mongo-spring. Very powerful, but there was
so much "twang" from the uncontrollable spring that you could
practically see the barrel whipping around like a snake. Aluminium
frame too, so your fingers froze to it on cold mornings.

Given a fixed energy (1/2 m v^2) then a slower, heavier pellet will
have more monemtum (m v) than a light pellet going faster. Momentum is
good, because it's what affects the impulse actually transferred to
the target, not the energy (at air rifle velocities). On the other
hand, .25 will have 1/3rd more drag than .22, so it soon loses
velocity. For ratting it probably is ideal, but .25 was a bit infamous
for wounding rabbits instead of killing them.

Like the stopping power of a magnum.

Magnums are generally (in pistol calibres) a longer cartridge in an
otherwise unchanged round. They're a result of better metallurgy - as
pistol frames got stronger you could fire a more powerful load in the
same chamber. Handy if you're the US police who've just standardised
on a calibre (.38) that can't penetrate a heavy overcoat. Decades
later they did it again with .40 / 10mm.

The "stopping power" argument and the heavier, if slow bullet, was an
offshoot of colonialism. The British used the .455 Webley when the .38
wouldn't stop the natives. The USA adopted the .45 ACP for similar
reasons, after some embarassments in the Phillipines. During WW2 the
..38 Webley came back, because tank crews and junior officers with
little pistol experience couldn't shoot straight with the .455.

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 17:37:48 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

I'll have one!

I've already done the hand-cranked repeater
http://codesmiths.com/shed/things/kn...ting_crossbow/

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 07:54:06 -0000, "Vortex"
wrote:

* What about ferret assisted assassination?

Works fine, but it's hard to find a full clip of ferrets that are
accurately matched for calibre.

Andy Dingley wrote:
Besides which, have you seen the price of 12 gauge shells? I wouldn't
even rabbit with a shotgun, let alone rat.

410, silenced pref, rather than 12, though rolling your own means you
can size the shot to suit and the charge for less velocity, cheaper too!

Niel.

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 17:37:48 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

I'll have one!

I've already done the hand-cranked repeater
http://codesmiths.com/shed/things/kn...ting_crossbow/

Smashing.

But where do you apply the spunk?

Mary

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 07:54:06 -0000, "Vortex"
wrote:

* What about ferret assisted assassination?

Works fine, but it's hard to find a full clip of ferrets that are
accurately matched for calibre.

Use rats instead?

Mary

"Huge" wrote
| Probably took less explaining than when I shot a central
| heating radiator with a home made "cannon" that used
| steel ball bearings and 6mm hilti cartridges. The
| things teenagers get up to Ehh?

Eeh, when Ah were a lad we were too poor for hilti cartridges, we used to
catch t'neighbour's dachshund, feed it baked beans for a week then set fire
to its farts.

| Except I was in my thirties when I did that ...

Young at heart or late developer?

Owain

"Mary Fisher" wrote
| "Bill" wrote
| Remind me to tell you about the time I shot my car with a crossbow.
| Tell us about the time you shot your car with a crossbow.
| Please.
| And why.
| And if you killed it or just winged it.

If he killed it, does that mean he bumpered it off?

I expect we'll get tyred of this thread soon and give it the boot.

Owain

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 08:20:19 -0000, "Vortex"
wrote:

Hi,

We've kept chickens for some years and this Winter some rats have "moved in"
under the shed, and have created a network of tunnels - no doubt attracted
by free food. The food source is now removed, and despite 2 traps and a
large amount of poison (blue pellets) we still have rats. They seem pretty
smart. They're obviously hungry because we see them by day nicking bread
left for the birds.

Alpha Rat (now called "Shredder Bin Laden") is definitely a boy and has at
least one wife. Scorched earth tactics are called for before we have a
plague. I have various questions:

TRAPS
Can anybody recommend a bait that is absolutely irrestible to rats?

POISON
Our rats seem wise to "commercial" poison so I'm inclined towards the
Ukranian approach....lacing some chicken food with some kind of lethal
toxin. What? Where can I legally buy it?

GAS
Pipe from car exhaust into tunnels with all possible exits blocked. Wife
thinks I'm mad. Surely this will work? Can you also get pyrotechnic
fumigators?

ASASSINATION
Maybe an excuse to get an Air Rifle or pistol. I really don't have the
patience to stalk the Prey though...but the Dirty Harry fantasy "Probably
the most powerful airgun in thge world" does have some appeal.

VAPOURISATION WITH JAMES BOND LASER (son's suggestion)
Unfortunately my 1mW, 630 nm eye safe pointer just doesn't have the grunt.
Star Wars technology is beyond my budget and probably not CE approved
anyhow.

Any other suggestions before the hunt saboteurs get me?

Hi,

Does the shed have a wooden floor over bare earth, which is giving
cover to the the burrows entrances? If so and it's fairly small it
could be worthwhile to jack it up and lay 1/2" chicken wire
underneath.

cheers,
Pete.

"Owain" wrote in message
. ..
"Mary Fisher" wrote
| "Bill" wrote
| Remind me to tell you about the time I shot my car with a crossbow.
| Tell us about the time you shot your car with a crossbow.
| Please.
| And why.
| And if you killed it or just winged it.

If he killed it, does that mean he bumpered it off?

I expect we'll get tyred of this thread soon and give it the boot.

Everyone seems to be steering clear of it now ... no drive in them at this
time of night.

Mary
going to get my gear off and lay up for the night.

Owain

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 21:56:48 UTC, "Owain"
wrote:

"Mary Fisher" wrote
| "Bill" wrote
| Remind me to tell you about the time I shot my car with a crossbow.
| Tell us about the time you shot your car with a crossbow.
| Please.
| And why.
| And if you killed it or just winged it.

If he killed it, does that mean he bumpered it off?

I expect we'll get tyred of this thread soon and give it the boot.

I hope so. I'm exhausted already.

--
Bob Eager
begin a new life...dump Windows!

On 20 Feb 2005, Bob Eager wrote

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 21:56:48 UTC, "Owain"
wrote:

"Mary Fisher" wrote
"Bill" wrote
Remind me to tell you about the time I shot my car with a
crossbow.
Tell us about the time you shot your car with a crossbow.
Please.
And why.
And if you killed it or just winged it.

If he killed it, does that mean he bumpered it off?

I expect we'll get tyred of this thread soon and give it the
boot.

I hope so. I'm exhausted already.

You're -- bored?


--
Cheers,
Harvey

Last year we had a 'bit of a rodent problem' and the blue pellet stuff from
the garden centre didn't seem to have much effect. A work colleague's
'partner' is a farm worker and he gave me some "Slaymor Bait Bag"s with
suitable cautions as to their correct deployment. I left two, unopened, in
places that I could see were being used as regular routes and within a
couple of days they were both half-consumed. A few days later, they were
still half-consumed. Never saw any further evidence of ratty and his
friends. The Slaymor bags are not available for retail purchase - to buy
them you must be a Local Authority, a professional operator providing pest
control services, or a person occupying agricultural, horticultural,
industrial or commercial premises. They definitely seem to do the trick
though ...

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Mary Fisher"
saying something like:

"This is England and our traditional weapon is the beerbottle."

Nods.
--

Dave

Andy Dingley wrote:

It's a British air rifle, so physics doesn't really apply - just laws.
snip
Wow - Thanks Andy, a truly fascinating post I had no idea about all that
stuff.

I was shocked to find CO2 gun's aren't under the FAC banner anymore.

Guess i'm a bit out of touch these days.

Cheers
Pete

--
http://gymratz.co.uk - Best Gym Equipment & Bodybuilding Supplements UK.
http://trade-price-supplements.co.uk - TRADE PRICED SUPPLEMENTS for ALL!
http://fitness-equipment-uk.com - UK's No.1 Fitness Equipment Suppliers.
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