I spent Sunday and today (June 19 & 20) shooting gophers at a friend’s farm. Oh boy, were there ever gophers! I shot until 7:30 last night, and shot all day today with an hour off for a trip to town for lunch and supplies. Used my St. Patrick’s CZ 455 .22 mostly, then cracked out the American .22mag for a couple boxes. St. Patrick’s again today after firing off a couple of boxes out of my Canadian .17hmr. I have an American .22 in reserve, along with a Norinco mag fed 12 ga. Pump for close quarters.
I used a small plastic jar, maybe 200 rounds, of Federal bulk HP, then most of a 500 box of Herter’s HP in .22. The .22 mag and .17 was a mixture of this and that. I have to say that the good old .22 mag gives the most impressive results, with .17 coming a close second. I fired a few Aguila .22 HP, and they are devastating on gophers. I was also impressed with the Herter’s.
To be fair, any hollow point rimfire will do the trick, even the lowly Federal bulk and Winchester 555. I have a part brick of American Eagle HP to try. .17hmr HP, lead tipped, or plastic tipped do a great job.
Tomorrow I will be moving on to the next point to shoot for a day or two, then to the next point… well you get the picture. I worked my butt off this Spring, earning money for shooting, and also to waste some money for food and clothing, etc.
Edit: I have an American 457 .22 in reserve, not a 455.
I used a small plastic jar, maybe 200 rounds, of Federal bulk HP, then most of a 500 box of Herter’s HP in .22. The .22 mag and .17 was a mixture of this and that. I have to say that the good old .22 mag gives the most impressive results, with .17 coming a close second. I fired a few Aguila .22 HP, and they are devastating on gophers. I was also impressed with the Herter’s.
To be fair, any hollow point rimfire will do the trick, even the lowly Federal bulk and Winchester 555. I have a part brick of American Eagle HP to try. .17hmr HP, lead tipped, or plastic tipped do a great job.
Tomorrow I will be moving on to the next point to shoot for a day or two, then to the next point… well you get the picture. I worked my butt off this Spring, earning money for shooting, and also to waste some money for food and clothing, etc.
Edit: I have an American 457 .22 in reserve, not a 455.