Thunder, you seem to question the #s we’re seeing. A few years ago we were asked to shoot a 30 acre field. It was reseeded and anything that came up was eaten to ground. He reseeded a second time and we were there when it a couple inches tall. We spent over half a day just going around that field. We would stop and shoot, often piling up 10 in the same spot. (The little bastards eat the dead). We would move § 20 yds and start again. Around the field many times.
So how are the gophers doing where you guys are?
- Thread starter .22LRGUY
- Start date
Thunderhog
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- East Kootneys
Y
I know hunters and target shooters can be the biggest bull-sh1ters out there….
I’m glad you seem to see the hundreds if not thousands of them. Unfortunately that’s not my experience from travelling all the way to Alberta from BC, just to be disappointed.
There probably are times when it feels like thousands, however this is very difficult to believe…..
You stated thousands and tens of thousands.
I know hunters and target shooters can be the biggest bull-sh1ters out there….
I’m glad you seem to see the hundreds if not thousands of them. Unfortunately that’s not my experience from travelling all the way to Alberta from BC, just to be disappointed.
There probably are times when it feels like thousands, however this is very difficult to believe…..
I live north of Regina and have been out 4-5 times. I am very fortunate to know a few farmers that have pasture with an abundance of gophers every year. Typically take out the hmr and sometimes the mach2. On Sunday I took 250rd of hmr and at most missed 20 times. It was windy so didn’t push it and only shot anything within in 75ish yds. Was fantastic, but the grass is getting high with the moisture we’ve had so getting hard to spot them, especially the young ones but it’s been pretty good around my area. Not much can beat a good calm day on the prairies shooting gophers!
There are hawks and eagles around here that come to the sound of rimfire, centerfire or shotgun going off they never show up but within minutes of shooting rimfire they are circling overhead or sitting on fence posts waiting for a chance to grab a fresh gopher kill and this time of year they have young ones in the nest who are hungry. Next is usually the magpies and then the ravens, on some occasions you will get a flock of gulls that clue in to a free meal. Most of the time, after a couple of hours there in nothing left for the foxes or coyotes, sometimes the only evidence left of gophers being taken out are the blood stains on the grass. I even watched a Least Weasel dragging away a gopher three times its size, wish I had video of that.
I also have a clean up crew of six that prefers to get their own gophers but will not pass up one that is a fresh kill, I don't have to spend a lot on cat food in the spring/summer.
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
We have a park type area in town that typically has a decent population of them and a few scattered pastures that hold a decent number but they are few and far between this year. Runoff from record snowfalls followed by a two week period of heavy rains(8") has drowned them out. Have watched that relationship for years. Wet years reduces their numbers very significantly.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Gopher population is highly spring weather dependent, in drought years gophers thrive but in wet springs they don't. This is also a localized phenomenon and just because one area has a large population doesn't mean it's a the same a few miles down the road.I love the, "we shot thousands stories"!.........
I have been shooting gophers for approximately 36 years now. The most we have ever shot was between 450-500 gophers in six hours of constant shooting. And that was with Ruger 10/22's back in 1998. Now this was a private BC ranch near Greenwood, BC. And two of us shooting non-stop it seemed......
We have been to Alberta three years in a row now, every time we go in May is an absolute let down.....
Maybe April is the better month, however I'm thinking these hundreds and hundreds of gopher stories are just that, stories!.....
I was told by a biologist once that during a wet spring when the gophers can't get dry for a few days they can develop a bacteria on their skin that eventually kills them. Drowning in their holes can happen and also, a spring thaw followed by snow and a freeze can seal off the holes and suffocate them in their burrows. I'm inclined to believe these theories since populations do so well in drought years.
Two years ago in one particular field that I shoot in, we had 8 inches of fresh snow on the ground and when the sun came out so did all of the gophers and I fired 600 rounds that afternoon (missed a few) and probably could have done the same the next day if was able to get there. That was a dry year and I've never seen that volume of gophers there before or since.
Allegedly! Hypothetically!
My brother and I were late to the party this year, 3 days on the first June weekend and fought weather and declining numbers over the last 3-4 years. It's an annual for us since 2017 and we have access to 5 landowners 14 sections of pasture + a few Hutterite colonies that aren't 100% grain exclusive. We managed to scrounge up 400+ in 2.5 off and on rain days then I solo shot for 3 hours on the Monday and took 143.
I used 22LR. 17HMR, 22wmr, .204, and 17Hornet and a total of 9 rifles this year and learned a valuable lesson I knew would bite my arse. Don't take 6 freshly scoped rifles that have only been boresighted thinking a couple of tweaks and all will be good. The gopher patches aren't the place to be tweaking scopes.
The late snowstorm that dumped a foot and a half of snow on the area we shoot 4 years ago then melted in 2 days of 20 degrees hit them hard and drove pronghorns north and down into Montana. Pronghorm numbers are back but the gophers aren't near what they used to be.
The 2 of us routinely whacked 4-500 a day between 2017 and 2022 but those days have been a distant memory. For now anyways. Managed to score another 6 sections of permission on promising pasture this trip so not a total waste of time.
I used 22LR. 17HMR, 22wmr, .204, and 17Hornet and a total of 9 rifles this year and learned a valuable lesson I knew would bite my arse. Don't take 6 freshly scoped rifles that have only been boresighted thinking a couple of tweaks and all will be good. The gopher patches aren't the place to be tweaking scopes.
The late snowstorm that dumped a foot and a half of snow on the area we shoot 4 years ago then melted in 2 days of 20 degrees hit them hard and drove pronghorns north and down into Montana. Pronghorm numbers are back but the gophers aren't near what they used to be.
The 2 of us routinely whacked 4-500 a day between 2017 and 2022 but those days have been a distant memory. For now anyways. Managed to score another 6 sections of permission on promising pasture this trip so not a total waste of time.
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I farm in Southwest Sask, the gophers are out of control in spots for sure. I had a 100 acre field of lentils taking heavy damage last year and two of us shot 3000 rounds in two days to put that fire out then another 1500 rounds on 50 acres of what used to be canola. My thumb was worn raw from loading clips. There is no problem with permission around here for gophers and usually free ammo for anyone that will come shoot.
formerfarmer
Regular
- Location
- Winnipeg, now
Gopher populations go in cycles.
Some years there are so many in a pasture you can close your eyes and hit gophers.
Next year you can't find a dozen.
It is not as exciting number wise every spring but the best time to shoot is early in the spring.
The climate has a huge impact on the gopher activity. It used to be that the gophers came out at the same time every year and then all went into hibernation about the same time. NEVER saw a gopher after September. Now, if it warms up in February, you will likely spot a couple crazy ones
wandering around. Also can see a few in December.
The first real outpouring of gophers can be from early April to early May. These are the male gophers getting a jump on fattening up for breeding.
Next the females come up to get what food is left over and build their nests.
As a farmer/rancher, now is when you want to do the shooting. The grass is still short and makes it easier to see them.
If you think about it. For every female you shoot now, it is eight to twelve babies that won't be eating the crops later.
The males are big and fat so they blow up spectacularly when hit with a 204 or 223.
Once the babies come out it is common to get multiple kills with one round of 22. When they are bunched up you try for the twofers and triples.
Some years there are so many in a pasture you can close your eyes and hit gophers.
Next year you can't find a dozen.
It is not as exciting number wise every spring but the best time to shoot is early in the spring.
The climate has a huge impact on the gopher activity. It used to be that the gophers came out at the same time every year and then all went into hibernation about the same time. NEVER saw a gopher after September. Now, if it warms up in February, you will likely spot a couple crazy ones
wandering around. Also can see a few in December.
The first real outpouring of gophers can be from early April to early May. These are the male gophers getting a jump on fattening up for breeding.
Next the females come up to get what food is left over and build their nests.
As a farmer/rancher, now is when you want to do the shooting. The grass is still short and makes it easier to see them.
If you think about it. For every female you shoot now, it is eight to twelve babies that won't be eating the crops later.
The males are big and fat so they blow up spectacularly when hit with a 204 or 223.
Once the babies come out it is common to get multiple kills with one round of 22. When they are bunched up you try for the twofers and triples.
True. I'm finding our regular fields too wet from all the rain. Rather disappointing. There are some, but nowhere near the numbers we saw last year on the same fields. - dan
The weather this year was problematic. First week was extremely hot then it cooled way off and rained for 3 days causing the road to our hotspots impassable. We seen an abundance of game and shot less gophers but more badgers and coyotes. Estimate our gophers kill at 5000 looking at our ammo consumption. 
Agriculturally , that is self defeating, badgers and coyotes predate on gophers.
