When I was in ranching country I would take a .222 Rem., a .22-250, and 2 - 6mm's with 20 rounds for each rifle. A cleaning rod can be an essential. It might be wise to throw in your dies, and buy the components locally. A gopher shot early in the spring gets rid of four by the fall much like a rancher told me in regards to marmots, "Every groundhog shot in May is worth a 100 pounds of beef in the fall."
Gopher Hunting - Advice Requested
- Thread starter superd222
- Start date
We did that at wainright when the original yank 5.56 was too light to register on the ETR targets. We plinked gophers with mouse guns all morning and used the 7.62 lmgs to really blow them clear of the holes!HeadDamage said:In the days of old we used to use an AR15 and a Bren gun on the little buggers.... Oh now we have fallen
canuckgunny said:First off stop calling them gophers. They are not gophers any more than guns are evil... or clips are magazines.
In Red Deer you will find Richardson Ground Squirrels. Squirrels, not Gophers.
And most of the carcasses are gone because of these guys, Ferruginous Hawks:
Remeber:RGS's, not Gophers. Please, for the children.
Stop baiting the guys from Ontario! Dude if you walked onto ANY of the ranches I hunt and asked if you could shoot thier "Richardson Ground Squirrels" you will truly know Humiliation.
For guns: if the pups are out and the owners willing; 1 rimfire, 1 centerfire and a shotgun. Trust me, walking in feilds of running pups with a 12 guage pump is about as fun a way to spend a spring day as I can imagine
i've never shot a richardson's ground squirrel, it is the columbian variety that i shoot. from what i have seen driving the roads in alberta, the columbia ground squirrel is noticable bigger.
my advice, take a 22 and stick to hollow points, "solids" don't anchor them and at times you can't even tell if they have been hit, which is frustrating to say the least. shoot from positions like offhand and sitting, good practice for the fall.
so, use a hollow point (my favourite is the winchester super X 37 grainer) and aim to hit the midpoint of the body if possible. this shot placement knocks them right over, where as higher in the chest or head they do the "chicken".
my advice, take a 22 and stick to hollow points, "solids" don't anchor them and at times you can't even tell if they have been hit, which is frustrating to say the least. shoot from positions like offhand and sitting, good practice for the fall.
so, use a hollow point (my favourite is the winchester super X 37 grainer) and aim to hit the midpoint of the body if possible. this shot placement knocks them right over, where as higher in the chest or head they do the "chicken".
superd222:
Here's my advise on your GOPHER HUNTING TRIP:
Take your 22mag and 22 RF. Sight your 22 RF in with ammo that can be bought here if you can. Hollow point bulk boxes are common here. My choice if I had it would be May and near the first part. Grass height is your enemy. Can't shoot what you can't see. 2005 we shot our first GOPHER the last day of feb. Count on 500-- 2000 rnds per day 22RF. Whats left over you can give to your host. Bug spray and hat and or sun block very important. Spare CLIPS very important. Most times your shooting so fast you don't have time to reload. I carry 4-10 shot, one 5 shot and one 15 shot CLIP for my brno #2. On our trip to Wildhorse I wish I had 10 spare CLIPS. My partner and I usually switch when ones shooting the other is loading. If you get in fresh ground(early not shot out) you may be out of ammo by 4:00. If the area has been shot lots you may only shoot 500 rnds a day, its hard to tell.
Make sure you stop at the border and get deliberalized-----Cowboy
Here's my advise on your GOPHER HUNTING TRIP:
Take your 22mag and 22 RF. Sight your 22 RF in with ammo that can be bought here if you can. Hollow point bulk boxes are common here. My choice if I had it would be May and near the first part. Grass height is your enemy. Can't shoot what you can't see. 2005 we shot our first GOPHER the last day of feb. Count on 500-- 2000 rnds per day 22RF. Whats left over you can give to your host. Bug spray and hat and or sun block very important. Spare CLIPS very important. Most times your shooting so fast you don't have time to reload. I carry 4-10 shot, one 5 shot and one 15 shot CLIP for my brno #2. On our trip to Wildhorse I wish I had 10 spare CLIPS. My partner and I usually switch when ones shooting the other is loading. If you get in fresh ground(early not shot out) you may be out of ammo by 4:00. If the area has been shot lots you may only shoot 500 rnds a day, its hard to tell.
Make sure you stop at the border and get deliberalized-----Cowboy
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BC Bigbore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- BC's Peace Country
Superd222, lot's of good advise already ('cept the RGS stuff ) Have fun and bring lot's & lot's of ammo and clips if ya got 'em When I was a kid, we shot gophers by the hundreds in south eastern BC. And thats what we calls 'em here too, gophers. Gophers, gophers, gophers
) Have fun and bring lot's & lot's of ammo and clips if ya got 'em When I was a kid, we shot gophers by the hundreds in south eastern BC. And thats what we calls 'em here too, gophers. Gophers, gophers, gophers 
horseman2 said:
Which is why I personally like to wait until breeding is complete
Off topic and somewhat unrelated but contrary to what a lot of people think squirrels only breed once a year and the window of 'opportunity' is quite brief (one day).
Did you also know a single female can have a litter 'fathered' by several different males? Hey, if you only get to do it once a year ....
One more thing... don't shoot the weasels. Depending on location and time of year they can look very similar at a couple hundred yards.
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April through may is the best shooting round here. Bring a .22 LR and lot's of ammo. You can say what you want about centerfire .22's, you'll never shoot as many gophers as you will with a rimfire. The wmr is to expensive the the kind of shooting you will hopefully get into. As for gun #2, my favorite is a shotgun of your choosing. Trust me, it's more fun than you think. And great practice too. Firing on a running gopher, you can see how your shot peppers the ground, therefore you see how your patterns really perform.
This is hilarious! An afternoon shooting gophers is the best thing in the world! Take some good old Watkins 'skeeter lotion, some water to drink, and LOTS of ammo. I've used .22lr hollowpoints for years. A little hint about short grass: Unless there is no short grass around, gophers are seldom found in tall grass. They prefer short grass so they can see their enemies, and to provide better targets for us! A pasture that is overgrazed is ideal for gophers. Slob hunters have spoiled some areas - leaving their garbage in the pastures, leaving gates open, not asking permission, careless use of firearms. Short grass will mean there are cattle, so please ask permission. Gophers will be polluted with worms sometimes, sickening to say the least. I can't imagine what this country would look like if we weren't shooting gophers by the zillions.
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NDB said:So, what do you guys do - just knock on a farmers door and ask to shoot his gophers? I assume if that's the case, you rarely get turned down? Maybe I'll give it a go this year.
Crap, the landowners practically beg you to shoot them. It's cheaper than poisioning for them. They hate the furry little buggers. I don't think you'll have a hard time gaining access to shoot gophers.
I don't know where to shoot them around cowtown, I don't know any farmers close by so not sure how to go.
Wouldn't mind heading out sometime in the spring. I know few people around Brooks that have access to land that I hear, it overrun ever year with the small furry rodenchae type animals just begging to be taken out...
Wouldn't mind heading out sometime in the spring. I know few people around Brooks that have access to land that I hear, it overrun ever year with the small furry rodenchae type animals just begging to be taken out...
