Ballistic clay test .22 pellets

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Ballistic Clay Tests

We have just got in some new ballistic clay to use on the shooting range. (Happy to let customers test out their own as well).

We put a few pellets through just to see how they performed. 

Predator Polymags, Crosman Piranhas and JSB Stratons were used as these are the ones we have been recently out with shooting vermin. These were all in .22 calibre using a basic spring gun, a Hatsan Breaker 900X. This was at a short range of 15 meters.

There will be some more in depth videos coming soon....But just for our first play.

Air pistol use UK

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We often get asked about air pistols for shooting vermin in the shop. Most of the time we would advise you to get an air rifle. In the UK the maximum legalpower output of an air pistol is 6ftlbs compared to an air rifles 12ftlbs.

If you are going to use a pistol, then the single shot ones tend to be around the legal limit, with the CO2 multi shots being much lower. The single shot ones are good for trapped pests. 

Having said that.......

Have been out doing a bit of work in my barn today after getting soaked in the rain this morning. Bit of reading and sitting around as well! Happened to have a friends air pistol with me that I had been tuning up for him as I wanted to test it out on some cans. 

The Umarex Beretta px4 Storm is about as close to the real thing as you can get with its blow back action. Testing it out on cans in the barn....rats turned up of course. (Poison really doesn't seem to do much this year)

Had 4 hits at short range, unloaded the entire 8 shot mag of BSA Elite pellets into them. (Polymags don't fit umarex pistols except for the revolvers) 

So they work well, just don't expect accuracy or effectiveness at anything over 8 meters! 

Still in my barn now, rain stopped and it's getting dark. I can hear them in the walls! Time to get the Nitesite out on my rifle!

Bipods on air rifles

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Airgun shooting range

Out again tonight on the rats. Not as many about (too hot and we did hit 25 the other night!)

However we used tonight with some of our staff to look at how a bipod can help steady your shot.

Attached to this BSA R-10 SE is a standard bipod that fits on the mounting stud at the front of the gun. Most modern air rifles have some sort of quick fit mount these days, but you can always drill and screw one in (very carefully). The main positive point here is that modern guns and accessories can be changed very quickly depending on where you will be going shooting.

Here we are shooting in a rested position, so weight isn't really that important. Whilst the legs on bipods do fold away, they add a significant weight to the gun and you wouldn't want to be walking too far with it. They also can make those quick standing shots much more difficult. Again this is why it's important to get a quality bipod that's easy to remove.  

A nice feature on these bipods is the extendable legs. They provide an extremely stable adjustable platform but at the same time giving enough movement and tilt to get on the target quickly. 

After a couple of hours we had only hit 5 rats.... Many hiding in the bushes we could hear and they would be out soon as the temperature cools off, but not a late one for us tonight. (Work tomorrow!)

Someone did make a new friend though! 

Team out shooting

We do more than just sell air rifles, most of our team shoot as their hobby as well. 

Over the weekend one of our staff got to go out and play with some bigger calibre rifles.

Ratting record!

Out at our chicken coops tonight, fortunately the rain held off longer than expected so our 'quick hour' turned into an all nighter and we have been on a roll!

25 rats dispatched tonight with sniper gnome and myself using Nitesite vipers on our air rifles. This is a new record for this location, the previous being 23. 

This coop has always been some of the most difficult shooting we have done as the rats tend to be under the coops or in between wood slats. Pinpoint accuracy is needed to get those head shots and it's not always possible to retrieve the dead ones as they fall underneath. 

Tonight we switched from our usual Predator Polymag pellets to JSB Stratons and Diablos. Both of our guns seem to be more consistent with these and our shots were certainly spot on tonight. 

Recently we chronographed our air rifles and they are running at between 10.5ftlbs and 11.2ftlbs (mine is set slightly to the lower power). The legal uk limit is 12ftlbs before you need a full firearms licence. We are happy to give you a report on your air rifle in the shop if you think it may be low (or indeed too high) power. 

A selection of the ones taken out tonight. I don't usually post kills on here but not particularly graphic and I wanted to show that there are a variety of sizes out at the moment. The big one is the size of my size 10 boot, not including tail! Breeding season is in full swing with the warm weather and plentiful food sources around. 

We are finding with the population increase, the rats are being more vocal with their high pitched 'chirping', fairly sure they are just 'getting it on' in the bushes next to our shooting spot! 

Using the nitesites to spot we are finding it much easier to get good hits. We both hit the same rat at the same time! This knocked it straight down.  

So should we be controlling the rats in this way? 

"The brown rat is a common species and does not currently face any major threats  This rodent is considered to be one of the world’s most serious pest species, consuming or fouling vast quantities of human food, damaging property, and causing electrical hazards by chewing through cables. It is also a carrier of disease, and has caused or contributed to declines in many native plants and animals through predation or competition"

Clearly they do need to be kept in check, we have already list several of our birds this year to being killed by the rats, so we are simply protecting livestock. 

Poison is one method that we could also use, however, personally I don't like it as it is a slow death for the animal (most rat poison causes internal bleeding) so it's not what I would call humane. Many of the rat populations we are currently dealing with have also built up an immunity and it has no effect-super rats!

Live trapping can be done, after which they must still be killed by use of an air weapon.(not by drowning please!) I don't like this as being captive will stress the animal, however sometimes it is the only way, especially if they have 'gone to ground' and direct shooting is not an option. If you do live trap, releasing in another area will simply spread diseases and cause even more issues.)

We may well have some training sessions in pest control and hunting coming soon to our shooting range, including some outdoor experience for those who have done it before. Keep an eye on our website at www.diffcal.co.uk for when this becomes available. 

Rat roundup

After last nights 17 rats being dealt with, I took the terrier down to farm to see what else could be done. 

Play time today though as he was more interested in rolling around in the hay! 

After an hour of messing around he finally got to work. 

Just 4 taken out this afternoon, but I think he had a good time!

Out on the chicken coops this weekend. 

Moonlight hunt

A full moon out over the farm tonight

Photo doesn't really do it justice but the fields and areas around the barn were so well lit up we didn't need torches to move around.

In fact even inside the barns the moon gave us enough light to reload our airgun magazines!

As usual the rats were our main target for tonight, having now harvested wheat and beans from the fields they have followed the food and are feasting!

The rats we mostly find in the U.K. are common 'brown rats' . They breed throughout the year and the population can quickly get out of control. 

A female can have five to six litters a year with each cycle only taking 21 days before giving birth to between seven and fourteen babies. The young rats are ready to breed after only five weeks! This means that the population can increase by x10 every 15 weeks if left unchecked. 

We can guarantee in a weeks time there will be more of them as rats tend to increase their reproductive rate when the population is low and at the moment the conditions are ideal for them, warm and plenty of food. 

NiteSite Viper kits mounted on our guns. Using a combination of Predator Polymags and JSB Straton pellets in .22, myself and Graham 'sniper gnome' hit another 17 tonight. 

These camera based sights are really impressive pieces of kit. We are using the most basic model (these pictures I took with my phone, they are actually much clearer.) other models allow for recording and better focusing. See the full range on their website. (We are stockists so let us know if you want a particular model)

What we both really like is the way the infrared picks up your pellet, you can clearly see where it's going and the impact point, very handy for a quick zeroing check at any range. The eyes of the rats also light up on the screen as well, this does help with spotting them and getting positive head shots.

Gun mounted lamps also work well and are much cheaper but you need to use a red filter as rats are mostly red/green colourblind and aren't as bothered by it. They (like humans) have no vision of infrared light, which is why the nitesites work so well.  A normal torch or lamp will generally send them running for cover. 

Usually we need to be quiet as rats have acute hearing (but poor eyesight), however the ones we have been hitting recently just don't seem too bothered, possibly due to all the noise with the harvest going on. 

If anyone would like to try out a Nitesite on our shooting range send us a Facebook message and I'll make sure someone is available for you to try mine out. (We can even fit it to your own gun) 

They also work in the daytime, which a few shooters with poor eyesight are finding very useful (no squinting down a small scope)

Anyway, we plan to be hitting the chicken coops this weekend. Lots of new chicks have hatched and the rats are already trying to eat them! Maybe we'll test out some more new toys and give you the low down on them. 

Harvest time

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Yet another night out ratting as the grain harvest continues. Ash from 'The Garden Spider' landscaping company joined us for the evening.

Using the BSA R-10 SE with Hawke scope we got stuck in around the barns just before dark. Slightly longer shots tonight so we decided to give the JSB Straton pellets a go. 

With a point on them they have good penetration and keep a stable trajectory. 

Whilst myself and Graham 'Sniper-gnome' stuck to our favourite Predator  Polymag pellets, Ash hit well over our numbers tonight even though he was using a Tracer LED gun lamp with red filter , unlike us who 'cheat' with our NiteSite Viper setups. 

The new BSA comes in a variety of stock colours. Ash decided on the camo version. 

Can't say for sure if it makes a difference really but Ash says he likes the soft feel if the stock and it's not got that cheap plastic tactile on it that some guns like this have. 

Having never really used a proper regated air rifle he was very surprised at just how consistent and accurate this gun is and the no nonsense easy to load magazine is also something he was keen on. 

A good night out (no major body smells in the 4x4 tonight!) 

Total hits for tonight; 32 rats, 1 pigeon and 6 rabbits. We saw a few hares in our sights, but they are to be left alone to let the population recover. You should always identify your target! Hares are bigger and have 'pointier ears'

Whilst hares will cause damage like rabbits, they are not so prevalent in numbers and part of shooting should be conservation and wildlife management. It's certainly worth reading up on this sort  of thing do you can be more professional in what you do in the field. 

Many thanks to 'farmer Simon' for letting us shoot. As everyone knows it's getting harder to find places to go shoot these days. 

Come on down to our shooting range where you can now test the full selection of precharged BSA air rifles. 

Wild West challenge 2

All set up for our Wild West challenge tomorrow!

Come and try some very different air guns! 

Wild West Chalenge

Our Wild West Challenge is on this Saturday..... If you are shooting on the range, come and have a go for free.... winner announced at the end of the day (prize!)

R-10 SE ratting

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Our team are now really enjoying getting out and doing a bit of shooting off the range after work. 

We are really liking the new BSA R10 SE here at the shooting range so we decided to take one out ratting at the chicken coops this evening. 

My car (big old jeep commander) isn't the cleanest and my passengers tend to wipe their feet before getting out, but it's a fine workhorse. Got in after work... Staff team ready loaded and waiting for me.. .. Nasty stench of evil..you know who you are😁and you can't blame the pizza we had! It's been a hot day though, so no problem driving with the windows open! 

After feeding the chickens we had to patch up the coops. It's amazing just how much damage rats can cause. An hour later we settled into our usual spot to thin out the numbers.

We had equipped the R10 with a Tracer 200 LED torch mounted to the scope, and used a red filter kit with it. As always our ammo of choice are the Predator Polymags in .22 calibre. We also had 2 Nitesite Vipers out with us tonight which are amazing pieces of kit. 

The R10 performed really well, knocking over rats at 30 yards and these things are  hard to hit, hiding under the sheds and dashing about. The new silencer system works really well (not quite as good as my custom carbon fibre but close!) and the shot placement is very consistent. 

The one we have been using has the camo stock and is in .22, this can be hired to have a go with on our airgun range. The stock is also available in traditional wood, black tactical and 'pepper' laminate. It's fully regulated and the large bottle means you get 250 shots per fill out of it. 

'Sniper Gnome's' idea of using a tin of mackerel to bait them didn't really work, especially as he forgot to bring a tin opener and hitting it with a hammer meant we all got covered in fish oil (more smells!) 

Still our total for tonight was 10 confirmed kills so all in all a good night out. 

Hopefully reducing the rat population will give our new chicks a chance. Back to the farm next week to clear out the grain barns as harvest has now started. 

Air rifle news

We have been featured in this week's local 'Comet' newspaper.