Gopher Gun

VanIsleCam

VanIsleCam

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Ok guys never done this before and willing to buy a new rifle when I am in Saskatoon visiting my bro (also a hunter)...

So questions are:

1) expected distance to target (how close can you get);

2) caliber (I want a 22 magnum for pig put downs and willing to pay new);

3) thinking of bringing my 3x9 40 bushnell if scope is needed (I'm good with opens out to 100 on an 8 inch target but gophers are pretty small);

4) willing to go up to a youth 243 or other multi use caliber (boy is 10 in January so a starter deer rifle is under consideration for BC youth license); and

5) shops to buy a suitable firearm in Saskatoon other than WSP or Cabs.

My bro is welcome on the land of at least one local farmer so I think the location will sort itself out and naturally we will clean up after ourselves. Planning on mailing the firearm back to myself when we are done.

Looking forward to hearing from the Gopher Gods!

All the best,

Cam
 
there is good reason the lowly 22 long rifle is the most popular gopher cartridge. it works really well up to about 75 yards. if there are alot of gophers you might easily shoot 1000 rounds per day. so a. 22 mag will cost around $200 per day at that rate - if you can find that much ammo in the first place . it's about $70 for the. 22 LR.
a good 3-9 scope is fine for gophers. so is a fixed 6x AO or a 4-12. generally, an AO scope is more useful.
if you look at North pro sports they list cz452 American and lux as in Stock right now. if i were you, I'd pre-order one of those and pick it up when you get there. as you mention you like open sights i think you'd be very happy with the 452 lux.
a 243 is a loud gun. I've never used one for gophers, but the last time i went for gophers the 223 that one fellow brought along didn't shot one gopher. it stayed behind as there was an extra. 22 which was used instead.

so you may buy a 243 with that intent but i suspect after a dozen or two shots you'll be reaching for your. 22.

so although the 452 is an excellent choice i still prefer a heavy barrel 10/22 with a bunch of steel lipped mags and a Butler Creek speed loader. the main reason is with a dialed in rifle you can shoot gophers at 2 to 3x the rate.
 
.243 is a fantastic round for gophers with 55grn bullets going 4000fps. Can get expensive but if you reload its not too bad. Problem with using the .243 is the gun can heat up quite fast in a gopher patch.
With a good load and a high magnification scope you could easily snag a gopher at 300 yards or more

.223 is a option and varmint loaded factory ammo can normally be had for cheaper than the .243 and if you reload costs can be very cheap.

.22lr is a good choice for a gopher patch up too about 100 yards or so even with today's expensive prices.

.22wmr is great but with today's prices can get expensive quite quickly it sure does pack a noticeably larger punch on gophers than the .22lr tho.

Like LarryG says having a Adjustable Objective scope is real nice because gophers can pop up right in front of you and at 100 yards +. A 4-12 or 6-24 would work real well.
 
One can sneak up to 5 feet away and they are as far as the eye can see.
Depends on how much wind is blowing that day for the far ones.
100yrds open sights on gophers...man you got better eyes than most 14 year olds.
.22 rimfire is all one needs, but the 22 Magnum sure makes them ( gophers) go Thwack when hit and the pink mist can be seen through a scope at 40 yrds too ;)
Why take a chance and buy a gun in the land of Stubble? Buy one at home and not risk not finding what you need.
The 17hmr is fun too, but the 25 yrd to 45 yrd targets are expensive when the ammo price is factored in , but its your call and your money.
As for the scope choice a 2-7 rimfire scope will suffice and if your looking for far targets then maybe a A/O scope in a 3-9x40 will better suit your wants/needs.
CZ in 452 or 455 will keep you shooting all day long and a semi auto will kill them dead at the expense of ammo and having to search for another target rich field sooner .
You may find that the grass is taller and greener this time of the month and they should be heading back to ground soon too..Winter is coming ;)
Tight Groups,
Rob
 
I shoot a 22lr primarily. What I have found in using the centrefire rifles is that after about a box or two of ammo the noise level has put most of the little fellows underground for much longer periods of time than normal and some days drastically curbs your volume of shooting. On a good pasture I can burn through two bricks of 22lr. Thats 4 boxes of 22-250 or 1/10 the amount I can shoot for the same price. I am currently using a Ruger 10/22 hardwood carbine. I put the BX-22 trigger in it which improved my long range accuracy immensely due to the nice light crisp trigger pull. I have a 2-7x34mm Redfield Battlezone Tac-22 scope with BDC turrets designed for use with 36 gr 1280fps loads but it works well with other loads as well. I have no trouble with that scope and rifle combo taking gophers out to 100 yards and beyond. With loads designed for the BDC turrets the scope is bang on the dial changes and I have shot gophers dialed out to 130 yards many times with one shot one kill.
 
I just read Rob's post. Yes grass is long right now and up until a week ago the shoulders of the roads were loaded with them standing out there sunning and eating grass in the ditch edges. Haven't seen one now in a week. By mid August they are pretty scarce, at least this far north. By Sept 1 waterfowl opener its an occasion if one shows itself. By mid June to the first of July is prime time because the newborns are emerging in droves. Thats when you start seeing 3-6 at a time sitting on an entrance mound. Lots of guys here sneak up on them with a 12 gauge loaded with target loads and take out the whole group in a single shot. Personally I prefer to sit back with my 22 and pick them off from 50 - 100 yards. I enjoy plinking them at those ranges with the little rifle. Odd really since I am a dyed in the wool shotgunner but I have never nor just cant seem to bring myself to shoot them with a shotgun?
 
I use Mr. Chips, a walking stick Thing 2 gifted to me a bunch of years ago.
Makes for good practice on them bigger furrs too.
Tad easier than free hand shawts.
Mind you, free hand is worthy of practice too.
 
Depending on the country you are shooting on you might find the .22 rimfire is more welcome than a big noisy centerfire. If you will be shooting within a half mile of farm houses then the residents will likely be more accepting of a 22 rimfire. If you are on larger areas with fewer houses around then the centrefires become useful. .223 is a great gopher gun.

A scope is mandatory for any gopher gun IMO. I've had good service from Bushnell 3-9x32 rimfire scopes. WSS sells them for about $75 and they are perfectly good for a gopher shooting rimfire, which is a pretty easy job for a scope. I have three of them mounted on loaner .22 rimfires so when I have a gopher shooting weekend I can invite nephews and friends. Those scopes have been banged around some but are holding zero and the glass is about 14 times better than the old rimfire scopes we had when I was a kid. :) The Leupold rimfire scopes are very good.
 
kamlooky said:
More opportunity for rebounds and rickkeyshays with rimfire ammo.
Click to expand...

The idea is to hit the gopher, not miss and have rebounds and rikkeyshays! Plus you know the drill. Make sure of your target and whats beyond. I'd like to speak with your financier about a grant for ammo and new rifles on those gopher patches where 1,000 rds a day is not hard to do. We aren't living in Kamloops where a dozen gopher day would be noteworthy?!! :p
 
I'm surprised that no one has said a 300 win mag yet. They usually show up in every thread.

Some day I would love to go where I could shoot 1,000 rounds at gophers in a day! Have fun! :50cal:
 
Trimmer 905 said:
My .243Win is my go-to for G'Hogs (gophers to you western guys) I use Hornady 58gr. hollow points. Out to 200M,they ain't getting back to their den.
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There is about 5 lbs difference between a gopher(richardson's ground squirrel) and a groundhog!! When the young ones emerge in june they are about the size of a tube of toothpaste!! The adults are about the size of a 500ml water bottle.
 
Trimmer 905 said:
My .243Win is my go-to for G'Hogs (gophers to you western guys) I use Hornady 58gr. hollow points. Out to 200M,they ain't getting back to their den.
Click to expand...

They are not even close to being the same species. And I thought that people that referred to our ground squirrels as prairie dogs were out to lunch.

There is about 5 lbs difference between a gopher(richardson's ground squirrel) and a groundhog!! When the young ones emerge in june they are about the size of a tube of toothpaste!! The adults are about the size of a 500ml water bottle.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
1) expected distance to target (how close can you get);

IT IS NOT A MATTER OF HOW CLOSE YOU CAN GET BUT HOW FAR AWAY YOU CAN HIT THEM.

2) caliber (I want a 22 magnum for pig put downs and willing to pay new);

THESE ARE NOT PIGS BUT SQUIRRELS. IF YOU WANT A MAGNUM THEN GO FOR A 338 OR 300.

3) thinking of bringing my 3x9 40 bushnell if scope is needed (I'm good with opens out to 100 on an 8 inch target but gophers are pretty small);

GOPHERS ARE ABOUT 6" OF EFFECTIVE HEIGHT AND 2" OF WIDTH WHEN STANDING BUT CAN ALSO BE HORRIZONTAL . . . THEN YOU TURN THE MEASUREMENTS ACCORDINGLY.

4) willing to go up to a youth 243 or other multi use caliber (boy is 10 in January so a starter deer rifle is under consideration for BC youth license); and

NOW YOU HAVE CHANGED THE PERSPECTIVE FROM GOPHERS TO VANCOUVER ISLAND DEER

5) shops to buy a suitable firearm in Saskatoon other than WSP or Cabs.

IF DRIVING THERE ARE LOTS OF STOPPING POINTS ALONG THE WAY. IF FLYING THEN PLAN ON DRIVING TO LLOYD FOR PR.

My bro is welcome on the land of at least one local farmer so I think the location will sort itself out and naturally we will clean up after ourselves. Planning on mailing the firearm back to myself when we are done.

SO WHY DID YOU NOT RUN THIS THREAD PAST YOUR "BRO"?
 
Easy Horseman...the reason I posted was to determine whether I might "need" another rifle and whether my "needs" might coalesce with gopher shooting while I am on holiday, and I might add I THINK YOU NEED ONE TOO.
 
the spank said:
The idea is to hit the gopher, not miss and have rebounds and rikkeyshays! Plus you know the drill. Make sure of your target and whats beyond. I'd like to speak with your financier about a grant for ammo and new rifles on those gopher patches where 1,000 rds a day is not hard to do. We aren't living in Kamloops where a dozen gopher day would be noteworthy?!! :p
Click to expand...

Didja stub yer toe?...........Crankie...................:runaway:
 
kamlooky said:
More opportunity for rebounds and rickkeyshays with rimfire ammo.
Click to expand...

You don't see many rebounds when you're shooting in a pasture. :) But ricochet is quite common even with centerfires because of the shooting angles at ground level. The .22 hollow points don't ricochet nearly as much as the solids do. Another reason not to use .22 rimfire solids on gophers.
 
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