First gopher

wobbles99 said:
It's not really hunting as you do not need a license or are subject to a season. As long as you are following the rules and regulations for firearms in a unpopulated area you should be okay.The best way is to get to know a few farmers and ask them. Most farmers offer money to get you to go shoot them as they are pests.
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Few are silly enough to pay... Most farmers know how many people want to shoot them. If I was offered money, I wouldn't take it, just say thanks anyway, but it's enough fun on its own. :) I've been given .22LR ammo before though.
 
It sounds like fun but some people don't like killing for the sake of killing, eat what you kill ( sorry harvest) is the way we were taugh, but I would think (I sometimes do that, sometimes) that death by firing squad is far better then being poisoned or even caught in a trap yes/no/can of worms?
 
Ardent said:
Few are silly enough to pay... Most farmers know how many people want to shoot them. If I was offered money, I wouldn't take it, just say thanks anyway, but it's enough fun on its own. :) I've been given .22LR ammo before though.
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I had an elderly farmer hide a twenty in my truck after I refused to accept money for thinning out a pasture for him. I normally don't accept any money as well. I used the cash to buy a tim hortin's for him the next few times I stopped by.
 
There is no legislation on bringing guns into another province(well ok, Ontario might be different, but then again we already knew that) so long as its not restricted. Ensuring access to the owners land and any of his friends land is payment enough. I also have been thanked with much kindness. One farmer allowed myself and my shooting buddy to use their quad, and fed us lunch a couple times. I hate taking freebies when all I want is access to the land but hey, I was taught to be polite :)

Posioning costs the farmer money, takes time and contaminates the rest of the wildlife, including dogs and cats. Not to mention the poor little fur balls suffer greatly when poisoned. High speed lead poisioning is so much more economical, efficient and fun. In a way we(gopher shooters) are eating what we hunt. By controlling the gopher population we are reducing the loss of life in the farmers cattle, which we eat:) Shooting gophers isn't for everyone but it sure is addicting once you get into it.

CF
 
kfn said:
Does Wiarton Willie count? I'll make sure he doesn't see his shadow anymore.
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Oh yes he does ... he's the Bin Laden of gophers. Wanted dead only !!! You'll be doing us a favor kfn. :D
 
Posioning costs the farmer money, takes time and contaminates the rest of the wildlife, including dogs and cats. Not to mention the poor little fur balls suffer greatly when poisoned. High speed lead poisioning is so much more economical, efficient and fun. In a way we(gopher shooters) are eating what we hunt. By controlling the gopher population we are reducing the loss of life in the farmers cattle, which we eat Shooting gophers isn't for everyone but it sure is addicting once you get into it.

Thanks Cannonfodder I'm not good with words and was trying to think of away to ask the warden/fun police (wife) if I could go gohper huntin mind if I use sum of your wording? LOL
 
Let's see ... most of the thousands of Richardson's Ground Squirrels (sounds much more like a "Gentleman's Sport" if y' call 'em that, eh?) that I've "controlled" during my life have been dispatched with the good old .22 rimfire of course, in true Prairie tradition - but I've also used .36, .45 and .50 cal muzzleloaders, .22 Mag, .243, .270, .45-70, .45 Colt and a variety of shotguns .... Whatever happens to be handy. :rolleyes:

Speaking of "handy", I can't help thinking it would be a lot of fun to take along my .410 H&R "Handi-Gun" for the little beggars ....
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How many here are old enough to have "snared" gophers? Not really all that "politically correct" nowadays, I suppose - though Hutterite kids still do it a lot I understand from my sister, who is the School Teacher at a Colony
 
The last g'hog I shot was inadvertantly waddling past a target I set up a few moments before . That fella met up with a Winchester CXP3 180gr .303brit round..lol
 
Shooting them is/was not the most efficiant way to controll them. We used to go around with wheat/strictnine mix, when we could actualy buy the strictnine to mix with out own grain, throw it down the holes. that was effective(and cheap!)... The farmyard we moved to was infested.. so was the surrounding land. that was about 14 years ago... and they are now only starting to come back... But I try to shoot a few every now and then. :) Although... I do see an improvement in the preditor bird population since we are not allowed to get the poision anymore (more hawks, and eagals)... But I don't see as many rabits though lol anymore.??

I have watched a gopher take a bit of the poisin grain.. fall down, convulse for a few seconds.. and then its dead. Shooting is more fun, but not as effective, or cheap for controll of these rodents. I don't consider these things/and there lives any more than a mosquito, or fly.
 
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I can't wait to gopher hunt again this year. I gotta start finding good fields, as I shot out my favorite field. I have seen gophers 200 km north of edm, even up in bonnyville.
 
There are lots around where i live. When we go out we usually use the .22 or .22 mag but i've used 12 gauge and .243 before. When i was younger i've snared, trapped and even watered them out of their holes before and some kids still do it today. Not the nicest thing to do though. One field that my father and his two firends and I went shooting on last spring we shot over 1500 rounds of .22 and .22 mag and probably killed 1000 gophers in one day and this spring there will be that many again. No matter what you do u will never get rid of gophers. Lots of fun though :) can't wait till this spring now :D
 
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Sighted my 22 in yesterday @25 but sighted it at 100 today.
Not as accurate that far out but decent. Now Would a 22 have the power to kill these little bastards at 100?
 
I have killed them out to 100yards+ with winchester power points. The only problem that far out is reading the wind... and your skill at guessing the range. I like to sight my 22 for around 40-50 yards, as there is not so much holdover for the 60-70 yard shots.
 
Big JD-From the hills said:
CamJ I hope your hope your home/house gets infested with rats, and mice.. and that you can't get rid of them. :)
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Hehehe...yeah what JD said :D :D

But. I do try to avoid shooting the striped gophers if they are near the yard, if you have striped gophers around the yard, chances are good that you don't have rats.
 
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