Thread: Help / tips with Possum shooting

Originally Posted by Pete_D

Hey Guys, my young fella is keen to go possum shooting this weekend. Sounds like fun and we have a friends hill country farm avaible with bush etc.

Any tips to help with success ? is there a better time of night ? obviosuly dark but hopefully not 2:00 in the morning !! What tree's do they like ? Do we have to be real quiet ? We have .22 (open sights) and a couple of good torches.

Thanks (from a novice dad.)

Hi there, I have done quite a bit of possum shooting as a hobbyist, this is what I have to to share:

1. they do not seem to come out in high numbers early in the night, larger numbers usually a couple of hours after it is totally dark. This means this time of the year you can come out earlier than later. In the summer I usually start around 10pm. Between 1-3 am is always the best, no matter the time of the year. It does get a bit hard as you age
2. you want to use high powered torches. I got quite a few torches running 2 x 18650 batteries and they still do not seem to be enough. I have one mounted on the gun so it lights up where I point, I have another headlamp light up where I look.
3. I would personally not use open sight to do possum shooting. Most of my shots take place between 30-80 meters and are head shots. I find it very hard to do with 3x , let alone with open sight. I use a 3-9 on my 22lr and a 6-18 on my 17hmr. I even find 9x a bit limiting at times, which is why form time to time I use the 17hmr for more magnification and flatter shot.
4. you do not have to be very quiet at all. possums seem to feel safe as long as they are on the tree and they in fact find it curious when they hear people talking. But if you shoot with loud gun that could scare them off a bit.
5, be careful with your shots. possum shooting will always involve upward shooting, if you miss the bullet will travel very far and could hit people far away.
6. It helps if you got a friend who has done it before to help you get started. as a complete novice you could end up getting no kill and a little bit disappointed. Once you get a hang of finding possums it can be very rewarding and interesting sport.
7. In the end of the day, you still have to be a good shooter to get a good kill rate. Practice standing and kneeling shots.

Best of luck!