Thread: Night time Airgun Set up Recommendation for possums

55yrs ago we got a couple of salmon in the Orari river,using a big metal red? torch(befor big jims came in) and a gorse knife.Use to get a lot of eels out of the ohapi stream with the help of our big torchs.Biggest eel was 5ft 10 inch long.Oh the fun we use to have befor tv was around our area.

Pard spec's say: Not Approved for Spring or Piston Powered Air Rifles (Break Open Types etc)

Originally Posted by vulcannz

Pard spec's say: Not Approved for Spring or Piston Powered Air Rifles (Break Open Types etc)

I was just about to mention most of the LED torches I have seen will struggle with the vibrations and shaking the air rifle will subject them to. Better to do what we used to...one person on the torch and one person on the rifle.....Decent headlight is great for spotting them.

Red light don’t spook animals as much as a big bright white beam pointed at their head! Red is softer you can get great eye shine return of it too, have tried blue n yellow but red best I have found, you don’t have to buy an expensive torch can just put red cellophane and tape it over the lens of any torch for what you want to do ,

Red light is pretty much invisible to a lot of animals. works great on rabbits and hares (doesn't stop their other scenes which tend to be more accute) can't see why you'd need more than a head lamp for possums. they just run up the nearest tree or fence post. don't put anything on ya springer, it's all just weight that affects how it shoots. (unless it's sighted in with them on, then it's off when you remove them) we'll that's been my experience in the past anyways

I've only used torches. I've got a night vision kit but never used it yet. One thing to remember if shooting with a airgun, is if your shooting from underneath with a shot angle of over 70° you need to account for the bullet placement, i.e if your aiming for the head, the bullet will actually hit the distance that the barrel is from the scope and hit in the chest/neck. And likewise if you got for a heart shot, it will hit in the stomach area. Look up Teds Hold Over channel on YouTube he has a hold video explaining this

Originally Posted by Ranger 888

Try to shoot them under the chin..that's a kill shot every time!

through chin up through the swede -weeeee look ma its jacko imitating an open boiled egg!did it once with a big buck nailed him x5out of me trusty TOz17 .bugger wouldnt fall out of tree -righto out comes trusty .303 as a chainsaw -nup his tail relaxed and he landed in a shower of blood and crap right on bonnet of my car .cranium was sparkling wehite apart from a rather ragged hole through the base!

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

man you fellas are spoilt...
Ive shot litterally hundreds of possums with a big jim torch and or a dolphin torch...those were heavy 6 volt jobbies and batteries werent rechargable.
ANY torch will do the job...possums arent hard to find,and once up trees stay there. you dont need a $200 torch to find possums in willow tree near your home...go out now on full moon and silhouette them....once leaves take off its too late.
head torch to walk with and handheld for looking around... shoot them in the V of throat if you can...or through chest if side on...your 22 airgun may have enough grunt for head shots,chest works but takes few seconds to kill them.

mickey -many moons ago Iknew an old scots bloke on the coast who used a single shot and miners acetylene lamp to keep the london fur markets supplied ."och laddie yonbonny wee buuga looks at the flickerin flame ,makes him very bouncy bang! he reckoned possums curiosity was their downfall and id agree .also watch for a doe whose randy ,sit tight and nailall the horny bucks as they come lookinfor poontang .theyre grossly oversexed and totally undervigilant-.22 or 12g blowjob will cure the desire. Ishot many with a good old chrome 3cell torch under the barrel of the stirling m14.snarling bastards get no mercy from me -its kill on sight .

Originally Posted by vulcannz

Pard spec's say: Not Approved for Spring or Piston Powered Air Rifles (Break Open Types etc)

Sytong night vision has a much higher recoil rating than pard and is air rifle rated.

PARDs rating is actually well above most hunting rifles and always was and is rated for air guns.
Since the introduction of the new S models

I have hundreds of rounds of 300wm and 338 with my own personal unit

The real limit is around how much recoil you can handle and control the rifle for night vision (any brand) with the different scopes and eye relief - I used to say 308 unsuppressed as a guide as we would get calls about a ultra light 300 WTFSSM and would it be ok - all the makings of a great you tube video (or Rik tick I guess)

There is the obvious one for locating possum. What food source is in season in the place your shooting. I had two nights of intense shooting on a farm in kaiwaka in about an acre of Bush on a farm. One of the native species of tree had come into fruit and possums had come in from all over the area. I spent two nights with a 22lr (though an air rifle would have done fine) whacking out possums. Filled the owners chest freezer with carcasses. (apparently mixed with a bit of sheep fat there is no better dog food. He bred sheep trial dogs) Night 3 they were leaving along the willows running through the section. Bit like a good trout fisherman knows what insects the fish are feeding on and adjusts the fly or nymph accordingly. If the food is there that's where they will be. If ya know that then a torch is fine. Scan the trees with the torch at a not to fast but not to slow pace. Look for eyeshine not the possum. ( listen for movement) Don't shine the torch directly onto the possum till your ready to shoot (except the safety of course) if it turns away try to make a possum call even if it's bad (which mine is awful) they usually will turn back and look. If you don't get a clean kill shot and they start heading down the tree, wait till they are in easy shooting height, there's usually way to many smaller branches and twigs to deflect a light projectile as they spiral down. If it hangs by its tail listen for blood dripping on the ground. If you hear it don't waste another shot, it's dead and will fall as its muscles relax. Least this is my experiance.

Originally Posted by faregame

PARDs rating is actually well above most hunting rifles and always was and is rated for air guns.
Since the introduction of the new S models

I have hundreds of rounds of 300wm and 338 with my own personal unit

The real limit is around how much recoil you can handle and control the rifle for night vision (any brand) with the different scopes and eye relief - I used to say 308 unsuppressed as a guide as we would get calls about a ultra light 300 WTFSSM and would it be ok - all the makings of a great you tube video (or Rik tick I guess)

I thought the issue with air rifles is that springers have a forward and back recoil which is bad for scopes. Not so much the force of the recoil.

makes sence really. Think of it as a car hitting the wall. You have air bag in front and a headrest at back for impact. Non air rifle rated scopes are made for the backlash, air rifle scopes need the forward impact protection. Don't care how good/expensive ya scope is, if it isn't set up to take that forward impact a high power springer is going to break it. Gone are the days of a 22lr fixed 4x scope for ya air rifle.

I've got a scope mounted torch for rabbit shooting ( see profile to see set up) Below is part of one of my shooting data cards and the difference between torch on gun and torch off gun aim points. This is without the angle you would use for possums in a tree

I know some of data looks skew wiff but it's actual shooting at targets at measured ranges. I've double checked it all reshooting groups and it came out the same.

Only data i got was this rabbit i shot with the springer about 5pm.
Sent the game keeper over to collect his dinner.