Less AB Gophers This Year?

Out again Saturday with dismal results. :(
80 crow fly Km away from the last area and another place with previous high gopher numbers; and again they were rare to find.
I really hope it is due a late spring cycle or something, but in driving around there just isn't as many gophers to be found where for the last years there were always plenty.
Even driving along the highway, fields with new growth that have last years mounds still showing as grey and unworked spots don't have new or repeat residents.
 
Update...Mid June, and not much better. A few more up, but just enough to annoy me- not enough to make a day out of it.

Cheers.
 
They are up big time at my usual haunts....probably the lastest 'rise' I can remember. Numbers seem to be a little less than years past so far.

I blame it on the rough winter overall, and the late deep freeze we had in March.
 
Ranchers/farmers in SW Manitoba say there is "a lot less" gophers this year than the past few years as well. Likely a cyclical issue. Did OK this past weekend, about 200 between 2 shooters. Only moved once. All shot with centrefire varmint rifles. Wind was an issue in the late afternoon as rounds fired went up and body count dropped!
 
some serious gophers problems on my dad's farm this year in Southern AB near Warner... he has had to use strychnine and Oats .. the whole county is over run this year.
 
Does he have the "old" strychnine, or the new (crappy) stuff. The old stuff (which some farmers stocked up on prior to the % limits) used to drop them in their tracks...there would be an eerie silence when you walked back across the field to the barn...
 
so do you guys just head east and knock on doors? is there any spots where you dont need permission? I might need to ask someone to take me out for my first time.
 
marshall_law said:
so do you guys just head east and knock on doors? is there any spots where you dont need permission? I might need to ask someone to take me out for my first time.
Click to expand...

Yep, just Knock. But don't just blurt out you want to kill gophers and froth at the mouth, etc!:p

:)Be polite and sociable. Work the weather, crops, sports, etc into the conversation. Maybe fake an interest in that old pick-up that you spotted from the road. You know, butter them up a bit. And if you get rejected, maintain you politeness and ask if you might stop by another time to see if they changed their mind. I've had a few changes of heart before I made my way back to the truck.

And always leave the property as you found it. GTates closed, garbage picked up.
 
They're Back!! I'm happy to report (OK I'm not a farmer any more) that yesterday I got to try out my father's day present from my wife, a new 10/22. I pulled into a friend's field with a buddy, 25 round clips ready. After a few initial shots, we actually got charged by the gopher colony's finest. About 5 of them, running at us in a tactical sort of way through the weeds, in a hail of gunfire and flying debris, quickly becoming larger, hot breath steaming up the Leupold VX-1, until I kinda wished we had the SKS's with the bayonets... OK, it WAS the best 2 hours of gopher stewing I have experienced! They just kept popping up to eat their dearly departed buddies, 1 2 3... Cheers.
 
I just got back from a gopher trip . We were in the same field (10 acres) for 3 days for about 8 hours each day. myself and a buddy took an average of 800 per day. Had to buy some local ammo that was less quality than we used but scopes adjusted and we did great. Headed out again in a couple weeks.
 
Round Hill gopher numbers down...

Not as many running around as usual, but a close look tells you they are here, digging, pooping, etc. Maybe they stay in their holes when its a drought? They are all out at 6 am, but later in the day, very few...

Jiggs
 
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