Gopher Shottie?

caljay30

caljay30

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
On the flip side, AB
Hey All,

Gopher season is coming up and on the two pieces of land (my parents) that I shoot on, houses have popped up in the area, cutting down angles etc that I can shoot with the .22 and .223. So I was thinking about using a shotgun here and there... (Now that I think of it, I should probably look at ammo prices for shotgun shells) Way back when I used my friends 12ga on gophers and loved those 2 for 1's you get at the right range :shotgun: .

Either way, is there a gun/shot size/shell size that you could recommend for gophers?? Don't be afraid to just tell me it's just a really dumb idea as well :p .

Thanks,
 
Not a dumb idea at all. Effective at close range (obviously), but as you mention, there is much less chance of pellets leaving your property.

Use a full or extra full choke (pattern your gun to make sure extra full choke isn't 'overchoked)) and use 2's or bigger!

Have fun!
 
7 1/2 shot would be the ticket and you should be able to still find the cheap target rounds for under $7 A box. Only thing you'll have to worry about is the noise attracting too much attention. I personally prefer archery tackle. Silent and very rewarding to kebab a gopher at 50+ yards;)
 
Most gophers I've come across have been smart enough to keep well outside of shotgun range. Unless the field is incredibly infested, I'm not sure you'll have much use for a shotgun.

an O/U shotgun/rifle drilling might be a good idea; like a 410/22lr or 12/22 Hornet combo
 
Used to have a lot of fun with the 12ga on gophers when I was a kid. One guy on the 12ga for close in and one with the 22lr for longer shots :)
 
RIFLED DEER SLUGS MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

seriously thougn not a bad idea though from what i hear it is possible to nab a few a savage .223over 12 is an exelent combo for coyote hunting if they are far bang hittem with the .223 if they are close hit em with the 12

my advice full scale artilery baragefirst fly a plane filled over key investation site's to bate them to the target and drop a few bags of grain and then drop fletches on them from a 105 these will probibly penitrate a few feet into the ground even wounding them if they are in buroughs with minimal dammage to the fields do this before tuilling the filled sand simply use magnets to remove them was examine any that are still good you can reuse for the next infestation

this tehcnique will destroy crops such as melons pumpkins as they will oblitorate them :runaway:

i am wondering if this would be legal cause it does say Shot shells loaded with fletechits are prohibited... but it doesn't say any thing about howizer shells :runaway: hmmm i should really look into this might be a proffitable business
 
I do not like the .410 for gophers. I do not like large shot. I like the 12 or 20 and the tightest choke and the cheapest load with the smallest shot size. Gun club target 8 or 9 work well.
Wally World stuff is cheap and works well. Put the bead on the tip of their nose and its gopher gone.

PS Promo 12 and 20s are always cheaper than .410.
 
Last edited:
Leonidas said:
Killed the 1st one of the season a week and a half ago with a .410 For really close range you could use .22 shotshells...
Click to expand...

These great .22 shotshell are lethal up to a big 2 feet . And only if you have a 1 feet bayonet on your rifle and use it as a spear...

I tried some winchester .22 shotshell last year, at the range. I used an empty ammo box as a target. At 4 feet, half of the pellets did not even penetrate the box. And the other half didn't penetrate the other side of the box.:mad:

Stick with anything else than this POS
 
for best reults with 410 use a marlin i have heard some of the old .45s can safly shoot 410 load a shell in the chamber and a hollow point .45 slug into the mag if you miss the bugger with the shot you can hit him with the slug if he gets out of range

rappid expanding .45-70 gov't will unleash a world of hurt on a small rodent

.45-70 and 12 gauge slugs have very similar effects on target check out the box of truth at w.theboxotrouth.com i love this site and a few times i have refured to it when someone one brings up oh just use such and such

very good site you can see some effective ranges of cheap junk buck shot in one of the recent aricals
 
prosper said:
Most gophers I've come across have been smart enough to keep well outside of shotgun range. Unless the field is incredibly infested, I'm not sure you'll have much use for a shotgun.

an O/U shotgun/rifle drilling might be a good idea; like a 410/22lr or 12/22 Hornet combo
Click to expand...

HA! In my fields the young ones come up and stare down the end of the rifle barrel or go running over your feet. In fact those are the only ones safe because I don't have the heart to shoot them at that close of range... it's just not sporty. :redface:
 
Someone suggested 7 1/2's. I've used them on groundhogs and I wouldn't recommend it (bigtime underkill). I hit one with a full choke at about 20 yrds, and he went down, gasping and whining. I put another one into him from about 5 feet and he still didn't die right away.

I've killed them with an air rifle, but I wouldn't recommend a 7 1/2, even if it is cheap.

But a shotty is effective. Something in the 4-5 range is probably ok.
 
Ahhh, gophers!!!! Last year I used my Savage 22/20ga. Great combo, except when I was planning to shoot with the 22 and forgot to shift the selector off 20ga. Ouch!!! I was using Wobble Mart el cheapo 20 ga. They all fell over and rarely even kicked!! This year I will be taking my old Beretta 12ga semi auto and burning off a bunch of good for nothing else reloads and el cheapo Wobble Mart stuff. I don't think shot size matters a whole lot, and I am supposing my shotguns are full choke. Be safe. Have fun. :p:p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom