Groundhogs 2019, but (western) gopher content welcome. :)

brybenn said:
Its actually quite common. I used to raise several breeds of rabbits. Mothers eat young and litter mates will devour a fallen as well.
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I know the mamas will eat their young, but didn't know they were cannibals like our gophers out here. (mostly richardson's ground squirrels)

Learn something new every day.

Personally, the best shooting is when a couple of gophers start eating on one of their fallen brethren. Sometimes you can get two with one shot!!
 
Wish i had such a target rich environment in which to shoot. I get crows in the winter but most of my prime spots have been changed hands or have catered to goose hunters paying big money. I still able to take some with rifles on some fields which is always fun
 
My brother in-law , my wife and I want to plan a prairie dog hunt in western Manitoba or even Saskatchewan for 2020.
We were thinking of renting an RV and trying to find farmers to give us permission to thin out the little devil`s population.
Any advice of where to start, seeing as you`re in the know?

Thanks,
Berny
 
Moosifer1 said:
My brother in-law , my wife and I want to plan a prairie dog hunt in western Manitoba or even Saskatchewan for 2020.
We were thinking of renting an RV and trying to find farmers to give us permission to thin out the little devil`s population.
Any advice of where to start, seeing as you`re in the know?

Thanks,
Berny
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Hey Berny~I'd probably start by calling them "gophers", you might get some strange looks if you're asking for prairie dogs...they'll point you to south of the border! :) They're all, burrowing ground squirrels of one kind or another, but what you find the most of in western Canada are the Richardsons Ground Squirrels, or as they're called out there..."gophers". Prairie Dogs are larger animals, and I believe they're range seldom reaches north of the Canadian border. On my last hunt out there (Sothern Alberta) we THOUGHT we might have gotten a prairie dog. We were pretty close to the Montana border. It was the largest "gopher" I thought I'd ever seen, and even after 3 hits with a 17HMR, we couldn't find it. I'm sure it met it's maker soon after, but clearly made it back to it's hole. That, compared to gophers (at the same distance) that get hollowed-out with even 1 hit from a 17HMR.

There are other ground squirrels, even marmots in S. Alberta, we saw "13 Stripe" and Columbian ground squirrels as well, but 99.9/100 you see out there are likely to be the Richardsons.

At least from this Ontarian's experiences. :) Not an authority, just an enthusiast.
 
Usually 13 stripe are less common and harder to spot since they don't build mounds the entrants to their own tunnels are better hidden
 
Moosifer1 said:
My brother in-law , my wife and I want to plan a prairie dog hunt in western Manitoba or even Saskatchewan for 2020.
We were thinking of renting an RV and trying to find farmers to give us permission to thin out the little devil`s population.
Any advice of where to start, seeing as you`re in the know?

Thanks,
Berny
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Prairie dogs can be found in southern Sask by Val Marie in and around the Grasslands National Park. Don't shoot them though, they are protected under the Endangered Species Act. They are not endangered themselves, but are the main diet of the black footed ferret, which ARE extremely endangered.
 
Hunt&Hook said:
Prairie dogs can be found in southern Sask by Val Marie in and around the Grasslands National Park. Don't shoot them though, they are protected under the Endangered Species Act. They are not endangered themselves, but are the main diet of the black footed ferret, which ARE extremely endangered.
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That's very interesting, thanks for posting that. So I suppose there was a chance we saw a prairie dog that day=interesting. I'd love to bring the centerfire(s) west and have a go at those things, but always assumed it would have to be in the US. Definitely not in Saskatchewan! Regardless, I love me my rimfires...and gophers respond favorably to them. :) We do have it good (in the west) for those things.
 
Shooting gophers! Nothing beats a day of shooting gophers - except for more days! :p

I use mostly .22lr, but do use .17hmr and 22wmr, plus occasionally a 12 ga. Over the years, I have stumbled on to some fantastic shoots. Last year was no exception. Some of the best shooting was around 2006 in the Mankota area. One field I shot in literally stunk from all the dead gophers. Another time, I was next to a field of grass that was grown up, and yet still had gophers, so I used a shotgun. Don't have to be quite so precise. :p

I posted in Target and Precision about a grand old target 22-250 I acquired. I hope to get some loads made up for the old girl and giver her a workout.

In my humble experience, shooting gophers with either a 17hmr or 22wmr has to be a hoot. I use two CZ 455's in each caliber, a Canadian and an American in each. I am not what might be termed a "crack shot", but with a 17hmr, I can do quite nicely. I have the American 22wmr shooting quite nicely, too.

I take my trailer out to an organic farm and spend two or three days of civic duty. Can't wait. :dancingbanana:
 
kjohn said:
Shooting gophers! Nothing beats a day of shooting gophers - except for more days! :p

I use mostly .22lr, but do use .17hmr and 22wmr, plus occasionally a 12 ga. Over the years, I have stumbled on to some fantastic shoots. Last year was no exception. Some of the best shooting was around 2006 in the Mankota area. One field I shot in literally stunk from all the dead gophers. Another time, I was next to a field of grass that was grown up, and yet still had gophers, so I used a shotgun. Don't have to be quite so precise. :p

I posted in Target and Precision about a grand old target 22-250 I acquired. I hope to get some loads made up for the old girl and giver her a workout.

In my humble experience, shooting gophers with either a 17hmr or 22wmr has to be a hoot. I use two CZ 455's in each caliber, a Canadian and an American in each. I am not what might be termed a "crack shot", but with a 17hmr, I can do quite nicely. I have the American 22wmr shooting quite nicely, too.

I take my trailer out to an organic farm and spend two or three days of civic duty. Can't wait. :dancingbanana:
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Be sure to post photos! :)
 
Had a bit of time to get out this morning to the close pasture I shoot. It was a little on the cool side so not a lot of gophers out but I did manage to find 4.
Had a small cottontail rabbit in the pasture sunning itself beside a gopher on top of a mound. When I shot the gopher the rabbit went down the gopher hole and stayed down. First time I have ever had this happen in 50yrs of gopher shooting.
 
Just got back from a week of gopher shooting in southern Sk. with my son. The weather was super hot so we only shot for 3-4hrs/day. 3 days on one quarter netted us around 100 critters each hour. I ran out of hornet ammo so had to resort to the 22-250. My boy used a .22, He shot everything inside of 75 yards and I took the rest....
 
I have a thread "Gophers" in "Hunting". Shot for six days, mostly in small field, maybe 60-80 acres. Absolutely wonderful!
 
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Originally Posted by Hunt&Hook
Both, non-guided. We have access to over 1.25 million acres.

We are staying in the Little Missouri Grasslands, hunting there and also have access to a few private spreads. The ND forestry service and ND Fish and Game are very helpful with any inquiries.
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I hope you'll take lots of photos, and post a report!
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Just wanted to bump this so I don't forget. We're leaving Thursday and will be back next Monday.
 
A few pics of the trip...

3DNYzGZ.jpg


It was 471 yards to the crest of the hill. Tough shooting such small targets with a 10 mph wind.

eZDEWik.jpg


My 415 yard hog.

bViwxo7.jpg


Good to put this to some real use....

INw6kYI.jpg


wwHIrT3.jpg
 
Hunt&Hook said:
A few pics of the trip...

3DNYzGZ.jpg


It was 471 yards to the crest of the hill. Tough shooting such small targets with a 10 mph wind.

eZDEWik.jpg


My 415 yard hog.

bViwxo7.jpg


Good to put this to some real use....

INw6kYI.jpg


wwHIrT3.jpg
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That second last photo has a very "that can't be in Canada" feel to it. lol Jealousy factor 10/10! :)
 
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