Badgers

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whammy

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Got a friend with a(some) badger(s) ripping up his field to get at the snoozing gophers. Just looking for some information from anyone who knows about them.
Is it more than one, or probably a solitary fella?
How late in the year do they stay out?
How cold of weather will they be out in?
Best to hunt them aat night/dusk?

Thanks
 
where are you? as far as i know they are protected in bc and sightings are supposed to be reported.
 
suppose i should have looked at your avatar, i'm guessing alberta.

from what i know about them they are solitary and will move on.
 
Ya, Alberta. As far as I know its legal to dispose of them here.
Red Fox and Badger
A Resident may, without a licence and at all times of the year, hunt (but not trap) red fox and hunt badger on any privately owned land to which he or she has the right of access.
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Iguess we will wait a bit and see if he continues to cause trouble around buddy's land
 
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i see them occasionally in my hayfield and i figure they do more good than harm, for every hole they dig, the gophers have probably dug 50.
 
in my world south of calgary (millarville/dewinton/okotoks/aldersyde/gladys ridge)
the badgers i have seen and disposed of i can only think of one time seeing a single
i have access to a few places and the split is 50/50 as to the landowner saying leave them be or shoot them on sight.
oddly enough it is the hay (and lesser extent horse) guys that want them gone as swathing/haybining/baling is pure misery in a badger infested field

from observation before termination they seem to travel in family groups (i've seen 2-5) and just dig out the gopher holes, eat and move on
i have seen fresh holes in a field and followed them right to the feeding frenzy as far as a half mile (those claws are meant for digging and thats just what they'll do)

i've never seen one in winter except on a predator hunting video so that would be cool (pun)

be aware that shot placement counts and to make sure it/they are dead before you pick one up (ask me how i know)

on one farm i was having a bugger of a time getting a dead right there shot as even with traditional heart/lung shots they will go down a hole
this was with 222 and 223 40gr VMAX handloads
after that i started using my 22-250 with 50gr Vmax that worked better

oddly enough while shooting gophers on day with a 17HMR all the gophers started standing up and giving alarm "cheeps" like a bird of prey was over head, as this place has some bald eagles that hang around i started looking around and ended up standing up to 360 the area
to my amazement i had 4 badgers coming through the field directly down the path of gophers i had been shooting (3 hours worth)
based on past experience i felt undergunned but the ranch manager had said something along the lines of "if you ever see a badger and leave here without shooting it, don't come back"
as i had been shooting already i knew i was dead on so i waited 'til they were within 50 yards and shot them one after the other in the ear as the shots presented themselves 3 were above ground dead and one slid down a hole and i wasn't sticking my hand down to retreive it based on past experience....

i know there is a women in BC on the rampage to reintroduce badgers to certain valleys or something, she is welcome to any of the ones i see but she is responsible for catching the bastards
 
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the ones in bc are a different subspecies than in alberta. population estimate is 2-300 in the province.
 
in weather like now the hole that it is in whill have heavy frost around it. They will come out at anytime but are most active dusk & dawn. Make sure to get a good shot on them. Good luck.
 
Those things are like tanks, and mean little bastards too! My neighbour got a head shot on one with a .22 and the bullet just ricocheted off it's skull. Didn't even phase him.
 
Since we're talking badgers, here's an angry one I cornered while goose scouting earlier this year.
IMG_0368.jpg
 
whammy said:
Thats true, but It is basicallythe sameamount ofdirtdug up, and therefor isa way bigger hole!
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Yes, but it is big enough that you can avoid or walk thru it without breaking your frikin' ankles like that of a gopher hole. 1 badger hole for 50 gophers is right too.
 
I guess so, its in the horse field though, so buddy wants it gone. Plus its not much fun if there aren't any gophers to shoot come springtime.
 
I have never shot a badger, but we would always trap them on my cousins farm. Where ever you see large mounds where they are making burrows, dig up the hole, place your trap, and wait a night. You should have a nice little present in the AM.
 
whammy said:
I guess so, its in the horse field though, so buddy wants it gone. Plus its not much fun if there aren't any gophers to shoot come springtime.
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I see your point. Admittedly, I haven't gone out and purposely hunted them, but I've shot one just on the other side of my fence 'cause I figured he might present a threat to my grandson who was playing in my sandbox. ;)
 
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