Hello, new guy from mass.

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old goat

old goat

Member
Jul 16, 2024
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Massachusetts
Hello, new guy from Mass. been around air guns for ages but i have been impressed by
PCPs, wow have they come a long way. I got a Hatsan QE 22 cal from my neighbor who moved to an elderly complex and could not take it with him. I'm an old springer guy
but gave them up because of shoulder trouble. now i fill my tank with a scuba tank my son gave me. was hoping to get some info on a new rifle to shoot barn rats at 90 yards the QE just scares them away and my granddaughter won't use the barn as a studio until i do. I'm looking at the FX King 600 in 25 cal with a Nexus 5-20x50, would i use pellets or slugs for the best results. I would like head shots don't like suffering. any info would be greatly appreciated

Thanks the old goat.
 
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Welcome to the best forum on the web. Tons of great information here along with mostly friendly folks.
It seems that a King with a Nexus scope is much overkill (no pun there) for a rat killing job....although at 90 yards, is a long way. You might take a look at perhaps a .177 or .22 Streamline or Royale instead. Enough power, yet adjustable to suit the situation. And the Nexus scope is a lot of scope to shoot rats, but it'll definitely work.
Enjoy your stay here, it's a great place.

Mike
 
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manabeknives said:
Welcome Old Goat back to the sport and to AGN
The King is a very capable rifle
For what you are describing...shooting under 90yrds..i'd go with pellets ..slugs might have too much energy and pass though and wreck your barn.
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thank you, yea the barn might fall!!! they say it is dedicated slug gun will pellets still shoot with the stx heavy liner it comes with. I've watched so many videos I'm scrambled
 
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ctshooter said:
Welcome to the forum. I don't hunt so I won't begin to recommend an airgun to you, but one of our old members posted up a video on the topic that might be of help to you:

Click to expand...
thanks for the awesome video very helpful
Revoman said:
Welcome to the best forum on the web. Tons of great information here along with mostly friendly folks.
It seems that a King with a Nexus scope is much overkill (no pun there) for a rat killing job....although at 90 yards, is a long way. You might take a look at perhaps a .177 or .22 Streamline or Royale instead. Enough power, yet adjustable to suit the situation. And the Nexus scope is a lot of scope to shoot rats, but it'll definitely work.
Enjoy your stay here, it's a great place.

Mike
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thanks Mike, i have the scope on the QE it's great for my old eyes i wanted to get a good gun so i could sell later and get a good price, the king has great reviews.
 
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Welcome O.G. There are so very many options available to airgunners now. Accuracy in some of the "entry level" guns now was unheard of even 5 years ago. You might also want to check out other FX platforms too such as the Royale or DRS in whatever caliber suits your needs. Stick to pellets FIRST to get acclimated to PCP's is my advice. You can always dive down the slug rabbit hole later. Good luck on your voyage.
 
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old goat said:
Hello, new guy from Mass. been around air guns for ages but i have been impressed by
PCPs, wow have they come a long way. I got a Hatsan QE 22 cal from my neighbor who moved to an elderly complex and could not take it with him. I'm an old springer guy
but gave them up because of shoulder trouble. now i fill my tank with a scuba tank my son gave me. was hoping to get some info on a new rifle to shoot barn rats at 90 yards the QE just scares them away and my granddaughter won't use the barn as a studio until i do. I'm looking at the FX King 600 in 25 cal with a Nexus 5-20x50, would i use pellets or slugs for the best results. I would like head shots don't like suffering. any info would be greatly appreciated

Thanks the old goat.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the Forum!
 
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old goat said:
Hello, new guy from Mass. been around air guns for ages but i have been impressed by
PCPs, wow have they come a long way. I got a Hatsan QE 22 cal from my neighbor who moved to an elderly complex and could not take it with him. I'm an old springer guy
but gave them up because of shoulder trouble. now i fill my tank with a scuba tank my son gave me. was hoping to get some info on a new rifle to shoot barn rats at 90 yards the QE just scares them away and my granddaughter won't use the barn as a studio until i do. I'm looking at the FX King 600 in 25 cal with a Nexus 5-20x50, would i use pellets or slugs for the best results. I would like head shots don't like suffering. any info would be greatly appreciated

Thanks the old goat.
Click to expand...
You know goat stands for greatest of all time welcome to the forum,the gun you mentioned is one serious piece of hardware should do the job of course you prob dont have to spend that much money my gun i have about 800-900 bucks into it i slam stuff at 100 yards plus but its up to you any info hit me up
 
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old goat said:
Hello, new guy from Mass. been around air guns for ages but i have been impressed by
PCPs, wow have they come a long way. I got a Hatsan QE 22 cal from my neighbor who moved to an elderly complex and could not take it with him. I'm an old springer guy
but gave them up because of shoulder trouble. now i fill my tank with a scuba tank my son gave me. was hoping to get some info on a new rifle to shoot barn rats at 90 yards the QE just scares them away and my granddaughter won't use the barn as a studio until i do. I'm looking at the FX King 600 in 25 cal with a Nexus 5-20x50, would i use pellets or slugs for the best results. I would like head shots don't like suffering. any info would be greatly appreciated

Thanks the old goat.
Click to expand...
At 90 yards A nice .25 wolverine will dispatch a pest nicely.
but why so far away?
Rats n such are nocturnal creatures so a thermal scope may be of great use.
 
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old goat said:
Hello, new guy from Mass. been around air guns for ages but i have been impressed by
PCPs, wow have they come a long way. I got a Hatsan QE 22 cal from my neighbor who moved to an elderly complex and could not take it with him. I'm an old springer guy
but gave them up because of shoulder trouble. now i fill my tank with a scuba tank my son gave me. was hoping to get some info on a new rifle to shoot barn rats at 90 yards the QE just scares them away and my granddaughter won't use the barn as a studio until i do. I'm looking at the FX King 600 in 25 cal with a Nexus 5-20x50, would i use pellets or slugs for the best results. I would like head shots don't like suffering. any info would be greatly appreciated

Thanks the old goat.
Click to expand...
First Why 90 yards ? must be a huge barn , that 270 feet ! Welcome to the best AGN !!! #2- high dollar gun are a bit harder to sell where a middle price / good shooting gun is a bit easier. but if high $$ is what you want then go for it ! AA Huntsman Regal is very nice, it will have you popping rat heads off quickly . and it is one that sells quickly
Stan in KY.
 
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I think ( not hunting or ratting )

1: you need to get closer.
I do shoot 100 yards myself with a .177 and slugs, and can generally hold my shots on a 2" target, so a little critter would be in mortal danger.
But still 2" are " a lot " and if the little red dot in the center is a clean head shot, well then i rarely make that in the #1 shot, but i am often within .5 - 1 inch.
I very much doubt i will be able to make those shots off a big tripod or a shooting stick, but from a bench i manage.

You can sort of do that with pellets too in .22 with a good rifle and tune of it, and i would recommend you stick to pellets too, but you need to get closer.
Closer and that Hatsan will probably also star to kill them and not just scare them.
A nice moderator is also nice to have, that take a lot of the bark out of any rifle, but you do have to change location now and then when you start to smack those rats.

Also at 100 yards, well most night scopes will probably struggle with a little animal at that distance, not sure if colored light ( der or green ) is a option at that distance, there are the new fangled LEP flashlights that are sort of a white laser beam and reach far, but these are not cheap and then you would also need a colored filter for it, that will eat into the reach of these flashlights.
Mind you Laser Exited Phosphorous ( LEP ) flashlights have super long range, a small pocket model will easy reach 1/4 mile, you do NOT want to turn one of those on your face.

A shorter distance and you should be able to get by with a regular little LED flashlight, they can also have a fairly tight beam profile, though not quite laser like like a LEP can / will do.

So if you get closer your accuracy will be much better, 50 yards and less and you should have no problem holding your shots in a 1/2 inch circle, and that's pretty much a rats head size

There are cheaper night devices you can put on the end of your regular scope, that will record what your scope see, and have IR light capabilities and often a build in IR emitter too, the down side of these is they make your scope longer, and IMO it can get too long if you are not able to move scope way forward to accommodate for that.

Example of small LEP flashlight ( 220 USD price ) VS similar sized LED light.

 
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cavedweller said:
At 90 yards A nice .25 wolverine will dispatch a pest nicely.
but why so far away?
Rats n such are nocturnal creatures so a thermal scope may be of great use.
Click to expand...
Hi cavedweller
The barn is more like a big shed 16x24 with a loft, it is 90 yards from the main house and sits up high on the other side of the old pond, i have a direct line of fire shooting across the pond from the back porch of the house, the rats hang out at dusk by the old field stone wall that drops down 6 ft. to the pond along side of the barn, so i only have less than an hour to pick off as many as i can. there is ne electricity there yet so i can't light the place up and get a better shot from the road with the hatsan 22 cal. thanks for the info on the wolverine i will look at that.
 
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Peashooter said:
I think ( not hunting or ratting )

1: you need to get closer.
I do shoot 100 yards myself with a .177 and slugs, and can generally hold my shots on a 2" target, so a little critter would be in mortal danger.
But still 2" are " a lot " and if the little red dot in the center is a clean head shot, well then i rarely make that in the #1 shot, but i am often within .5 - 1 inch.
I very much doubt i will be able to make those shots off a big tripod or a shooting stick, but from a bench i manage.

You can sort of do that with pellets too in .22 with a good rifle and tune of it, and i would recommend you stick to pellets too, but you need to get closer.
Closer and that Hatsan will probably also star to kill them and not just scare them.
A nice moderator is also nice to have, that take a lot of the bark out of any rifle, but you do have to change location now and then when you start to smack those rats.

Also at 100 yards, well most night scopes will probably struggle with a little animal at that distance, not sure if colored light ( der or green ) is a option at that distance, there are the new fangled LEP flashlights that are sort of a white laser beam and reach far, but these are not cheap and then you would also need a colored filter for it, that will eat into the reach of these flashlights.
Mind you Laser Exited Phosphorous ( LEP ) flashlights have super long range, a small pocket model will easy reach 1/4 mile, you do NOT want to turn one of those on your face.

A shorter distance and you should be able to get by with a regular little LED flashlight, they can also have a fairly tight beam profile, though not quite laser like like a LEP can / will do.

So if you get closer your accuracy will be much better, 50 yards and less and you should have no problem holding your shots in a 1/2 inch circle, and that's pretty much a rats head size

There are cheaper night devices you can put on the end of your regular scope, that will record what your scope see, and have IR light capabilities and often a build in IR emitter too, the down side of these is they make your scope longer, and IMO it can get too long if you are not able to move scope way forward to accommodate for that.

Example of small LEP flashlight ( 220 USD price ) VS similar sized LED light.

Click to expand...
thanks peashooter
i did try an led flashlight at about 40 yards but the rats just scurry and i can't get a shoot. i talked to a guy at the local store and he uses peanut butter for bait so the rats stop long enough to get a shot, i will try that. thanks again.
 
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old goat said:
Hi cavedweller
The barn is more like a big shed 16x24 with a loft, it is 90 yards from the main house and sits up high on the other side of the old pond, i have a direct line of fire shooting across the pond from the back porch of the house, the rats hang out at dusk by the old field stone wall that drops down 6 ft. to the pond along side of the barn, so i only have less than an hour to pick off as many as i can. there is ne electricity there yet so i can't light the place up and get a better shot from the road with the hatsan 22 cal. thanks for the info on the wolverine i will look at that.
Click to expand...
row a boat closer ? then you only have to shoot from a rocking boat , Joking here .
 
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old goat said:
thanks peashooter
i did try an led flashlight at about 40 yards but the rats just scurry and i can't get a shoot. i talked to a guy at the local store and he uses peanut butter for bait so the rats stop long enough to get a shot, i will try that. thanks again.
Click to expand...
yes peanut butter is the best , just smear in a piece of wood so they cant drag the bate away . might want to wear gloves so no human trace .
 
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