Sask gopher safari

Couple years ago in Sask. I remember counting 88 in an hour........ That was a good afternoon

Overheating all the time even with reduced load with the .223 !!! Good time !
 
You guys out west would have a better sense of the ups/downs of gopher populations...but almost every cent of my vacation time/$ is funneled towards getting my fat a** out to Alberta JUST to shoot gophers. :) I've been out a few times, most recently last spring...here is the link to that report;

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...!-**warning-photos-of-dead-gophers-included**

Before that, it was around the same time of the year..only 2016. MASSIVE difference in gopher #s, and not in a good way. I was told 2017 the population was high as well, but we missed that for budgetary reasons. We based the length of our 2018 on the 2016 experience/2017 reports. Bit of a mistake. lol No regrets...I love Alberta and don't need much of a reason to want to be there, but 2018's trip meant allot of moving around...ALLOT of driving, and of course..significantly less shooting. The ranchers told us there was still thick ice in the pastures barely 4 weeks before we arrived, their theory was that the melting ice/snow simply drowned most of them.

Anyhow, when "life gives you lemons".... lol We ended-up seeing allot of southern Alberta, ended-up finding a spot that had OK #s...and allowed for some crazy-long shots. Meant commuting some distance from where we were staying...but the location and somewhat better #s made it worthwhile.

I never felt a huge temptation to join the CGN/SK shoot, mostly because of the unknowns. I'm also keen on knowing what kind of shooters I'm spending time with, and it was impossible to really get a sense of that from so far away. Based on the reports, a great bunch of folks=all good.

As a "varmint hunter", I'd say I ALMOST feel guilty for wishing there were more gophers around. I say "almost" because even the ranchers seemed a bit disappointed that there weren't more, and it didn't seem to be for our sake. lol I know they speak fondly of enjoying shooting them. One rancher kept a very snazzy 22 rifle close at hand..would be a prize in anyone's collection, his bounced around with him in a dusty farm truck.
 
hawk223 said:
Did the flooding thin them out?
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In March of 2011 we had a warm spell that brought all the gophers out for a couple weeks, and there were lots of them, then in April the temperature dropped and we got 2-3’ of fresh snow which didn’t melt until the very end of the month. When the gophers reappeared in May there was probably only 5% of the population left alive, I think most of them died from stress and starvation that year.

The next 2 winters were long and cold as well, coupled with the return of strychnine and the plague, it all really knocked the hell out of them in my area. As long as we have access to strychnine, I can’t see the gophers ever making a real strong comeback. It was the strychnine ban in the 90’s that allowed the population to get out of control in the first place.
 
Rick65Cat said:
Years ago, a member set up trips to Sask to blast gophers. Is there any interest for that outting still?
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Are you talking about the member in south west SK. that had the gopher shoot weekend get together? If so I haven't heard anything for this year. I was invited out a few years back but I had to back out because of work. I sure would like to get out this year if it's happening. If I'm not mistaken he usually would start setting it up around March and the shoot was in June. I should have added that I hear it was a great time and he had a good place for all the RV's with a fire pit to hang around for a few cocktails at night.
 
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thebaron said:
We used to shoot them daily in our hay fields when I was a kid. Haven't seen any in those same fields in probably 25 years.
Those holes were a doozy hitting them with the tractor or ATV.
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Groundhog holes? Yes indeed. On one of the farms I hunt them on, the land owner almost flipped his tractor while cutting hay on a hilly portion of his property. Rear tire went over a pile of rocks, he was already on an angle.. Got a phone call after that, some friendly ribbing that I "wasn't doing my job well enough". lol I know I've found a few holes in tall hay that I wish I'd have noticed before stepping in them. Didn't think your knee was supposed to bend in that direction! lol
 
I'm in the SW of Sask... I wouldn't say that gopher populations are declining here. They seem pretty steady, consistent, and problematic. It's not difficult to get permission to go shoot gophers here at all. The only ones that decline are those that are grazing cattle in that particular pasture... but they sure point you to other spots they own.
 
Ive been around sask my whole life. We always tend to find decent numbers south of regina by an hour or two and also east of Lloyd by about an hour. But nothing like it used to be. At most we can shoot maybe 500 in a day, but normally more like 200 less. Not like a few years ago when I shot close to 1000 over 3 days and I didnt even leave the first field.... That was a good weekend.
 
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