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Shooting mice with Diana Mk4 .177 - any help?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 09, 2015 9:56 pm
by mouseman
Hello all
I am not a gun enthusiast so I will no doubt be a bit lax on terms etc but need some help and this seems to be the right place. I live in the center of London and with all the restaurants etc there's plenty of mice in the domestic buildings. I have tried traps, humane traps (so humane they appear to just feed the little sh**s) glue boards and more, all with some success (except the humane ones). However, I recently spoke to a neighbour who swear by shooting them. He said he plots up with the radiop on to cover any noise he might make and with a pair of eye protectors he picks off around 2 a night. Sounds short term but when I tell you I sometimes turn on the light and about 15 of them are scampering away, that sounds like a result. He said he too used to have such amounts, but after he started picking them off he barely has a problem. He said he's keeping the population down by shooting the dominant males who go searching for food.
So - I keep my place clean and want to try shooting them. He uses a Crossman 1377c which I could buy, but then I remembered my old Diana Mk4 .177. It's a great little pistol and I can split matchsticks from about 10 ft no problem. So my question realy is - is the Diana Mk4 powerful enough to kill them? I As much as I dislike them I don;t want to injure them so they die a slow death, that's just unfair when I could do domething about it. Also - what would be the best pellets for this job. Or - am I barking up the wrong tree and should be using a different gun. Any help really appreciated.

Re: Shooting mice with Diana Mk4 .177 - any help?

PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 7:51 am
by mathspete
I'm no expert on air pistols, but would first of all take yours along to the local gun shop and ask them to chrono it to see what sort of power it is producing. It could be almost worn out if it is so old but the shop should be able to advise you and maybe a service could be all it needs. If it is running at close to the legal limit of 6 foot pounds then I think this should be enough to produce clean kills in mice. Just be aware of your safety and check backstops, beware of ricochets and don't allow the pellets to leave your land. Good luck and have some fun, hope you get the shooting bug and begin the steady climb to ever more expensive toys :thup: :grin:

Re: Shooting mice with Diana Mk4 .177 - any help?

PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 1:50 pm
by hungryrob
mouseman wrote:Hello all
I am not a gun enthusiast so I will no doubt be a bit lax on terms etc but need some help and this seems to be the right place. I live in the center of London and with all the restaurants etc there's plenty of mice in the domestic buildings. I have tried traps, humane traps (so humane they appear to just feed the little sh**s) glue boards and more, all with some success (except the humane ones). However, I recently spoke to a neighbour who swear by shooting them. He said he plots up with the radiop on to cover any noise he might make and with a pair of eye protectors he picks off around 2 a night. Sounds short term but when I tell you I sometimes turn on the light and about 15 of them are scampering away, that sounds like a result. He said he too used to have such amounts, but after he started picking them off he barely has a problem. He said he's keeping the population down by shooting the dominant males who go searching for food.
So - I keep my place clean and want to try shooting them. He uses a Crossman 1377c which I could buy, but then I remembered my old Diana Mk4 .177. It's a great little pistol and I can split matchsticks from about 10 ft no problem. So my question realy is - is the Diana Mk4 powerful enough to kill them? I As much as I dislike them I don;t want to injure them so they die a slow death, that's just unfair when I could do domething about it. Also - what would be the best pellets for this job. Or - am I barking up the wrong tree and should be using a different gun. Any help really appreciated.


Shooting; as long as you are accurate is probably much more humane than most other methods of pest control... The problem is accuracy and safety. I'd guess your wee pistol is up for the job of a mouse but can you hit them accurately enough to guarantee a kill? Otherwise, you'll have a wounded animal dragging itself off to some corner to die and stink up your place...

Your call.. There is something very satisfying about the task, but that's on the basis that you manage it humanely. 10 feet is a good distance for shooting a mouse and I think you'll be surprised how powerful your wee airgun is. The best pellets for the job are the ones that shoot the most accurately in your gun. Accuracy is much more important than pellet design; compared to the size of the mouse the pellet is relatively large (kinda like you being hit by a 500mph wine bottle)... Whether it has a point or not is almost irrelevant!

It's also very time consuming.. putting down a few traps takes minutes.

Re: Shooting mice with Diana Mk4 .177 - any help?

PostPosted: Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:53 am
by shotgun sam
The advantage of traps is they work 24/7 until they catch something and then you just reset them.

Re: Shooting mice with Diana Mk4 .177 - any help?

PostPosted: Fri Sep 11, 2015 3:01 pm
by flintlok
shotgun sam wrote:The advantage of traps is they work 24/7 until they catch something and then you just reset them.


I would rather shoot mice than trap them. The only good uncaged mouse is a dead mouse, Perhaps a few hungry cats could use some fun too. :) :) :) :) :)

Re Shooting mice with Diana Mk4 177

PostPosted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 1:36 am
by GSGoodwill
Thought it would be nice to get together, my son is shooting I will be coaching

Re: Shooting mice with Diana Mk4 .177 - any help?

PostPosted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 10:16 pm
by Yessir
Er, and airsoft gun will kill mice at close range!. I used to use a gas powered automatic one and it was great fun in grain bins full of mice. The 6mm plastic BB would pass clean through. Very humane and effective (and cheap, and safe...).