2023 Marmot Control

My 338 Win Mag varmint load was the 225 grain Hornady pushed with 73 grains of IMR 4350 which is too hot by current standards.
The book tops out in the 68.+ range.
 
CranePete said:
.17 Remington is good medicine for marmots. Had a spectacular summer some years ago in the south Cariboo. Now you see ‘em, now they’re raven food.
Click to expand...

Love the .17 Rem and had huge entertainment with it on ground squirrels & magpies back in the late 80's & early 90's in the Water Valley area of Southern AB.
The most slaughter was done with my 22lr though.;)
 
Last edited:
I Dont Care About You said:
If you think you are good, you ought to test yourself against Southern Alberta gophers. They are 1/5 the size of a ground hog and they pretty much never sit still. They run and then stop and stand up. You need to get on it and get the shot in before the little bugger moves again. There is almost no time for marksmanship.

A gopher is approximately the size of a 600ml soda bottle when it is standing up.
Click to expand...

^I'm tempted to say; "everyone should try gopher shooting" but since it's probably my favourite pastime and I don't love company=it should be avoided at all costs. lol Anyhow, I've hunted both extensively now (Ontario groundhogs and Richardson Ground squirrels) and by FAR, gophers are easier targets. Far smaller=yes, but also WAY, WAY more dumb. lol Good thing too because if they were as smart (=wary) as Ontario groundhogs can be, westerners would have a far more difficult time trying to control numbers with guns. To put that comment in perspective, I've had groundhogs spook at over 250 yards...go down their hole an not come back up after a lengthy wait.

In a lumpy pasture where you can only drive ad idle speed, I've inadvertently run over gophers too dumb not to move out of the way of a full-sized truck. :)

This thread needs some photos, don't make me be the first.. lol
 
I Dont Care About You said:
If you think you are good, you ought to test yourself against Southern Alberta gophers. They are 1/5 the size of a ground hog and they pretty much never sit still. They run and then stop and stand up. You need to get on it and get the shot in before the little bugger moves again. There is almost no time for marksmanship.

A gopher is approximately the size of a 600ml soda bottle when it is standing up.
Click to expand...

I grew up hunting southern Alberta gophers, I did lots with archery and many local ranchers employed me to shoot them because of the low risk of ricochet with an arrow. Now I have also lived in the okanagan and hunted marmots there BUT the most challenging whistle dog I have found is the Columbian ground squirrel. YMMV!
 
.22LRGUY said:
^I'm tempted to say; "everyone should try gopher shooting" but since it's probably my favourite pastime and I don't love company=it should be avoided at all costs. lol Anyhow, I've hunted both extensively now (Ontario groundhogs and Richardson Ground squirrels) and by FAR, gophers are easier targets. Far smaller=yes, but also WAY, WAY more dumb. lol Good thing too because if they were as smart (=wary) as Ontario groundhogs can be, westerners would have a far more difficult time trying to control numbers with guns. To put that comment in perspective, I've had groundhogs spook at over 250 yards...go down their hole an not come back up after a lengthy wait.

In a lumpy pasture where you can only drive ad idle speed, I've inadvertently run over gophers too dumb not to move out of the way of a full-sized truck. :)

This thread needs some photos, don't make me be the first.. lol
Click to expand...

For sure, gophers aren't overly bright. I've had them come out of hole, right between my feet as I was standing there. When the grass gets a bit longer, gophers are only visible when they stand up. So you end up watching for a looney sized, fuzzy tan coloured head pop up in the green grass. The head will be visible for only a few seconds before the gopher drops down and moves. The heads never pop up in the same location. That is some challenging shooting. Small target, randomly exposed for short periods of time.
 
I Dont Care About You said:
For sure, gophers aren't overly bright. I've had them come out of hole, right between my feet as I was standing there. When the grass gets a bit longer, gophers are only visible when they stand up. So you end up watching for a looney sized, fuzzy tan coloured head pop up in the green grass. The head will be visible for only a few seconds before the gopher drops down and moves. The heads never pop up in the same location. That is some challenging shooting. Small target, randomly exposed for short periods of time.
Click to expand...

^I've seen that play out dozens of times, it's awesome. We've tried to time our shoots in the spring when the pups are out and the grass is low, but I've played that^ game too during summer shoots. Harder than it sounds, you soon learn to touch-off shots quickly. lol
 
.22LRGUY said:
^I've seen that play out dozens of times, it's awesome. We've tried to time our shoots in the spring when the pups are out and the grass is low, but I've played that^ game too during summer shoots. Harder than it sounds, you soon learn to touch-off shots quickly. lol
Click to expand...

Exactly. Small target at random locations and ranges for very short exposure time is way harder than people think. Teaches you to be fast and accurate.

When the babies come up in the late spring, the shooting can be amazing. I once managed a quadruple with a 22 rimfire. Just gotta wait till all the little buggers are standing up in the same hole at the same time. That was sort of a 1-time feat but doubles and triples were fairly common in the right field.
 
I Dont Care About You said:
Exactly. Small target at random locations and ranges for very short exposure time is way harder than people think. Teaches you to be fast and accurate.

When the babies come up in the late spring, the shooting can be amazing. I once managed a quadruple with a 22 rimfire. Just gotta wait till all the little buggers are standing up in the same hole at the same time. That was sort of a 1-time feat but doubles and triples were fairly common in the right field.
Click to expand...

I have done the same thing. They look at their brother/sister flop over while you drop them like little pins.
 
I Dont Care About You said:
That Bushnell is a great scope. We have two of them. They work great on rimfire varmint rifles.
Click to expand...

I’m a fan, my uncle gifted it to me when his father started handing down all the stuff he doesn’t use anymore. This came in a big old box along with all the pistols and revolvers before the freeze. I’m in the market for a .22 455/457 and I’d gladly put this scope on that as well!
 
I bought one retail back in the day. They were under $300 at the time. Twenty years later I came across a lightly used one in a LGS and bought it on the spot. It cost more used than it did new. :( But totally worthwhile purchase.
 
Friday March 3 / 2023
Reports from the Ranch , Marmonts are exiting their
buroughs in the Sun for short dashes.
It will be a couple weeks before they start feeding
and Causing Damage to the Alfalfa Fields.
...skwerl
 

Attachments

  • Marmont.jpg
    Marmont.jpg
    58 KB · Views: 275
Wonderfull time of the year, my R26 see more arrows. Last years i cranked 12 arrows at them, killing 10 with one at 95 yards. I would not take this long of a shot on a WT but i would be very comfy to pull one at 55-60 yards
 
skwerl said:
Friday March 3 / 2023
Reports from the Ranch , Marmonts are exiting their
buroughs in the Sun for short dashes.
It will be a couple weeks before they start feeding
and Causing Damage to the Alfalfa Fields.
...skwerl
Click to expand...


Oh man .......... now you are making me want to go shoot some marmots.
 
A client of mine in Nevada said that the prairie dogs were coming out. Need to do a site visit and asked if it was okay to bring my 222 and he said for sure. Spring is in the air.
 
skwerl said:
Friday March 3 / 2023
Reports from the Ranch , Marmonts are exiting their
buroughs in the Sun for short dashes.
It will be a couple weeks before they start feeding
and Causing Damage to the Alfalfa Fields.
...skwerl
Click to expand...

No signs of the vermin in my neck of the woods.
I expect to see a plethora of yellow bellies this year with the mild winter we've had.
 
The Incursion has Begun

Marmots emerging as we speak , Thursday will be the first
pest control outing .

We like to reduce the population early before the Damage
to local field crops begins.

Choice of HMR applicator ; Anschutz 1717 D HB

... skwerl
 

Attachments

  • 1717 D.jpg
    1717 D.jpg
    86.8 KB · Views: 206
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom