Show me yours and I'll show you mine,... BAIT STATION ! (Pic heavy)

[Gertrude]

BREAKING NEWS > > > From the Department of Homestead Security.
 Intelligence Reports from recent covert surveillance operations, reveal the Dang Rats are attempting another advance.

  The line has been drawn.  The Opposition must be held at the line.
  There will be NO Compromises, We Do Not Negotiate with the Furry Terrorists, There will be NO Treaties.
  Neither Putin, the UN, PETA, Greenpeace, or the Avon Lady will any say in the matter.

  Headquarters (SWMBO) has sent down an Executive Order, with explicit instructions for all Security Forces .
  "Develop all Strategies and Equipment, . . . Deploy all Offensive Capabilities . . . Destroy the Enemy"
  The Commander in Chief (SWMBO) has authorized the use of Full Force . . . Stay tuned for further updates.
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I thought it might be kind of fun, to have a thread for showing your Bait Stations. . . so I'll Show you Mine, and you Show us Yours.
I Just tossed a couple of these together to try for a assault tonight,




hung them on the chicken coop...





and pulled back to take a few practice shots...








It's 22 yds from bench rest to target. Shot a few groups to zero the scope...

First group freehand




Then some clicks for windage and elevation,.... and stabilized on to bench
Shot two more practice groups







 Baited with some fruit, some peanut butter, and sprinkled with chicken feed lay pellets.





Waited for dark, Pumped up the 1322 carbine, and turned on the ding donger... (this might be a "purty tuff" shot I think)...






Come on little donger,.... let me her you sing !

[nervoustrigger]

Oh yeah!  The sweet sound of the ding donger!  I hope you hear it tonight.

I spent all day today tuning up the B51 so I'm ready to hear mine as well.

Nice setup, Ron.  I really dig the trick or treat targets. 

[BenjiHunter]

I'm fully armed and ready. Just give me the go ahead.
Rats beware!

[nced]

Not an intentional "bait station" but when I had my bird feeder mounted on this "shepherds hook" it BECAME a "bait station" for squirrels.............


This wasn't a problem for me since it was SUPPOSEDLY a squirrel proof feeder since the metal leaves would cover the access holes with the weight of a squirrel. This worked well when I lived in WV but not so good in NC. Ya see, this squirrel learned how to hang from the hook itself using it's hind legs which didn't put any weight on the feeder and then would scoop the sunflower seeds out of the access ports.

LOL......obviously this was an EXCEPTIONALLY talented/genious squirrel so I eliminated him from the gene pool with my .177 R9. Problem is that evidently that squirrel was a trainer because I later saw another squirrel doing the same trick! Not wanting to shoot the squirrels till the fall squirrel season in October I ran a guy wire from an upstairs window (upstairs where my 18 yard indoor range resides  ) to a large pine tree and hung the bird feeders from the wire. Here's a pic from the upstairs window.........

LOL....that pic also shows the entrance of the path to my back yard practice range. 

By the way, when the feeders were first hung on the wire it was really funny to see the squirrels (sometimes 5 at a time) sitting on the grass under the feeders looking up! LOL.....you could actually imagine the gears in their little minds turning when TRYIN' to figure out how to get "up there"! Well, guess the squirrels gave up because I don't see a "colony" of squirrels under the feeders anymore.

[cactusrat]

Here is my death zone. That is a Red-tailed Hawk under the deer feeder eating a snack within minutes of taking out the pest.

The green barrel to the left is filled with water and drips into a bird bath.

The deer feeder is filled with wild bird seed and is 15 yards from my shooting window.

[Gertrude]

<<< Update >>>

 GRRRR, 
11:00pm, 12:55am and 4:05am donger sounds off, ... but by the time I get up and out, I see nothing.
 Maybe that's all for the better. Let them start getting comfy with the new Buffet Style offerings.

 I need either a better scope on the 1322 Carbine... or a little more light on the bait station.
 The cheesy 4X32 off of my RS2 is not gong to cut it, with only the red "ratting light" mounted on the barrel.
 Maybe if I paint the backstop white, it could be a little better.
 

[BenjiHunter]

Make a light colored back ground and you will see a lot better.
Gray is good.
I have a piece of gray rug.

[UCChris]

Or if you need a new light that is insanely bright check this out. http://www.outbackflashlights.com/dingo-1/

I have one with an Rx bottle over it and it casts a very good green beam out to 75 yards without a problem.

[PierreP88]

Maniacal laughter comes to play here if I were setting this up.  I hope you can get it all perfectly tweaked.

[Gertrude]

Well I definitely need to put a lighter background color on.
 Last night I had two different opportunities to "Get me one of them little Rat Terrorist's".

 The first one wouldn't sit still enough to get off a shot, but 30 minutes later he came back a bit more settled.
 A combination of crappy optics, low light, dark background, shooting CPHP's, and perhaps a little "Buck Fever", contributed to the apparently missed shot.

 Best I could tell in the low light and dark background, he was facing towards me at about a 45% angle.
 Oh it was CLOSE mind you... REALLY close ! as I let the lead fly,...I DID think it was going to be a direct hit.
  I mean he HAD to have smelled lead, as he felt the "swish" of it pass by his nose and noggin ! I'm pretty sure he got a bit of a shave too.
  As the twack of the pellet smacked itself against the 2X10 backstop, the Furry Terrorist leaped a solid 3' straight up into the air. and seemed to do a darn good impression of "Rocket man" through my Orange tree, and over the wall.   

 I'm guessing he won't be coming back anytime soon, and has most likely decided to reside in the next county from now on.
 Heck, I wish I had a video camera filming it. Maybe that's what I'll ask the kids to get me for Christmas.

[nervoustrigger]

Ron, sorry to hear about the miss.  I carry an "Aw, shucks" feeling for a while when it happens to me.  I just hate to miss but I'm beginning to see a couple of rats at my bait station and learning how challenging they are.  They always do the grab-n-go, never stopping for more than 2 seconds.

Good story and I hope you get him when he comes back...and he will.

[Gertrude]

Hmmmm,...
 Maybe I DID catch a little more contact with the mini terrorist, that I first thought...

After entering my previous post, I pulled on my shoes to go out and see which baits were missing.
 It seems that the grilled chunks of beef fat are rather popular, and I may need to nail them down to the board to slow down the little baitsuckers.

 Anyway,.. as I was looking over the " eliminating floor", I see this sitting right where last nights shot took place.
 Now mind you,... I did say I heard the thwack of the pellet hitting the backstop... But it did have a little different tone to it compared to the "practice shots" I had taken earlier at the paper targets. It was not quite as loud, and a little bit "duller" of a sound...





So lets zoom in some, (please excuse my poor photography skills),... but is that some hair and rat meat stuck to the HP ?





Also, might it appear that the minimal deformity, could be indicative of a possible "pass-thru" ? Prior to hitting the backstop ?




Now I will say, that I do not see any evidence of any splatter or blood stains on the wood... but it may be that he was gone faster than he could bleed.
 I mean when I took the shot last night, He went straight up and looked like a UFO engaging WARP 5.
 It looked like it was actually faster than a mammal of that size and relative strength could muster.

I dunno,... it was probably a miss...
 But all the other pellets either buried themselves into the backstop, or at least flattened like a squished biscuit upon impact.   

I'll take some practice shots today, on my new life sized, 3D, "Rubber Rat Terrorist" Targets...
 (imagine trying to look at this at night, through a junky 4X32 scope, and in low red light)
 Not very much contrast, especially with the natural wood color behind.
 In the darkness of night, it pretty much just blends all together.






 I may have to break out the Mrod soon, with it's better glass.
 I'm not quite as skilled with the 1322 carbine @ 22yds (yet), and it's got a pretty cheesy scope.
 More upates ahead.

Come on you guys,... Lets see some more of your bait station's, and lets hear your stories. (even the misses too !) 
 

[BenjiHunter]

You hit him alright. Probably lying around in your back yard.
I've had this happen to me several times. They are tough animals and even if they're hit they get away.

[Bryan Heimann]

I'm sure you'll smell him in a day or two

[nervoustrigger]

Wow, I didn't know rats were that tough.  I have only had one shot on a rat so far and it was a lucky 47 yard headshot with the B51 using the muzzle-mounted green light.  Guess I will stay with the overgunned approach since they are hard to drop. 

[nced]

Wow, I didn't know rats were that tough.  I have only had one shot on a rat so far and it was a lucky 47 yard headshot with the B51 using the muzzle-mounted green light.  Guess I will stay with the overgunned approach since they are hard to drop. 

Rats ARE pretty tough! My brother does a lot of "ratting" at my uncles farm using his .177 R9 and he will always use head shots. My brother mentioned that a .177 body shot won't anchor a rat since all he shot in the body were able to crawl back into the hole it came out of. Anywhoo.......he always uses head shots for rats which is pretty easy since most shots are rather close range.
I went on one hunt in a "sheep barn" during a family reunion and popped one rat in the head with a CPL and it was instant "lights out".

As a side note.......don't wear cogged boots into the "sheep barn" where the sheep feed and get water. Ya see, that sticky stuff that looks like dirt on the floor of the barn ISN'T dirt!!!! It took a lot of time to dig the "solidified sheep goo" from the cogs of my boots plus a good scrubbin' with a brush and water!!   

[BenjiHunter]

They are very tough. Two months ago I shot a rat. I went over to the bait station to get it.
I found it below the Orange tree. I saw the entrance hole on his left side and then he turned around so I saw the exit wound. I didn't have the gun with me to give it one more shot, so guess what he did.
He took off up the tree and disappeared.

[wahoowad]

Yes, even headshot pass-thrus can leave a rat with enough reflexes to skiddaddle off a bit. He may not go far but often a rat does not have to go far to get away. Some I shoot and they run off a few feet, and I'm amazed when I look at them and see the hole in their head and all the stuff leaking out. Tuff buggers. Others drop instantly although this is rare too. Usually somewhere in between...some jiggle and jump...then the flop and kick.

Here is my bait station - about 100 feet of feed trough filled with fresh silage - and the rats are in and out of it all night long. Pictures are fun 

[Hotrod]

Rats and mice are a little tougher then squirrel for sure. I'd like to make a suggestion to those who shoot at night, made a big difference for me. The XLR 250 kill light in green. I shine it on coon & possum from just 15 yards away, from that short distance the light is very bright, and they just carry on with their business! They really can't see it! Mice however seem to react to it (sometimes), but it could just be the clicking noise from the button when I turn it on. The kill light is effective up to 250 yards they claim, but 200 yards is more like it in my experience before my eyes start to strain. I'd like to know what lights u guys r using
http://www.elusivewildlife.com/?section=22&p=productMore&iProduct=420

[UCChris]

http://www.outbackflashlights.com/dingo-1/

That's the light I'm using. I put an orange Rx bottle over it and it turned the beam green. Good out to 75-100 yards.