well I was out driving around checking my cows this morning and now that the sun is finally back so are the gophers and they have brought their new hatch with them. Time to start carrying a shotgun so I can clean out the whole litter with one shot.
Baby gophers
- Thread starter gopherxs
- Start date
Shotgun or high velocity centerfire with varmint bullet.
My best ever was 5 babies with one round of my .204 at 45 yards.
2 were utterly destroyed, 2 more with sundry injuries from bullet and body part shrapnel and the last one was just stunned laying there without visible injury, till my boot heel.
My best ever was 5 babies with one round of my .204 at 45 yards.
2 were utterly destroyed, 2 more with sundry injuries from bullet and body part shrapnel and the last one was just stunned laying there without visible injury, till my boot heel.
Yes, be a bit more sporting and let them line up so that you can get at least a double or a triple with one bullet. And remember, they are cannibalistic little Hannibal Lectors. They will eat their own for the protein and deserve to die.
Years ago we used to go to Camp Wainwright for the annual month-long training concentrations in May-June. Wainwright is heavily populated by gophers, so I used to book one of the most fruitful areas for a live fire exercise. We would practice things like the platoon in the defence or advance to contact and defeat them with a mixture of fires from pistols, SMGs, FNC1s/C2s.
Years ago we used to go to Camp Wainwright for the annual month-long training concentrations in May-June. Wainwright is heavily populated by gophers, so I used to book one of the most fruitful areas for a live fire exercise.
We would practice things like the platoon in the defence or advance to contact and defeat them with a mixture of fires from pistols, SMGs, FNC1s/C2s.
Yes, be a bit more sporting and let them line up so that you can get at least a double or a triple with one bullet. And remember, they are cannibalistic little Hannibal Lectors. They will eat their own for the protein and deserve to die.
Years ago we used to go to Camp Wainwright for the annual month-long training concentrations in May-June. Wainwright is heavily populated by gophers, so I used to book one of the most fruitful areas for a live fire exercise.
hahaha beauty, sounds amazing
- Location
- London, Ontario
Ha! ! ! I got you beat! ! My personal best was 14 with on shot. So what if I mixed half a bag of sugar with the full 2 gallon gas jug and poured it down the hole? I only used one match! ! !
They are tenacious little buggers. When I was a kid on the farm we did everything possible to keep them trimmed back in the pastures-poisoning, shooting, gassing, trapping and drowning. About the only way to get rid of them is to break up the land and keep working it. Then they will move and set up shop in another field that has'nt been worked.
Badgers prey on them, which is a good thing, but the Badger diggings are a lot bigger and may cause cattle to break a leg if they step into them. I've had ranchers ask me if I'd shoot any badgers that I saw, but I told them that badgers may be the lesser of 2 evils. Hawks get a lot of them. I read somewhere that a pair of nesting hawks will get several hundred thru the summer. Gophers are well tuned into hawks and are always on sentry duty for them. When they see/hear a hawk , or even see it's shadow, they will squeak a warning and go to ground until the hawk moves on.
I still think a .223 is about ideal for them:accurate and cheap and easy to reload. And there is no doubt about a hit,unlike a .22rf which will often let them crawl into the hole to die.
Badgers prey on them, which is a good thing, but the Badger diggings are a lot bigger and may cause cattle to break a leg if they step into them. I've had ranchers ask me if I'd shoot any badgers that I saw, but I told them that badgers may be the lesser of 2 evils. Hawks get a lot of them. I read somewhere that a pair of nesting hawks will get several hundred thru the summer. Gophers are well tuned into hawks and are always on sentry duty for them. When they see/hear a hawk , or even see it's shadow, they will squeak a warning and go to ground until the hawk moves on.
I still think a .223 is about ideal for them:accurate and cheap and easy to reload. And there is no doubt about a hit,unlike a .22rf which will often let them crawl into the hole to die.
- Location
- Winnipeg,Man.
The difference between a .223 and a .22 LR is the shooter. Both calibers can effectively do the job. I have shot with both and with the proper unrushed shot are equal in disposal. I think just as many "crawl away" from a .223 as may happen with a .22. Believing that the more powerful .223 "cannot " make a poor shot and allow "escapes" has me wondering . the 300+ I and my son shot today with our .22s, had some questionable hits due to the strong winds but I deem at less than 5%. usually a second shot finished the job....Shot placement seals the deal not the caliber.
BC Bigbore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- BC's Peace Country
Gophers...sigh...I miss the gopher blasting dayz of my youth...
- Location
- Saskatchewan
Where are you guys shooting them? Around the Regina, SK area? I want to get the 22LR out soon....let me know...love to help....
- Location
- On the edge of an "Inland Sea"
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTT!!!!
I use my .22-250 with Hornady hollow points.
Our game is to see how far the chunks of critter fly.
6' is around the norm.
P!sses the .223 guys off to no end!!
I use my .22-250 with Hornady hollow points.
Our game is to see how far the chunks of critter fly.
6' is around the norm.
P!sses the .223 guys off to no end!!
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTT!!!!
I use my .22-250 with Hornady hollow points.
Our game is to see how far the chunks of critter fly.
6' is around the norm.
P!sses the .223 guys off to no end!!
x2
Aaaaaah... the good old days
.308 works good as well
SERIOUSLY! :0
Have you EVER seen a .22 rimfire blow a gopher to bits? Cause I haven't.
IF you are having gophers crawl away after being hit with a .223 then you are not using the right bullets. Any decent lightweight frangible varmint bullet will turn a gopher into a bloody pulp. And they don't walk away from THAT.
In relative terms, a gopher hit in the ass with a .223 would be like you being hit in the ass by a 30mm. You really think shot placement is gonna make a difference when a huge bullet blows a quarter of your body away?
Certainly shot placement makes a difference with the .22 rimfire but any decent centerfire varmint bullet is gonna kill fairly efficiently.
I once shot a gopher at fairly close range with a .243 using 70gr Ballistic Tips. The bullet cut the gopher in half and we measured 15 yards between the two biggest chunks.
A .223 with lightweight ballistic tips will blow gophers to bits as well. It is just that most guys are using the wrong bullets.
One of the reasons NOT to use fmj's for gophers is the increased chances of a ricochet. If the difference between a $14.00 box of fmjs and a $20.00 box of v-maxes is that important, maybe you should consider a 22lr?
I use a 22 single shot and shorts near regina. Fully realising that a short is not a toy but there is alot more safety factor built in. Headshot with a short ends the story as well as a headshot from a hyper HP long rifle. I have confidence to 50yds, and ammo lasts a long time this way.
However, lacking a 204,223 or 22-250 (soon to be resolved) where safe I use my deer rifle (both muzzleloader and 6.5 swede) no better way to get practice, if you can consistantly hit a gopher with it, you have a deers heart easily. I reload so ammo is cheaper.
If you want to see bits, the 50 cal using hornady sabot's does well, However I have never seen the top half of a gopher clear a power line like one shot I saw with a 204
However, lacking a 204,223 or 22-250 (soon to be resolved) where safe I use my deer rifle (both muzzleloader and 6.5 swede) no better way to get practice, if you can consistantly hit a gopher with it, you have a deers heart easily. I reload so ammo is cheaper.
If you want to see bits, the 50 cal using hornady sabot's does well, However I have never seen the top half of a gopher clear a power line like one shot I saw with a 204
A sling shot or an air rifle will "get the job done". But IMO gopher shooting is all about the terminal effects. Why would I want to shoot them with FMJ's or crap soft points when I can turn them into a red mist with a Ballistic Tip or VMax? Now THAT is entertainment.
