Alberta gophers/peak season

Okay, a couple of pics from last year:

IMG_0084.jpg

60 yds. all I had was the head to shoot at and was almost at the same level as this one. Try shooting at a 300ml water bottle lying on the ground at 60 yds. Rifle: Stevens 300 .22LR, Winchester 555 ammo, Rivertrail 3-9x32mm scope.

Tedsdeadgopher.jpg


Early season...March 30 or so last year.
 
rookie wildcat said:
Okay, a couple of pics from last year:

IMG_0084.jpg

60 yds. all I had was the head to shoot at and was almost at the same level as this one. Try shooting at a 300ml water bottle lying on the ground at 60 yds. Rifle: Stevens 300 .22LR, Winchester 555 ammo, Rivertrail 3-9x32mm scope.

Tedsdeadgopher.jpg


Early season...March 30 or so last year.
Click to expand...

That first one was shot with a .22lr? If so...holy CRAP! Yes, it'll either be the Marlin 795 and the .22WMR, or the .22WMR and the .223. Only think holding me back on the .223 is that my buddy has a CZ527 Varmint, so if I want a big boom...it's there for the asking.
 
.22LRGUY said:
That first one was shot with a .22lr? If so...holy CRAP! Yes, it'll either be the Marlin 795 and the .22WMR, or the .22WMR and the .223. Only think holding me back on the .223 is that my buddy has a CZ527 Varmint, so if I want a big boom...it's there for the asking.
Click to expand...
yeah, it was . I thought it was a miss since there didn't seem to be any reaction. no jumping around, nothing. Anyway, my son and I were walking around the field after getting about 200 gophers that day. He found this one and we both remembered the shot, so he took the picture. Not a big picture guy myself, but I am learning to take gear with me.
 
A pic from a few years ago when I lived in southern AB. It was a highly customized Savage in .204 Ruger, many times I regret selling it.

P1013486.jpg


And another gun I wish I still had. A Kimber Classic.
P1013438.jpg
 
Great big piles of greasy, grimy gopher guts...

March to August is always a good time here in South Alberta. Just finished lining up a bunch of ranchers in one area for fun all summer long. Buddy is packing his Marlin 917, I'm going to be bringing my Marlin 60, and either my Mosin-Nagant or Marlin .30-30 for those times when overkill is required. Will occasionally switch out the Marlin semi for a Cooey 60 or 600, just to taunt buddy with his tooled-up .17HMR.

Federal 525s in my Marlin 60 are lethal, and I've modified a few dozen rounds with a jeweler's saw for ####s n' giggles this spring, just to see if they make a bigger mess. :D
 
.22LRGUY said:
Thanks formerfarmer, toying with the idea of leaving the .223 at home now~we'll see. Here in Ontario, you can put allot of kms on the boots groundhog hunting~up to 6kms per shot taken on a really slow day. Getting my head around the gopher numbers I keep hearing about is difficult! :) I'm now toying with the idea of getting a slightly better/more powerful scope for the .22. The econo 3-9x might be a little tiring on the eyes if I end-up using it allot.

Might bump this thread from time to time, would love to see gopher-hunting photos if anyone has any to share.

Thanks again for the input everyone!
Click to expand...

You asked for it, so here's one picture I took. I don't like gathering all the dead little bodies, so I only got one critter in the pic.

StirlingGopherRem-ZastavaMarch2011.jpg


The rifle is a Remington Model 5 .22LR. This is from last April in Southern Alberta.
 
Great photos guys...feel like this is the thread that keeps on giving! :) Spoke to my buddy in AB today, told him I might leave the .223 at home and bring the .22 and .22WMR. He said the .223 is a fun gun for long shots, either of the rimfires for closer work. We'll see. .223 on a gopher would be a massive overkill...not that bad a thing mind you.. :)
 
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