Thread: Help / tips with Possum shooting

Originally Posted by MightyBoosh

Oh shit! I was going to say something along those lines, but didn’t want to come across as patronising. They are hard to kill. Much harder than rabbits. Hope it hasn’t put the boy off.

Far from it he would drag me out there every night if he could. He's made himself a club from an old axe handle to use as a bat.

Originally Posted by Pete_D

Far from it He's made himself a club from an old axe handle to use as a bat.

Yeah good luck with that but good on him
I remember doing possuming as a young lad with other mates with gin traps.
Had a hammer to nail/remove traps to the trees and dispatch possums.
Sometimes seemed to take a shitload to finish them off and heard just enough stories of possums waking up in the carry sack to make us all wary of it so we'd always bash them some more.

Originally Posted by berg243

a 410 single barrel is a good possum gun if you can find a second hand one they are cheap enough just have to find the ammo from a good source to get it at a decent price.

yeah decent price. no such thing for 410 ammo-its feckin dear for what it is.

Originally Posted by Pete_D

Far from it he would drag me out there every night if he could. He's made himself a club from an old axe handle to use as a bat.

My two Staffordshires have telepathic powers and can read my mind. The very second I’ve seen a possum up a tree, before I’ve had a chance to say the word they rush over to the base of the trunk and stand on two legs yipping like hell waiting for the prize to come tumbling down. Then its all on and there ain’t no concerns about ‘hard to kill’

My mate staffy's from years ago were exactly the same- great dogs.

Originally Posted by Husky1600

A small bright torch fitted under the barrel of the rifle makes it much easier for the shooter to get the sights on the possum, with 2 people working, light man and shooter, sometimes one can see the possum or eyes and the other cant. Only shoot 2 or 3 before you pluck them, they need to be plucked within a few minutes or it becomes too difficult. Take all the fur you can pluck, the head, the belly, the tail, everything. Dont get too stressed if you shoot a couple and can still see more, its more important to get the first ones plucked, the others will still be there if you dont make too much noise. I shot 50 one night, on only 2 grass paddocks, most of the time I could put the light on 7 or more, but shot only 2 or 3 at a time. When I finished plucking I could see more in the light from right there. That 50 possums bought me a new 10/22.

Hmmm I thought buyers only liked the back fur ie to where it changes colour and composition.


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Yeah I only pluck the long fur (back) and never the tail

I pluck everything that comes off easy, all gets accepted, no problems, no point in catching them if you cant make the most out of them. Was the buyer that told me to take it all.

This may help to target area's....

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!

True what you say about scope magnification Ultimitsu, I also use more powerful scopes than most for possum, rabbit and pest birds. I’ve never got on with fixed power scopes and definitely not open sights in poor light. A good scope with a nice smooth and lightweight turn on the magnification ring is what’s required, so you can hold the possum in the field of view with your left hand controlling the rifle and right hand adjusting the scope (assuming you’re a rightie). Increase the magnification too early and you’ll never find the possum!

go after em when theres a horny breeding doe about -the bucks make a hell of a racket as they scrap for her favours-shine a torch on em and theyllsnarl right back!.22delivers a nice terminal blowjob.me old landlord had a dairy farm and manys the night me and the corgi on willows patrol did just that.he hsaid his wife complained the kids wouldnt sleep due to the jackos racket -seems evewrtime i saw her she was pregnant so i wonder.
actually shot 4 one afternoon cause of the horny doe.all within 20 mof the cowshed.broad daylight -doe horny 3 bucks wanting to get end away -me party pooper!
fruit trees -the buggers luv em-old orchards are another site to explore.
yup shot one up a pine tree once -5x.22 under the chin-wouldnt come down till.303 chainsaw was deployed-skull like an empty eggshell-the nervous system in response to fataltrauma locked his claws to the branch.

killing -when bro and i trapped we had a lump of rimu with a knot in it -studded with lead head nails.didnt stop one old doe from opening up my hand with a slashing rear leg
those claws are letha.
our other weapon-the trusty tomahawk- smack between the ears usually instant death.

12g shotty-saw one shot in mum&dads washhouse with a 12g at less than a foot range-both barrells(uncle a little pissed)roareds -massive hole in roof .dad shot a few who ventured into the garage whilst he was cutting kindling .
me i want to line a snarling buck up and let loose with a 3"no2 34gm steel load-its the ultimate contraceptive.

Using Thermal Hand held and finishing off with Maxtoch or Olight torch mounted a top of scope with quick release weaver rail
Amazing how many Possums you see that you wont see with light, and Rats - bloody little beggars are everywhere up in the trees

What .22 ammo you chaps find best
I using the CCI hollow - getting a lot of ricochet and most Possums need a couple as I am to blind and poor a shot now to go for head shots :-(

Angus uses segmented sub. But you could try Winchester power points or see if there is a higher grain 22 bullet than 42 grains I commonly see

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Originally Posted by kotuku

12g shotty-saw one shot in mum&dads washhouse with a 12g at less than a foot range-both barrells(uncle a little pissed)roareds -massive hole in roof .dad shot a few who ventured into the garage whilst he was cutting kindling .
me i want to line a snarling buck up and let loose with a 3"no2 34gm steel load-its the ultimate contraceptive.

Yup shotguns work well.
What else works well is a rossi 357 L/A 16" barrel with 125gr hollowpoints.
Love that little gun and carried it everywhere. Nailed a possum one night looking down on me from not very far (open sights so a PITA).
Aimed just under his chin, Boom, cloud of smoke and fluff and possum gone with the patter of falling bits in the trees.
Mate went back the next day to get all the shot ones for dog tucker. He found this one its ears were about 8 inches apart.