Back Yard Nutria Rat Hunting Adventures

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Your videos look good. How well does the ATN 1000 rangefinder work with the scope? Does it work as advertised?
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Thank you. I love the range finder. Push one button, you get the range and the POI automatically adjusts. Doing this manually takes way too many button presses. It's money when you have targets at varying ranges that like to move around. But it isn't perfect. It doesn't work very well if you are zoomed in, you need to zoom out all the way to range then zoom back in. At night the laser is visible in night mode, makes ranging your target easier. During the day the laser is not visible. Regardless, it was totally worth it for me but everyone may not feel the same way.
 
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Awesome vids there Chris! 

Just like me, no frill, no editing, just the raw of the hunt. Love that you can hear the excitement in your breathing, the subtle hiss of the reg filling back up, your breath holds... 

I really enjoyed these, especially the war in the water and on the bank... you have some BIG RATS. WOW. Gotta suck:r get pegged, then drown at the same time you're bleeding out. Adding insult to injury. A fine job, nice offhand shots also. My offhand shots are miserable, even with a light Taipan Shorty. 

I think a slug liner is worth the investment, seeing as how they give you so much versatility... shoot pellets AND slugs really nicely. 

Thanks for the fine hunts!
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I'm glad you liked the videos. I'm hoping there are many more to come. However it may be a while. The winter months are usually very low on rat activity. I find my gun a little tough to shoot off handed. It's a little heavy with the rail extender, Atlas bipod, 700mm barrel, moderator, plus the optic and range finder. I almost always lay in the prone which is also probably contributing to my breathing noises. I'll probably swap up to the .30 cal barrel some time this winter. Only thing holding me back is the huge drop off in shots per fill. Oh, and the money thing, lol.
 
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Take a look at the new FX hybrid slugs. You can use your current set up, no slug liner needed. 

Is there still a bounty on nutria?
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Thanks for the info. I will definitely have to check those out. I could definitely use some extra energy on my long shots. The bounty is up to $6 per tail. Unfortunately I can't always retrieve my rats so it would probably be more trouble than it's worth. Plus the wife says no more weird stuff in the freezer, lol.
 
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Good videos killing those nutria. I'll have to look up some information on the scope you are using.......firm ware update on a scope? I'm wondering what all that scope will do for you....LOL
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Thank you Sir. It is a digital scope, much like a digital camera. It does a lot. You can create bullet profiles, it has a built in ballistic range finder, camera for videos or stills, "night vision" sort of, built in wifi and Bluetooth. You can actually stream the scope viewfinder to your smartphone. It's pretty dang cool to me. It does take some getting used to though. I have a co-worker that bought 2 at the same time, he hated them. Actually gave one away.
 
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By the way......being in a neighborhood within a city limit, no one has any issue with you shooting those critters in the pond? No neighborhood do gooder busy body types?
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Most people that know what I'm up to love the fact that I'm dealing with this problem. These things have been very destructive to our property. There is at least one lady that really loves all animals though and probably would not be very happy if she knew what I was up to. That's the great thing about my rig though. I almost always hunt at night, I have an IR flood light that is mounted to my gun that works with my scope, plus with the moderator I can be out there handling my business and nobody can see me or hear me. My wife says I'm silent but deadly but I think she's just trying to be funny.
 
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I love hunting those things they are tuff little buggers , head shots they are DRT all you see is the top of the body showing . Going out this week to give it a try at night . You definitely have a honey hole . I find it very hard when they are swimming as you know , because there is only about a 1"to 11/2" of the head showing out of the water . I like it better when they are swimming away from me that's the perfect shot . Nice shootun wish I had that spot keep it coming Darell Btw have you tried slugs it that thing yet ?
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I've only seen a couple in WA, but I know we have them. I want to plan on going on a night hunt for them too, probably with my R5 30 long, Pard NV007, and 60-62gr slugs 💪
 
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Chris, school me on what a Nutria is. Are they cousin to the muskrat? Or another name for a muskrat? The muskrats here in CA do a lot of damage to pond banks. They burrow all over the banks, weakening them. I had to drain off my pond due to leaks which were constantly putting a wet, mud spot all year on a well used community dirt road driveway behind the pond. All due to muskrats. After I had it drained, it sat for a couple years empty, till I had the funds to pay my neighbor(he’s a pond guru in the neighborhood, along with being well versed at operating heavy equipment)to bring in dirt(32 truck loads) and he beefed up the sides of the pond along with make sure my ratio of depth and bank slope was proper. I remember when I first bought my place back in 1995 I was out there almost constantly with my Beeman RX gas ram killing those muskrats. Plus, they ate the goose eggs, which I wanted hatched. 

Ponds and lakes = critters. I lost all my trees on the bank edges to beavers one year. 



Great video job, action packed for sure.
 
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Wow nice shoot what state are you in I need to go hunt these things (do not worry you do not need to tell me about your spot) I am assuming you are in Florida?
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Lol, thanks. I'm in Louisiana. But yes they do live in parts of Florida as well. Fish and Game has a bounty on them here. They are a nasty invasive species.
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I love hunting those things they are tuff little buggers , head shots they are DRT all you see is the top of the body showing . Going out this week to give it a try at night . You definitely have a honey hole . I find it very hard when they are swimming as you know , because there is only about a 1"to 11/2" of the head showing out of the water . I like it better when they are swimming away from me that's the perfect shot . Nice shootun wish I had that spot keep it coming Darell Btw have you tried slugs it that thing yet ?
Click to expand...

I've only seen a couple in WA, but I know we have them. I want to plan on going on a night hunt for them too, probably with my R5 30 long, Pard NV007, and 60-62gr slugs 💪
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I found this for nutria proliferation. Good luck on your hunt!

1575476905_17987907485de7dea9500760.18969808_GetStaticMap.png

 
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Thanks for the good videos! It surprises me that the nutria head for land rather than water when they’re wounded.
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Hi Shoz, you're welcome. From what I've seen, when I get a good hit they generally go to land, seemingly to address their wound. If it isn't a good hit they will try to escape via the water. Additionally, they can hold their breath for a long time, so they can swim for a good way under the water and pop back up way farther away. At night, this makes for a challenge.
 
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Chris, school me on what a Nutria is. Are they cousin to the muskrat? Or another name for a muskrat? The muskrats here in CA do a lot of damage to pond banks. They burrow all over the banks, weakening them. I had to drain off my pond due to leaks which were constantly putting a wet, mud spot all year on a well used community dirt road driveway behind the pond. All due to muskrats. After I had it drained, it sat for a couple years empty, till I had the funds to pay my neighbor(he’s a pond guru in the neighborhood, along with being well versed at operating heavy equipment)to bring in dirt(32 truck loads) and he beefed up the sides of the pond along with make sure my ratio of depth and bank slope was proper. I remember when I first bought my place back in 1995 I was out there almost constantly with my Beeman RX gas ram killing those muskrats. Plus, they ate the goose eggs, which I wanted hatched. 

Ponds and lakes = critters. I lost all my trees on the bank edges to beavers one year. 



Great video job, action packed for sure.
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Not sure if they are actually related but they do look similar. Biggest difference is size. According to the resources online, a muskrat weighs 3-4 lbs, nutria weigh 11-20 lbs. The tails are also different. Behaviorally, they sound very similar. They wreak havoc on our levies and our wetlands. Sorry to hear about the destruction to your property. I feel your pain although it hasn't affected me nearly as bad as you. I've probably lost about a foot off my property line due to erosion caused by them though. But they've paid for it in blood.
 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKDDGuciszM



59 yard shot. Hadn't seen any nutria in a few months so I was excited to see this guy this morning. I was using the new reticle that came with the latest firmware update in my ATN X-Sight, but for some reason it does not look the same in the video. Anyway, not my best camera work, but you get the point.
 
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I am surprised to see on the above map that they have infiltrated Minnesota and Montana, being they are originally a warm climate creature. I did a little searching and they have become quite adaptable to their surroundings, however they do die back during very cold winters. I was reading they had destroyed 8,000 acres of marshland near the Chesapeake before a multi-million dollar effort to eradicate them was enacted. Keep shooting them, you may help your state's economy by doing so.
 
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