Gopher gun advice

[dcan]

Gopher Gun

The gopher is a very very small gound hog 30- 40 gophers would make one of those monster as held by the gentleman above.
In some fields you can pull the trigger as often as you can get a new sight on one.
If you read on the Dog town shooting (Canadian Dogs are potected) there may be as many as 3-4 guns being used by each shooters in order to get them back to cool as it will not take much to errode the bbl if you just keep shooting.
We were in a field of 160 acres that the gophers had completly eaten and many fields are like this.
In places you cannot understand just how much damage these gophers can do

 

[gitrdun]

ManBearPig if you would like to take the trip out to Saskatchewan and shoot Richardson Ground Squirrels with me I will show you "Melt The BBL". The same thing can occur in Dog towns south of the boarder. You must allow cool off time with the centerfires.

We shoot 22LR simply because we are shooting to clean fields not for sport or bragging rights.

The center fire guns scare the gophers (not Ground Hogs) and you simply get less shooting.

Ground Hog hunting is simply night and day from gophers.

Also if you read my post you would find I have the odd centerfire that are used for bragging right shots.

The 22LR is also used for the price of ammo. We purchase 22 for about 1.20 a box while 17HHm is at least 15.00 or more this year.

Check your wallet after 10-15000 rounds.

dcan know what he's talking about. Nothing beats the .22 LR for all day shooting and clearing a field. My neighbour and I have each shot over 3000 in one season, jus to keep the gopher population in check. You'll go broke doing that with a centerfire. Sure, we'll also take out the centerfire for ####s and giggles, but the 22LR is king of the hill around these parts.

 

[manbearpig]

ive never shot a ground squirrel, though ive shot plenty of squirrel sized critters and i totally agree - any centrefire is overkill for those and a waste of money. .22LR and .17 HMR are wicked effective on that size of game.

but the groundhogs in Ontario often are the size of the one that guy is holding. ive shot them many times with .22LR yellowjackets, stingers, velocitors, etc and they still survived long enough to crawl back down their holes.

now i hate groundhogs - they are one of the worst pests on earth and can be incredibly destructive - but i do feel bad about shooting any animal, even a rat, and having it irrecoverably crawl back into its hole and take all day to die.

 

[Camp Cook]

300 yard gopher shooting with a 223 or like catridge is awesome...

when I head to the gopher fileds I have 3 rifles that I bring...

22LR a must have, 17HMR and the 223...

 

[DEZ]

I like my savage heavy barrel with the thumb hole stock in 17HMR with a BSA sweet 17 scope and a laser range finder now your ready to play although the range finder will not reflect of gophers at 250yrds it will read off the dirt mounds they sit on dial up the scope and over they go lots of fun. I also use a Rem. 700 heavy barrel thumb hole stock in 223. and a 10-22 If I had to choose one I don't know if I could so take some time and buy all three

 

[Brocolt]

I'm starting with a Savage 10FP Tactical .223 w/ HS Tactical stock or Bell & Carlson medalist stock. And my back up rig will be a Savage 93 BTVSS in .22 Mag shooting - CCI .22 mag Explosive HP ammo. watch the gopher go bye bye.

I was thinking of the 17HMR model but was concerned with bullet drift. So I'm opting for the .22 mag bullet.

 

[bluesclues]

I like my savage heavy barrel with the thumb hole stock in 17HMR with a BSA sweet 17 scope and a laser range finder now your ready to play although the range finder will not reflect of gophers at 250yrds it will read off the dirt mounds they sit on dial up the scope and over they go lots of fun. I also use a Rem. 700 heavy barrel thumb hole stock in 223. and a 10-22 If I had to choose one I don't know if I could so take some time and buy all three

The last line is what will probably happen anyways, already have a couple of scoped .22's... now just need the .17HM2 (cheaper ammo vs HMR) and the Savage 10PF or Rem 700 or Tikka or... in .223.

Anyways, by my logic, I think I need to save a little more and get me 2 new ground hog rifles.... you guys are great!

 

[boss-hog2]

The last line is what will probably happen anyways, already have a couple of scoped .22's... now just need the .17HM2 (cheaper ammo vs HMR) and the Savage 10PF or Rem 700 or Tikka or... in .223.

Anyways, by my logic, I think I need to save a little more and get me 2 new ground hog rifles.... you guys are great!

Believe me you won't be sorry for the 17 mach 2 choice it's unbelievably accurate- can call head shots @ 125 yds (Elite 4200 6-24x40mm)

 

[bluesclues]

Believe me you won't be sorry for the 17 mach 2 choice it's unbelievably accurate- can call head shots @ 125 yds (Elite 4200 6-24x40mm)

Boss-hog, what .17 rifle are you using? I was searching websites tonight and, came across some nice looking Savages and Marlins. Both with heavy stainless barrels and laminate stocks... in the low $300 range. Recomendations? Ones to stay away from?

 

[smak_daddy]

I jumped from a 22LR to a 22-250 on gophers. The 22-250 was DEVASTATING on those little critters.

I suspect a .223 would work well too. Ammo for .223 is way cheaper than 22-250 too.

You can't go wrong with a .204, .222, .223, .22-250 and .220 swift. I am sure I forgot some great varmint rounds. But all those are winners.

 

[rlg]

22-250 would be my choice

http://www.dogbegone.com/faq.htm The majority of kills on "dog be gone" come from the .223 and .22-250.

For a little added pleasure, check out the videos http://www.dogbegone.com/video.htm

 

[pdg300]

gopher gun

I have used the 204 and a 222 Rem, both can get hot barrells if the gopher population is high --- lots of shooting. I take two guns, a 22 (for 22LR) and either the 204 or 222. Good for short and long shots.

 

[bluesclues]

rlg, I never get tired of those videos!

 

[manbearpig]

You can't go wrong with a .204, .222, .223, .22-250 and .220 swift.

i really mean no offense to the .222 owners, but what on earth is the point of owning a .222 these days? i literally cringe every time it is mentioned.

its almost identical to the .223 but you pay 2-4x as much for the ammo and suffer from lower availability/selection. the .222 is great for Euro countries that have a restriction on civilian ownership of military calibers like the .223, .308, etc. but in Canada its a tremendous waste... not to mention its kindof a 'dying' cartridge. its .222 Remington and even Remington doesnt offer very many loads in it.

the beauty of the .223 is that its the best 'bang for your buck' varmint cartridge, balancing very low ammo cost with good effectiveness. its less effective than .22-250s, .220 swifts, .204 Rugers but makes up for it with a widely available large selection of inexpensive ammo.

so why get an expensive cartridge with .223 ballistics? if youre going to do that, go all out and get a powerful varmint cartridge like the .204 Ruger, .22-250, .220 swift, .243, etc. -- same ammo cost but way better performance.

 

[pdg300]

gopher gun

Re: Rem --- Some like owning a clasic!!!

 

[Scott_N]

i really mean no offense to the .222 owners, but what on earth is the point of owning a .222 these days? i literally cringe every time it is mentioned.

222 is a great little round, I've been shooting it since the early 1980s. It was once king of the bench rest world and is still a very accurate, capable cartridge. Sure, factory ammo is less if you go with 223, but anyone who is serious about varmint shooting handloads their own ammo.

 

[slicknick]

Of course there are many that are using fine older rifles chambered in the 'triple-duece'. My dad is a huge fan and his 70's vintage Rem 700 make ragged hole groups at 100. As far as cost of ammo, cases last a long time and .224 components are pretty darn reasonable

 

[manbearpig]

fair enough if you already have an older .222 - but hardly something to recommend buying now, especially for someone who may or may not handload.

im not saying there anything wrong with the .222... but if you are heading out to buy a new gun it would hardly be the best choice, and would be a very poor choice for someone that doesnt handload.

 

[Donny Fenn1]

mbp, you said:
"the beauty of the .223 is that its the best 'bang for your buck' varmint cartridge, balancing very low ammo cost with good effectiveness. its less effective than .22-250s, .220 swifts, .204 Rugers but makes up for it with a widely available large selection of inexpensive ammo."

i know you have been here for a month but judging from some of your other posts on reloading etc, you don't actually reload? yet?
the 222 and 223 are just as ëffective as the fast movers you mention above and the gophers/crows/coyotes/badgers etc can't tell the difference when hit with any of the mentioned cartridges