csand wrote:I'm leaning towards a 15-18 grain spit wad and a smooth bore soda straw to reduce fur damage

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Heh heh heh, good one! Although the BC on the spit-wad may be a tad lacking in the breeze.
To properly protect those expensive Danner's and your 4x4 truck tires, there's nothing like a familiar .22LR belt pistol for those little charging munching buggers. I actually had to protect Captqc from one such incident a few years ago, the rat was
so close, he couldn't hit it with his pistol.....sort of 'in your face'! It was 'Rick to the rescue', and I've never let him hear the end of it either.
I hope that little fellow there on your bench was kept under strict supervision, as they've been known to really have their way with components and ammo on the benchtop.
These might even be collector's items by now!
