The Ultimate Gopher Gun

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One Lung Wonder

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Do any of you rimfire snipers have any experience with those odd Anschutz .22 rifles? I am talking about the ones with that funky 'Fortner-bolt' thingie that you work with your thumb...

I was loitering around the local biathalon club last year with the dogs and being a nuisance when I saw the targets they shoot at. Not to knock them...but those targets are huge! (Yeah, I know they get smaller after a gruelling race when your heart is hammering at 140 BPM) ... but my question is this: do you think those guns have any practical application outside the sport?

I really like the slings on them too - the kid I saw just about threw the gun up in the air, held up his arms - and the gun came down, the straps fell over his shoulders...and he was off like a shot faster than you could even think about it!!! That sling seems like it would be just the ticket for heavier guns too!

I love the looks of them too - they have 5 mags that ride in a carrier right on the gun - how cool is that? Why isn't that nifty little feature not on our gopher guns? Then there is that cover thing that closes off the barrel and keeps snow and crap out of the bore. I think those folks may know a few things we don't sometimes...
 
A lot of shooters won't agree with me but I believe the best gopher gun is a semi auto. Sure bolt actions are a little more accurate but semis allow quicker follow up shots without losing your sight picture. Have both Bolt and Semi so can compare. Most of my shots fall within 50-125yds. Anything further is a lucky shot with .22LR. There is nearly always a crosswind or something in the way or an unsteady rest etc etc. So on the range .22 accuracy can exceed that of course but out in the field its usually a different story. Also at that range a perfect kill shot isn't always possible so a 2nd follow up thwack is needed and can be delivered a lot quicker with a semi. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
SUPER TENERE said:
A lot of shooters won't agree with me but I believe the best gopher gun is a semi auto. Sure bolt actions are a little more accurate but semis allow quicker follow up shots without losing your sight picture. Have both Bolt and Semi so can compare. Most of my shots fall within 50-125yds. Anything further is a lucky shot with .22LR. There is nearly always a crosswind or something in the way or an unsteady rest etc etc. So on the range .22 accuracy can exceed that of course but out in the field its usually a different story. Also at that range a perfect kill shot isn't always possible so a 2nd follow up thwack is needed and can be delivered a lot quicker with a semi. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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I agree...

TW25B
 
Don't miss the first time, don't need a follow up cou:.

The Fortner can be very fast for follow ups, fast enough for me to get in trouble at the range for "rapid fire" too.

I was shooting magpies with my 1827F last fall. Shot some other pests as well, only problem I really have is that the current sights don't work for me very well in low light. I was trying to shoot a skunk once, hard to see black through the sights with low lighting.

I actually really like the rifle for many reasons, one of them being that it holds all the magazines in the stock. They are a little awkward in some ways, a good sporter stock is hard to turn down,

I also have a 1727F, which is probably my most accurate rifle at the moment. I have no issues shooting birds off buildings or equipment with this rifle. Expensive set up if you think about it as simply a gopher rifle, but I'd be willing to bet it will outlast me!

Both my Anschutz rifles are on the top of my list of favourites!
 
ssapach said:
Don't miss the first time, don't need a follow up..
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In a perfect world sure. When the situation doesn't allow or the shooter makes a mistake, then a rapid follow up is necessary. The difficult shots are what makes shooting fun and allows your skills to progress. Let's not forget that sometimes there are multiple gophers that require multiple rapid shots if you want to get them all. ;)

TW25B
 
SUPER TENERE said:
A lot of shooters won't agree with me but I believe the best gopher gun is a semi auto. Sure bolt actions are a little more accurate but semis allow quicker follow up shots without losing your sight picture. Have both Bolt and Semi so can compare. Most of my shots fall within 50-125yds. Anything further is a lucky shot with .22LR. There is nearly always a crosswind or something in the way or an unsteady rest etc etc. So on the range .22 accuracy can exceed that of course but out in the field its usually a different story. Also at that range a perfect kill shot isn't always possible so a 2nd follow up thwack is needed and can be delivered a lot quicker with a semi. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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If you use proper cartridge and ammunition and only take high percentage shots, follow up shots are rarely needed. If you don't use 22lr hollow points or a 17 rimfire, a poor shot usually results in the gopher running at the shot, or ducking into the hole before you can get an aimed follow up shot, regardless of the type of rifle you use.
 
SUPER TENERE said:
A lot of shooters won't agree with me but I believe the best gopher gun is a semi auto. Sure bolt actions are a little more accurate but semis allow quicker follow up shots without losing your sight picture. Have both Bolt and Semi so can compare. Most of my shots fall within 50-125yds. Anything further is a lucky shot with .22LR. There is nearly always a crosswind or something in the way or an unsteady rest etc etc. So on the range .22 accuracy can exceed that of course but out in the field its usually a different story. Also at that range a perfect kill shot isn't always possible so a 2nd follow up thwack is needed and can be delivered a lot quicker with a semi. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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There was a time when I would have argued with you on that, but then I gave up on my 10/22 and went with a Marlin.

The accuracy of my 10/22 was so bad, it was mostly just a waste of ammo, so I safe queened it in favour of my CZ 452.

Since I got my Marlin, I hardly use my CZ. Yes, the CZ is way more accurate, and I go through far less ammo/gopher... But in a day's shooting, I'll get more with the Marlin for the reasons you state. If I do miss, I can get follow up shots quickly and easily. The Marlin is accurate enough to get most shots at reasonable field distances if I'm doing my part (the Ruger was pure spray and pray), and now that you can get reliable 25 round sticks for it, I even waste less time swapping mags (I'll take 5 sticks with me).

A lot of it depends on getting a decently accurate semi auto. I'm not going to say "all 10/22's are crap" - but a lot of them are. And there are a lot of other dubious semi auto .22s out there.

But there are also some pretty decent ones.

In general - bolt is going to be more accurate, and a higher hit percentage. But it's like the change in military thinking about bolt vs. semi vs. select fire. A higher hit percentage doesn't matter if you can more than compensate with volume of fire.

In real field terms: I have about a 25-50% higher hit rate with my CZ, but can easily double the rate of fire with my Marlin while still aiming, so that's more gophers dropped before they duck back into their holes.
 
MAN do I enjoy threads like this. :) Might seem odd for someone from Ontario to be so keen, but I've blocked-out a full week of gopher shooting for next spring...and want the best tool for the job. I've personally shot them with a 17HMR (mostly)...a .223, and a 12ga. shotgun. I was with a guy who tried to plug a few with his 10/22 knock-down...but I actually don't think he connected with any. Since then, the same guy (my buddy in Calgary) uses his .223 almost exclusively and tells me it IS the ultimate gopher slayer. I believe that, but, as a traveling gophernator...I think I need something that eats more compact ammo, more economical, etc. I've added a nice Marlin 917 and put a Rifle Basix trigger in it...so I will have a little reach when I'm out there. However...I'm struggling with the idea of what .22 would be best. The contenders from my collection;

Marlin 795 Stainess with MCARBO spring kit, Vortex Diamondback 4-12x AO
Anschutz 1450 (currently not scoped) Heavy factory trigger, small gun, very accurate.

OR...forget that...sell something...and track-down a CZ452 Varmint in .22lr.

Decisions...

Meanwhile, I keep thinking I should get the Waltz re-sizing die and see if I can make nasty gopher ammo out of decently-shooting bulk-pack. Curious to see if a CCI SV with big 'ol Waltz-created hollow-point would shoot well.

Yeah...I need to get out of the house. :)
 
The only trouble with a .223 for gophers is the racket they make. Unless you have a spot where you won't be bothering the neighbors with loud gun shots.
I also have a CZ 455 in .22mag which is just slightly louder than a .22LR. I think that's a better option than a .223 or such. Now if you do have a place to shoot well away from the neighbors, you can really reach out there with a .223 and a good scope. But in most cases a .22LR is the most logical choice.
 
SUPER TENERE said:
The only trouble with a .223 for gophers is the racket they make. Unless you have a spot where you won't be bothering the neighbors with loud gun shots.
I also have a CZ 455 in .22mag which is just slightly louder than a .22LR. I think that's a better option than a .223 or such. Now if you do have a place to shoot well away from the neighbors, you can really reach out there with a .223 and a good scope. But in most cases a .22LR is the most logical choice.
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I don't have my own land - shoot on the land of family and friendly farmers. Most of them are far more amenable to you using .22 than centre fire, for a lot of different reasons. Also, if you're clearing gophers on someone else's land, there's way better odds the farmer/rancher will spot you a few boxes of free ammo for helping him out.
 
got several 22lr rifles, never liked the bolt for gophers but the best is the browning BAR, quick shooting and devastating to a pack of them critters, still looking for a pump to try but any semi would be great, biggest issue here is not that many gophers around this year
 
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