Gopher talk
- Thread starter metalbender
- Start date
Lucky man, I have to work... The forecast looks great.
From what I can tell, populations are pretty healthy, mild winter and all, but the cool spring might have slowed them down a bit.
For the first time, I'm "keeping count" this year, because I want to break a thousand, and know I broke a thousand. Considering Monday was only the second time I've managed to get out this year, my odds aren't actually looking that good. Here we are in May and I'm only at 105.
Thanks guys.
I do spend a fair bit of time at the range putting tiny holes in paper, but unlike some people, I actually understand that hitting what you're pointing at in the real world, when you don't have a nice bench to shoot off and a roof over your head, and the wind blowing dust in your eyes, and maybe a touch of heatstroke from wandering around too long and forgetting to grab a sip of water every now and then... Well, that's real accuracy.
It's also how I learned to shoot in the first place, decades ago.
You can usually tell the difference at the range between guys and gals who just shoot paper, and ones who actually hunt and varmint as well. Nothing against target shooters, it's a great sport, and its nice to see people out enjoying it.
But... There's just a difference.
I have fun every time I go to the range. But getting out in the field shooting gophers gets the blood flowing. And skulking through the bush look for deer or grouse... That really gets the heart pumping.
150 less today down near Pincher Creek. Perfect sunny clear warm day with no wind. It was awful. Awful fun. My pal shot my 795 and I mostly shot the Model 60. Did take out the CZ 22mag for a few long shots bench resting. Wow. Don't think I'll sell it after all. Forgot how accurate that thing is with Maxi Mags. Rancher took us to one of his cow pastures to clean them out and we did. Lot a little ones up but not completely in full swing yet. Unfortunately in about 2 weeks the grass will be too long to spot them. So get out soon. Ever try to get dry cow #### off your tires.
Long hard day today...
Got out to the relative's farm a bit late... Seeing as it was about 11am, the committee decided the time before lunch would be best spent drinking coffee and swapping the same old lies... Err... Family stories.
Then lunch...
Then a bit of "Well, since you're here anyway could you help with.." first this, then coffee, then that, then coffee, then the other, then coffee...
Well, heck, it's almost dinner, so fire up the BBQ and kill some more time with coffee...
Fortunately, dinner was fairly early, so just after 6 grabbed the Gator and drove off to a patch I've had luck at in previous years. The little fellas were out in force for their evening snack-time, and I managed to crack the 100 barrier - barely. 103 total for the day.
Mostly with my 795. Really liking that rifle more every time I take it out. More accurate with crap ammo that my 10/22 is with any ammo. Practised my CQG (close quarter gopher) shooting with my .410 again.
And even grabbed the Old Gal for a couple dozen. The Cooey 600 may not be the newest, fanciest thing on the block, but she can still get the job done. Biggest problem I have with it is the scope. Narrow field of view and can be milky if the light isn't just right. But if the cross-hairs are in the right place when you pull the trigger, she'll do the trick every time.
It was warm and sunny all day. Mid twenties as a high, almost no wind, and even after dinner it stayed above (or close to) 20 degrees right up until I packed it in. Any exposed skin was a shade or two darker by the time I was heading home.
If anyone can think of a better way to kill a Saturday, I'd be interested in hearing about it.
Got out to the relative's farm a bit late... Seeing as it was about 11am, the committee decided the time before lunch would be best spent drinking coffee and swapping the same old lies... Err... Family stories.
Then lunch...
Then a bit of "Well, since you're here anyway could you help with.." first this, then coffee, then that, then coffee, then the other, then coffee...
Well, heck, it's almost dinner, so fire up the BBQ and kill some more time with coffee...
Fortunately, dinner was fairly early, so just after 6 grabbed the Gator and drove off to a patch I've had luck at in previous years. The little fellas were out in force for their evening snack-time, and I managed to crack the 100 barrier - barely. 103 total for the day.
Mostly with my 795. Really liking that rifle more every time I take it out. More accurate with crap ammo that my 10/22 is with any ammo. Practised my CQG (close quarter gopher) shooting with my .410 again.
And even grabbed the Old Gal for a couple dozen. The Cooey 600 may not be the newest, fanciest thing on the block, but she can still get the job done. Biggest problem I have with it is the scope. Narrow field of view and can be milky if the light isn't just right. But if the cross-hairs are in the right place when you pull the trigger, she'll do the trick every time.
It was warm and sunny all day. Mid twenties as a high, almost no wind, and even after dinner it stayed above (or close to) 20 degrees right up until I packed it in. Any exposed skin was a shade or two darker by the time I was heading home.
If anyone can think of a better way to kill a Saturday, I'd be interested in hearing about it.
Had my first outing of the season today.
On some land in SW Sask, just north of Tomkins SK. Its a bit drier than the last few years have been, more like how an average year is in this part of the country. What that means for me is that the gopher population is substantially greater than it was last year and the ranchers are more aware of the damage these rodents can quickly deal out.
I was using a borrowed Marlin bolt action .22 with a cheap Bushnell scope; it didn't look pretty but once I got it dialed in seemed to be consistent enough. There was some decent action from 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM then it tapered off for the afternoon, so I had lunch and a nap in the truck until 3:30 when I went on a walkabout but which was worth the effort but not particularly exciting. Boiled some water and made Ichiban noodles for supper and headed back to the house at about 7:30, and thats when the action began. This years babies are out now and seemed to be feeding late into the day. I could hardly keep the magazines topped off and my thumbs were getting rather raw as the targets kept appearing at close range (10-30 yards). It was perfect range for the .22LR, I had a .17HMR in the truck but there were enough gophers close in that I never fired a single HMR round in the day. Another nice change for me is that over half of these kills were from the offhand shooting position, normally I use a swivel bench when in the pasture.
Emptied a box of Win 333 during the day but the last half hour likely accounted for 50% of the box. When the targets are plentiful and close it really brings up the average, went from approximately 50% ratio to over 80% by the end of the day. About 175-200 would be a realistic number for the day, not bad for a casual outing.
Looks like the weather should hold for tomorrow so looking forward to another fun day in the gopher patch. Hope to post some photos when I get back to town and have a faster internet connection.
Its been some time since I had a great day with a simple .22LR; many good days with the .204 Ruger and the .17 HMR in the past but there is something special about a good day with a basic .22LR bolt gun.
On some land in SW Sask, just north of Tomkins SK. Its a bit drier than the last few years have been, more like how an average year is in this part of the country. What that means for me is that the gopher population is substantially greater than it was last year and the ranchers are more aware of the damage these rodents can quickly deal out.
I was using a borrowed Marlin bolt action .22 with a cheap Bushnell scope; it didn't look pretty but once I got it dialed in seemed to be consistent enough. There was some decent action from 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM then it tapered off for the afternoon, so I had lunch and a nap in the truck until 3:30 when I went on a walkabout but which was worth the effort but not particularly exciting. Boiled some water and made Ichiban noodles for supper and headed back to the house at about 7:30, and thats when the action began. This years babies are out now and seemed to be feeding late into the day. I could hardly keep the magazines topped off and my thumbs were getting rather raw as the targets kept appearing at close range (10-30 yards). It was perfect range for the .22LR, I had a .17HMR in the truck but there were enough gophers close in that I never fired a single HMR round in the day. Another nice change for me is that over half of these kills were from the offhand shooting position, normally I use a swivel bench when in the pasture.
Emptied a box of Win 333 during the day but the last half hour likely accounted for 50% of the box. When the targets are plentiful and close it really brings up the average, went from approximately 50% ratio to over 80% by the end of the day. About 175-200 would be a realistic number for the day, not bad for a casual outing.
Looks like the weather should hold for tomorrow so looking forward to another fun day in the gopher patch. Hope to post some photos when I get back to town and have a faster internet connection.
Its been some time since I had a great day with a simple .22LR; many good days with the .204 Ruger and the .17 HMR in the past but there is something special about a good day with a basic .22LR bolt gun.
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Got my .22 K-Hornet dialed in properly and took a short trip out to a nearby field to see just what it would do. Yeah I know it isn't a rimfire, but it is gophers and so counts.
Well, I can tell you it is certainly different than a .22LR- the bullet is moving so fast (More than twice as fast as your average .22HV,) that you don't get the bang-thwap when you score a hit. The gun just goes bang and a hole appears in what you are aiming at. I was using some Varmint Grenades in the hopes of getting some really nasty kills, but of the few gophers I found, five shots were clean pass-throughs with little visible damage, and only one really got the message and ended up inside out.
I was taking upper body shots and these buggers looked a bit skinny, so maybe there just wasn't enough resistance to get the grenade effect. I'll be sure to test the effect of a skull next time out ;D
Well, I can tell you it is certainly different than a .22LR- the bullet is moving so fast (More than twice as fast as your average .22HV,) that you don't get the bang-thwap when you score a hit. The gun just goes bang and a hole appears in what you are aiming at. I was using some Varmint Grenades in the hopes of getting some really nasty kills, but of the few gophers I found, five shots were clean pass-throughs with little visible damage, and only one really got the message and ended up inside out.
I was taking upper body shots and these buggers looked a bit skinny, so maybe there just wasn't enough resistance to get the grenade effect. I'll be sure to test the effect of a skull next time out ;D
Now with pictures
Got back into town last night; uploaded a few to photobucket so here they are to enjoy.
This indicates how dry the country is in the SW of Sask, was supposed to be a winter wheat crop but they turned the cattle into it instead. The drier the year the worse the gophers are for them. Fire risk is a real concern out there now.
Playing with the shadows for a neat photo.
A pretty basic Marlin and Bushnell combo but gets the job done with eye popping effectiveness.
Just a splash of color for the appreciation of the artistic types.
200 for day one and 100 on day two would be a reasonable tally for my time out west.
Got back into town last night; uploaded a few to photobucket so here they are to enjoy.
This indicates how dry the country is in the SW of Sask, was supposed to be a winter wheat crop but they turned the cattle into it instead. The drier the year the worse the gophers are for them. Fire risk is a real concern out there now.
Playing with the shadows for a neat photo.
A pretty basic Marlin and Bushnell combo but gets the job done with eye popping effectiveness.
Just a splash of color for the appreciation of the artistic types.
200 for day one and 100 on day two would be a reasonable tally for my time out west.
Numbers are high in the places I've been to. A lot of it depends on the weather/time of day. I'll go by one spot in the afternoon, and not see anything. Head back to the same spot after dinner, and they're everywhere.
Thinking of picking up a .223 bolt for the summer season. Haven't been out that way in years, but the grass never gets too high in the Dorothy to Hanna corridor (borderline desert area). You can see them active all the way through August and even into September. Problem is, it's such wide open country, you end up shooting at pretty long distances.
Been a decade and a half since I've done any shooting out in that area, though, so my memory isn't the most reliable source.
Was out near milk river yesterday. Had a sweet piece of land, spent about 2 hours shooting with myself and a buddy. My 10/22 and his .17 hmr. Spent about 2 hours or so popping these guys off, there was never a dull moment spent waiting longer than 5 minutes to spot another one.
At the end of it we must have had over 100 gophers. Shots between 15 and 110 yards
Was a great day!
At the end of it we must have had over 100 gophers. Shots between 15 and 110 yards
Was a great day!
I've only shot a couple hundred so far. But,! I plan to go for a few days and will be shooting a couple thou rounds of ammo. Last year 2 of us shot over 2000 in one day and the rancher said they were back in the same #s. The mini-mag supply is going to take a hit!
