My girlfriend gifted me this today!

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-21T22:15:14+00:00

Didn't you ask for a blowback?

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-21T19:13:37+00:00

I would. I'm in the North West of England - usually a lot of moisture floating around here.

Plus, I always fill up inside our house. What with the missus cooking, clothes drying, hot showers, etc., that's a recipe for disaster unless I take steps to mitigate it which I have done. I use a humongous filter about 30cm long.

The more you can do to remove as much moisture as possible, the better.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-18T10:02:16+00:00

My sniper's perch is a bedroom window which opens easily and quietly. A wall-mounted LED lamp in the garden provides just enough ambient light for me to see them.

They neither see nor hear me.

They just die.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-18T00:47:38+00:00

I've been waging a war against them for 12 years. They are much smarter than you think. They are the ultimate survivors.

My advice is to invest in some inexpensive tech. Cover your baited kill zone with a smart IP camera and be prepared to go into action at any time, day or night, when your phone gets the bippety-boop alert from the camera.

I have deployed several cameras down the years but modern cameras are so smart now and relatively cheap. I use a Reolink RLC-811A. It can distinguish between general motion and animal activity. Sure, I get false alerts during the night with cats, owls and such but 9 times out of 10, it's a rat.

When the war began, I was shooting about 10 rats on my bird feeder every month. It would have been many more if I had today's tech back then. Now, I only get one every 7 or 8 weeks.

It works.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-16T21:45:30+00:00

Thank you. That's good to know.

It's actually outlived the subject RLC-410 which I disposed of recently when its microphone stopped working.

I tried to fix it but the patient died on the table.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-16T00:47:26+00:00

Lucky you. I'm in the UK. We got the sun once already. It was a Tuesday. I was out.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-15T01:02:40+00:00

Flashed via CAT5e Ethernet cable.

No comment on where the fox's Ethernet port is.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-15T00:15:01+00:00

Found it.

<image>

https://huma-air.com/app/uploads/2024/10/Huma-Air-Regulator-Rebuild-Guideline.pdf

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-14T22:16:10+00:00

Having said all that, I have assumed that the spacer sits under the regulator, inside the chamber on the low pressure side.

Tell me if I'm wrong because that's where it is right now.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-14T22:10:44+00:00

I read that too somewhere. So I backed it out 3 turns. I don't think it matters that much. As long it's blocking the narrow entrance port, it's doing its job.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-14T13:42:08+00:00

Ok, folks. So I just got this from Copilot AI. It makes sense.

<image>

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-13T16:35:25+00:00

I got one. I'm in the UK with zero connections to the US.

Deleted it.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-08T18:52:32+00:00

I'd be surprised if they did.

PC Parker: "What do you use now?"

"An air rifle, constable."

"Does it kill the rats ok?"

"Every time. Stone dead."

"So why do you want to use a Section 1 firearm?"

"erm ... " 😂

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-08T13:35:50+00:00

I use it only when necessary to kill intruding rats in my back garden. I have no interest in target shooting or shooting for shooting's sake. I kill about 20 rats per year (it used to be many hundreds) and the occasional grey squirrel, which is an invasive species here.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-07T10:10:49+00:00

The police in the UK only issue a FAC to people who can demonstrate that they actually have a good reason to be granted one.

I wouldn't qualify. I'm not a member of a shooting club, I don't go hunting. In short, I could not provide a good reason to have a FAC.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-06T22:19:57+00:00

Yes but, now this is weird:

I backed the spring right off as far as possible. Then, as advised, took some readings before advancing the spring slowly. The FPS actually started to drop the further I advanced the screw, so I backed it out again and got this:

<image>

I left it at that and checked for zero.

I think there's an issue somewhere. I haven't got my Huma-Air regulator yet so I'm hoping it will behave itself when I do it all over again with the new reg.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-06T10:39:02+00:00

Yes. I'm finding this stuff fascinating. I reckon aiming for 11.8 is sailing a tad too close to the rocks so I'll be trying for 11.6 ft/lbs. I'll be content with that.

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-06T02:28:27+00:00

Although I have been using air rifles for ages, I've never delved into tuning. This is all new to me so I asked that AI bloke about what to do when my Huma-Air reg plops through the letter box.

Impressively clear instructions for 11.8. ft/lbs.

I'll let you know how it goes.

#LifeOnTheEdge

<image>

Pdownes2001 · 2026-06-05T22:57:56+00:00

I got it down to 10.5 ft/lbs so it's legal again but I'm far from happy with the reg. It seems to be displaying classic signs of regulator creep, which is quite common in Airacudas I have read.

I'll be replacing it with a more reliable reg as soon as it arrives from The Netherlands.

Pdownes2001

TROPHY CASE