Hi All,

    Thought it was time to get my ole Feinwerbau Sport 127 .22 air rifle out. Checked the sights and made a minor adjustment, different pellats as I seem to have mislaind the ones brought for it and could only find a tin of 5.6mm Eley Wasps, the 127 has a 5.5mm bore so their a little snug but once adjusted they hit well, and was luck had it ( for me that is not the rat) a brown rat was under the bird feeder so it got a wasp through the neck. Flipped about ta little then stopped, shot was 22 paces.

  Now I must find the other pellets, failign that have to get a new tin. Brought the rifle new back in 1979 adn it cost me £77 back then, a further £8 for a one piece Rhino mount and £27 for an ASI 4x32 scope. it now has a 4x40 Rhino scope on it I picked up several years ago.

What kind of rats are these BH? True "rats" (Rattus norvegicus) or something folks just call a "rat"?
 
Paul

Hi Gitano,


Well I am not up on latin names but yes these are true rats, I believe it's the European Brown rat ahh I see doing a search it's erronously called the Norwegian Rat:-


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Rat


Spreaders of disease they are a definate pest but living in farm country on the fens means of course there are rats about. The disturbance of the fields means that they are relocating for winter quarters. Our property is surrounded by Ditches and Dykes and so we get an influx of Rats every year and so we of course wage a little war on them. Poison is not a real option due to the dogs and the Birds of prey we get round here which of course they are protected by law so we have to be careful not to fall foul of it.

I'm not sure why you think the monicker "Norwegian" is wrong, but I assure you that wherever they occur throughout the world they are known as the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). Sometimes they are also called the Norwegian brown rat. Sometimes they are referred to by a variety of uncomplementary names as well. I suppose some may refer to them as the "European rat" as well. That's why I prefer to use scientific names when possible - then there's no confusion about the animal in question.
 
Reagardless of their common names - kill 'em.
 
Paul

Hi Gitano,

  Hmm you have a point and perhaps I should try more to improve my education :frown  however we both agree that the only good Brown rat is a dead one!:biggthumpup:  We have a cage trap but as yet I have never caught anything in it.

  If things get real bad then we have to call Pest Control in due to the health risks which ar enot overstated. An old friend working to re-build a foss (Fortified ditch on 14th century house) contracted Weils disease doing so from rats. It's incurable and has altered his life and probably shortened it too.

Hmmmmm...   I thought this was the Norwegian Rat:

That's a sub-species known as Rattus norvegicus nazius...
 
Paul

Hmm was that a photo of Quisling?

 Got another off the bird feeder .................. brown rat that is.

Quote from: Brithunter;67094Hmm was that a photo of Quisling?
 

Yup.  The whole thing is a little more complex than appears on the surface.