Varmint hunting

[Johnn Peterson]

Is there anyone in B.C. or AB doing any serious varmint hunting? If so, any particulars, ie: what animals, where, when & with what equipment? I'm thinking of getting into it, especially during the off season. On Vancouver Island, I was thinking of 'working' on crows to start with. Find where they go to roost etc. Anyway, if there's anyone out there in to it in a big way, want to pass on some details?

 

[varminter]

Hey.
I live in the interior of BC and all i do in my past time, during winter is call Coyotes and shoot gophers as soon as the snow recedes and those pesky buggers are out.I exclusively,use a 243 Win on a Rem 700 action that has been modified by Martini and Hagn.I use 105gr A-Max and they work great for yotes.Mine got a 22" barrel,thus it is not too long for close up shots,but accurate enough for extended shots.That gain twist barrel was worth the investment.There are quite a lot of yotes around here and calling and killing in the excess of 50 yotes in one winter is not that difficult,since i am pretty much the only one i know of,who actively hunts them and they create quite a bit of havoc with the local deer population,but things seem to improve since those wily baggers are getting hunted.If you need any help with calling,PM me.I'm glad to help.

 

[Johnn Peterson]

Hey.
I live in the interior of BC and all i do in my past time, during winter is call Coyotes and shoot gophers as soon as the snow recedes and those pesky buggers are out.I exclusively,use a 243 Win on a Rem 700 action that has been modified by Martini and Hagn.I use 105gr A-Max and they work great for yotes.Mine got a 22" barrel,thus it is not too long for close up shots,but accurate enough for extended shots.That gain twist barrel was worth the investment.There are quite a lot of yotes around here and calling and killing in the excess of 50 yotes in one winter is not that difficult,since i am pretty much the only one i know of,who actively hunts them and they create quite a bit of havoc with the local deer population,but things seem to improve since those wily baggers are getting hunted.If you need any help with calling,PM me.I'm glad to help.

Thanks for the reply. I used to live in the interior as well, many years ago mind you. The Quesnel - Wells area. Sounds as though you're doing things along the same lines as I'd like to. Primarily during the off season. Any marmots/groung hogs/whistle pigs in your area?
I have a Ruger #1 Varminter in .22-250 topped with a Bushnell Sportview
6 - 18 and have recently acquired a Savage 112BVSS in .25-06 topped with a Leupold VX-III, 6-20. With the Ruger I'm in the process of testing various different weights of V-MAX bullets & Sierra Blitzkings. Both are pretty devastating. With the Savage, I'm trying any 25 cal bullets I have in my reloading bench but plan to stock up with some 'variety' on my next visit to P&d in AB.
I look forward to trying for Coyotes. None on the Island, but there are Wolves and they definately haven't been helping our Deer population.
Good talking to you. I have some hand calls. Raspy Cottontail I picked up in AB and apparently it works well on Coyotes there. Apparently some Deer calls will bring them in as well? Any suggestions on calls would be appreciated.
From a guy on another site I just got the address for the Predator Hunt Canada website, so, I registered. Looks very interesting.
Thanks again for the info. Good talking to you & hope to do so again.

 

[varminter]

I love those Sceery calls with the "variable call" being my favorite.I.ve tried a few different ones over the years,but seem to have most succees with Ed Sceerys.Yeah,there are some farms in the area,who have an incredible amount of gophers and most farmers are just being happy that we get rid of them.It's quite beneficial to strike up a good rapport with them,as it not only helps creating friends but it aids the creation of a positive image of the gun totting citizen.
In reference to using deercalls:I only use them in the winter,as i had some encounters with some hungry bears resonding to them,and that's not much fun,since i don't like being caught under-gunned.It is a good idea to work with another guy and sit back to back,when using deer in distress sounds,as you might be in for a surprise.
Good luck hunting.