Less AB Gophers This Year?

MPJUNKIE40

MPJUNKIE40

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Has anyone noticed there seem to be less gophers this year? Normally I am stopping to buy another brick of .22lr by mid May. Over the last five years, the pastures were nearly over-run with our busy friends. This year, I've only seen about a quarter of the numbers. My neighbors have noticed the same thing. This year must be a "low" in their reproduction cycle...good for the pastures, I suppose. We may have to go to Sask to heat up our barrels! Has anyone else seen the same trend?
 
YES!!! HELL YES!!! I used to be able to kill well over 200 a day without being too picky.

Now I'm lucky to whack 20 in a few hours. It sucks! Must be a cycle thing I'm guessing.
 
I gotta agree. On two sections that held thousands last year I was able to shoot 6 over 5 hours this year.
The farmer thought it might have been a disease run through as he hadn't seen that few EVER!
I am hoping it is a localized thing and another area will not be effected, but within 20 km it seems all the same; as driving around the same area I didn't spot as many as in years past.
 
Funny you should ask. I was out for the first time today at a place I've been every year for the last 4 years. Waaay fewer gophers today than years past, the weather wasn't ideal but still fewer. Today I shot about 20 in four hours... one evening last year I shot 70+ in an hour and half.
 
i think it was a harsh winter for them!. i noticed that most of the holes still had lots of ice still packed in them. give it a month... should see some more action soon im thinking. once it warms up for more than a day or two.
 
If you've had a wet year (previously) it cuts down on the numbers a lot. They get some kind of disease or something.
 
Wait 3 weeks till the little ones are out posing then bring a shotgun................group rates.............Harold ****I once got 3 with the same shot with a .223 and a 55gr Hornady SX!
 
We shoot several big pastures in SW Manitoba. After a few good years of shooting over, numbers of gophers are much less. Especially so when females are shot in the spring while grazing with young underground. Ranchers plenty happy though. For this reason we "rotate" shooting areas and keep quite stiff lipped as to these locations when talking to other shooters...especially on the internet!
 
My field is way down too. I worked them pretty hard last year with my friends (about 10 000 rounds between us) and the long winter probably cut them down.
 
MPJUNKIE40 said:
Has anyone noticed there seem to be less gophers this year? Normally I am stopping to buy another brick of .22lr by mid May. Over the last five years, the pastures were nearly over-run with our busy friends. This year, I've only seen about a quarter of the numbers. My neighbors have noticed the same thing. This year must be a "low" in their reproduction cycle...good for the pastures, I suppose. We may have to go to Sask to heat up our barrels! Has anyone else seen the same trend?
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MP

I just got back from Sask. and there are a lot fewer gophers there, than there were last year. Farmers have been poisoning like crazy and the numbers are way down. Looks like it may be the last of the great gopher shooting for quite some time. FS
 
KDX said:
If you've had a wet year (previously) it cuts down on the numbers a lot. They get some kind of disease or something.
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ya lead poisoning :D

It looks like next year will be my great gopher safari hunt. I've wanted to do this for a few years now. Hopefully next year the numbers will be back up.
 
Because of late spring, the early season gophers only made a brief appearance. They will be up in droves come early to mid June. All this cold weather is due to global warming according to the IPCC.
 
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