gopher cartridges
- Thread starter daniellybbert
- Start date
I voted for the 40 gr V-max, but my # 1 choice would be the 39 gr sierra blitz king. It has a nice high BC for bucking wind and are inherently accurate out of most tubes. Oh and it gives awesome red mist and aerial action which can be viewed through your scope.
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X2. Any of them will blow the little buggers up.
zactly. I was out shooting mine in a gusty breeze yesterday (SPS Varmint .204) and putting 39'rs into an inch @ 200M. Wasn't a howling hurricane by any means but definitely enough to affect flight a bit at that range.
What the H? Daniel, your not gonna use the 338LM AI for those huge frickin gophers we get out here??
daniellybbert
CGN Regular
I have a 250 and a 223 but Id like a smaller more fragmenting explosive gun so I can ditch the .22lr and not carry the 223 or the 250 for gophers and just carry a ??, 25/06 and a .338 LMAI
thats only good for the 500yard+ gophers I need a close shooting gun
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- Location
- Medicine Hat
.22 Hornet, it will effectivley blow apart gophers out to about 175-200yds, and can be had in some dandy little walking varmint rifles like the Ruger 77/22, Browning Micro Medallion, or Rem 799. Loaded with a 35 or 40 gr Hor VMax over some Hodgdon Lil' Gun it really does the trick.
LOL!!! I'm glad you have a sense of humor daniellybbert! After reading some previous threads on how some of us gun nutters give poor advice I think that 338lm ai is the worst! 
There is some internet footage of .50bmg dancing with gophers, give that a try. 
All kidding aside, my .17hmr is fantastic on gophers up to 150yds but the wind blows it away. .204 would be dandy for long shots on gophers. If your a hand loader, I always thought a .22 hornet or a .221 rem fireball would be pretty cool gopher guns. Right now I take three guns gopher hunting, my .22lr, 17hmr, and .222. Sometimes I use my .22-250 mostly to justify ownership of that rifle. I think you should get one of each! Oh, and by the way.....I shot my first 10 gophers of the season yesterday!
After reading some previous threads on how some of us gun nutters give poor advice I think that 338lm ai is the worst! There is some internet footage of .50bmg dancing with gophers, give that a try. All kidding aside, my .17hmr is fantastic on gophers up to 150yds but the wind blows it away. .204 would be dandy for long shots on gophers. If your a hand loader, I always thought a .22 hornet or a .221 rem fireball would be pretty cool gopher guns. Right now I take three guns gopher hunting, my .22lr, 17hmr, and .222. Sometimes I use my .22-250 mostly to justify ownership of that rifle. I think you should get one of each! Oh, and by the way.....I shot my first 10 gophers of the season yesterday!
daniellybbert
CGN Regular
Ive been shooting gophers for the last 2 weeks little buggers are everywhere
I had a cz 17hmr and didnt find it devestating enough so I sold it and shoot gophers with my 25 06 now. I find rimfires boring
also explosive reactions are awsome and I would imagine a 300 grn SMK should do the trick
I had a cz 17hmr and didnt find it devestating enough so I sold it and shoot gophers with my 25 06 now. I find rimfires boring
it all depend on your point of veiw. Im wanting to get into the 1000 yard club in the varmint hunters club this year and maybe even the 1500yard club
also explosive reactions are awsome and I would imagine a 300 grn SMK should do the trick
Takujualuk
CGN Regular
- Location
- Whitehorse, Yukon
I went through a similar evolution 10 years ago when I was really into gopher hunting. I used a CZ in 22 Hornet and a 17 Rem as well as a .223 and 22-250AI. All worked great (The 17 was a disappointment in blow up effect though) but they are all sold off and I kept using a CZ 22 Magnum.
The volume of shooting creates barrell heat even in the hornet and all the handloading became a chore. The 22 Mag worked out to 125+ yards and was fairly explosive. At close range some of the lighter hi-tech loading had a bit more pop but past 50 yards the plain jane 40HP's from Win are as good as anything, better in a wind and shot MOA in the CZ.
I got a shell holder for a 25 Rem and pulled some 40 grain bullets replacing them with 35 Horn V-Max's which also worked rather well but in truth not enough better to bother with.
If I was desperate for a new center fire I think the 204 would be worth a try.
The volume of shooting creates barrell heat even in the hornet and all the handloading became a chore. The 22 Mag worked out to 125+ yards and was fairly explosive. At close range some of the lighter hi-tech loading had a bit more pop but past 50 yards the plain jane 40HP's from Win are as good as anything, better in a wind and shot MOA in the CZ.
I got a shell holder for a 25 Rem and pulled some 40 grain bullets replacing them with 35 Horn V-Max's which also worked rather well but in truth not enough better to bother with.
If I was desperate for a new center fire I think the 204 would be worth a try.
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Woah, I didn't think that people would try to shoot gophers at 1000yds! I don't think that a .204 would even do that. 6.5-284 might do it, that might be my next project. A 1000yd shot on a gopher would be pretty impressive to me. Just a plain old .243/6mm should do the trick too I think. I guess I'll have to start getting out of the truck to shoot those little bastards. I've got a rem 700 vssf in .308, thats the one with the sand hs stock and a 26" fluted barrel, I was going to try it on gophers up to 400-500yds, but maybe I'll have to try to stretch that out a bit now.
I wonder, if the wind is so hard on the .17, how will the .204 handle wind? Other than that the .204 should be good up to 500yds? What ever you end up with, please take some pictures and report back. I've thought about getting a .204 but my 22-250 works so good.
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.204 Ruger Baby!!
I've used the .223 with 45 & 55 gr bullets, Splatter yes. I then went to the
.204 with the 32gr...can we say vapourize
Shots were anywhere from 10 to 300+ yds
My 22LR still rides with me for backup
I've used the .223 with 45 & 55 gr bullets, Splatter yes. I then went to the
.204 with the 32gr...can we say vapourize
Shots were anywhere from 10 to 300+ yds
My 22LR still rides with me for backup
