favorite gopher rig
- Thread starter drwrt@telus.net
- Start date
Donny Fenn1
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- East Kootenays
Gophers, I've shot 10s of thousands of the little pests. With everything from 177 air rifle to 308win. IMHO the best all round gopher rifle is a 17 Mach 2.
22 centerfire are fun but costly, 22LR is cheap and effective but ammo can be finicky and the rainbow trajectory and ricochets are a pain.
22 centerfire are fun but costly, 22LR is cheap and effective but ammo can be finicky and the rainbow trajectory and ricochets are a pain.
No gophers here, but spent three decades shooting groundhogs... everything from archery to .22 LR to .243... but mostly .22 cal centerfire rifles... most often .223 Rem... but two stand out favourites were a Ruger M77 MKII Varmint in .22 PPC and an M77 MKII 24" Sporter in .220 Swift... still have the Swift and should NEVER have sold my M77 MKII Varmints in .22 PPC & 6mm PPC... duh!
Big bore dinosaur
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- NORT OF COW.TOWN.EH
Cz527 varmint in 204, Lyman little sharps in 22k hornet.
Cz455 22 lr , savage b mag 17 wsm. Cz 527 17HH is my favorite, cheap to shoot , good terminal performance
Cz455 22 lr , savage b mag 17 wsm. Cz 527 17HH is my favorite, cheap to shoot , good terminal performance
Got Juice?
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
Hands down, nothing beats the 204Ruger.
Of course I like .22lr as well
Of course I like .22lr as well
If I hadn't posted the photos 20X already, I'd dig them up again...but my main gopher slayer (for week-long trips to the west) is a CZ452 Varmint in 22LR, shooting inexpensive CCI Blazer run through a Neal Waltz die...one at a time. 
Having been west a few times for this reason alone, I've come to the conclusion that it would be handy to have a few different 22s for the job. A semi for closer/higher volume...lighter gun for offhand, or shooting from an improvised rest like a fence post, and the varmint (I have) for shooting prone from a bipod. I do back-up this comment by adding that I tracked-down a 452 American (16" barrel) to bring on the next trip. My back-up rifle, usually in the hands of my nephew, is a Marlin 917 in 17HMR, with a very nice upgraded trigger. If 17HMR ammo was a little less expensive, I might not use anything else out there.
I was out there in the spring of 2018, after an especially tough winter in S Alberta. #s were low, it would have been the ideal trip to have my .223 or 17 Hornet with me. I love the 22s for high-volume work...but 100-150 a day (long days too) just makes the 22 seem like it's not the perfect choice. lol
Having been west a few times for this reason alone, I've come to the conclusion that it would be handy to have a few different 22s for the job. A semi for closer/higher volume...lighter gun for offhand, or shooting from an improvised rest like a fence post, and the varmint (I have) for shooting prone from a bipod. I do back-up this comment by adding that I tracked-down a 452 American (16" barrel) to bring on the next trip. My back-up rifle, usually in the hands of my nephew, is a Marlin 917 in 17HMR, with a very nice upgraded trigger. If 17HMR ammo was a little less expensive, I might not use anything else out there. I was out there in the spring of 2018, after an especially tough winter in S Alberta. #s were low, it would have been the ideal trip to have my .223 or 17 Hornet with me. I love the 22s for high-volume work...but 100-150 a day (long days too) just makes the 22 seem like it's not the perfect choice. lol
Seven Lakes
CGN Regular
- Location
- Kitchener/Waterloo, ON
I really liked my CZ 527 American in 223 Rem. Tried to go to a more target heavy barrel rifle for groundhogs and regret it. The CZ was such a nice walking varminter. Now I’m on to an XCR-L in 223 with a Leupold Mark 4 on it. That too works very well.
