Best 22LR ammo for gophers

Buck1950 said:
Save your 'best bang' ammo for your beer cans - buy quality/accurate ammo even for pests. Step up to an ethical hobby.
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Not technically bad advice, but I'd echo what others have said. The situation has to be seen to be believed sometimes. I have to travel from Ontario to shoot them so technically it's a hobby/pastime for me. The ranchers don't view gophers as anything but destructive pests-the only good one is a d_ _ d one. They'll also correct you if you say you're "hunting" gophers. The reply is usually something like; "you don't hunt gophers, you shoot them". I've never asked, but I'd bet a beer can is held in higher regard than a gopher where I shoot.

Point is not lost though.
 
kjohn said:
Shooting gophers isn’t a hobby, at least not for me. The mess they can make of crops and pastures costs a lot of money. The gopher shooters I hang out with use hollow points when using .22’s, simple as that.

Don’t be the one asking why “they” just don’t relocate the poor, cute little animals. I relocate them - to gopher heaven.
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I remember once I was buying gopher ammo in ... Russell's (?) in Calgary and was chatting with a farmer who had been out shooting gophers on his pasture when a truck from town (cowtown) drove up and opened the back to release hundreds of the little pests that had been sucked up out of their holes in Calgary parks... I'm glad I wasn't around to hear the tirade he unleashed at the city boys.... (I'm a city boy but I'm not stupid enough to release gophers into farming country)
 
Thanks for all the replies. I’ll check things out. I’ll try a few and find out what is most consistent for my gun. Thanks.
 
Other than they cost more than some ammo, my favorite has always been CCI Stingers, although I've shot more gophers with CCI Mini-Mags.
 
I've shot thousands of gophers and have always used hollow points. CCI MiniMag and Federal 525 bulk hollow point have been my goto ammo. They have been reliable, accurate and reasonably priced to be going through thousands of them in a season. It used to be a good deal to buy 5250 round cases of the Federal for well under $200, just keep an eye out for sales in the spring.
 
AikiNut said:
I remember once I was buying gopher ammo in ... Russell's (?) in Calgary and was chatting with a farmer who had been out shooting gophers on his pasture when a truck from town (cowtown) drove up and opened the back to release hundreds of the little pests that had been sucked up out of their holes in Calgary parks... I'm glad I wasn't around to hear the tirade he unleashed at the city boys.... (I'm a city boy but I'm not stupid enough to release gophers into farming country)
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I read one time that one such gopher-sucking company would indeed take them to the "country" but would stop at a dugout and suck the truck full of water before dropping them off at the final destination. This was many, many years ago.
 
Surprised no one has mentioned the Segmented HP mini mags, These are my absolute favourite rimfire round to use on gophers besides .17hmr/22mag, And I've tried alot! I do tend to body shot with these. They are devastating!

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federal 525 bulk 36gr HP is what I tend to use. The higher velocity and HP makes for a very dead gopher and the price is usually pretty good on these. Shots out to 100m are accurate enough when the wind is light. I also rarely get duds.

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Any hp that's accurate.

Sk used to make a hv hp, now discontinued it was unreal accurate and consistant. These days the eley hv hp is about the best you can get but the sk was/is better.

The browning bpr 40 gr at 1400+ fps is actually very accurate in most guns and it's a hammer. Otherwise any hp that's accurate in your rifle.
 
Craig0ry said:
Surprised no one has mentioned the Segmented HP mini mags, These are my absolute favourite rimfire round to use on gophers besides .17hmr/22mag, And I've tried alot! I do tend to body shot with these. They are devastating!

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I've ordered some on your recommendation and will try them this summer.
 
My experience with federal blue box hp is always poor accuracy in any 22 and poor expansion on body/shoulder shots i.e. crawl aways are common, small hp on these. I have a brick or two that just sits. The win 222/333/555 are the bulk ammo that my 10/22 does well with, no crawl aways for solid hits. It tears them up. There are flyers with these. They have a bigger hp than federal. I put up with the flyers, as i know if i miss, my next shot will likely connect.
The old winchester xpert were very accurate, but gummed up my 10/22 after maybe 50 rounds.
 
kjohn said:
Shooting gophers isn’t a hobby, at least not for me. The mess they can make of crops and pastures costs a lot of money. The gopher shooters I hang out with use hollow points when using .22’s, simple as that.

Don’t be the one asking why “they” just don’t relocate the poor, cute little animals. I relocate them - to gopher heaven.
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Supposedly 175 gophers eat as much as a Cow.
 
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