I am planning on going gopher shooting this summer(or maybe even sooner from the reports) and so i went and picked up a bulk pack of the federal 525. that stuff absolutely sucks balls in my rifle. the federal 510 40g solids shoot quite well, but the 36g copper plated hp, blah! what are your guys' go to rounds for gopher shooting? i tried the bulk pack because they were hp and i assume theyre better to exterminate with than the solids. are hp better than solids for hunting gophers?
your goto .22lr gopher round?
- Thread starter SSJChar
- Start date
22 gopher
Hi my 10/22 only likes American Eagle HP's.
We just spent a day at the range checking out a lot of differnt ammo and this is what showed up the best.
However one of the Annies liked Velociter's the best.
Each rifle will show a preferance to ammo buy some different brands and check each rifle out you can tell in one group of 10 shots.
Thanks
Don
Hi my 10/22 only likes American Eagle HP's.
We just spent a day at the range checking out a lot of differnt ammo and this is what showed up the best.
However one of the Annies liked Velociter's the best.
Each rifle will show a preferance to ammo buy some different brands and check each rifle out you can tell in one group of 10 shots.
Thanks
Don
SSJChar, you never mentioned your rifle. Yes, you want to use a hollowpoint bullet no matter what load you choose. I love the bulk Federal stuff you have. I find it very consistant and accurate. But because you do not like it, I'm assuming you shoot an autoloader. I used to shoot a Marlin Model 60 and a Ruger 10/22, neither rifle would cycle the stuff reliably. I found the Remington's Cyclone would cycle through far better and was also very accurate out of the Marlin. Eventually, I came across a full run of bad ammo, where shots varied from mis-fires (lots) to underpowered charges (rare). My 10/22 wouldn't cycle very well or shoot accurate, so I gave up on it completly. I experimented with most others out of the Marlin as well. Remington Yellow Jackets cycled very well, but were as accurate as a shotgun. CCI anything was both accurate and cycled the action, but was too expensive. Winchesters Power Point was awesome all around. It has a huge hollow point that lets you know you hit juice. It was consistant, and accurate. But then a shortage occured and I couldn't find any. I tried the X-pert, and had pretty good luck with it. Now I shoot bolt action rifles, and I stock the Federal bulk stuff, as I shoot alot and it's the most economical way to go. Hope this helps. 
Mike Oxbig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Scarborough Ontario
I get the Winchester Xpert 22 HP I buy 5000 at a time and they are super quality with a wicked snap and a hard hit!. I tend to stay away from the FMJ rounds to keep my cleaning to a min. I find the more FMJ i use the crappier the accuracy gets with fewer rounds between cleaning.
Federal Bulk 525's. Or whatever else is on sale. Last year, the Co-ops in SK were selling 525's for just under $12. I bought a case and 1/2. My 10/22 (unaltered, no scope) gobbled them up. I also use an old Savage 6AB semi, and a Savage over under .22/20ga. Obviously, I don't get too anal about pinpoint, Olympic style accuracy. I usually fire a fair few "warning" shots, especially offhand. Main object is to have fun. HP's have good splat factor. I don;t think it is necessary to use bazooka rounds on friggin' gophers, but what do I know!!
CCI Stingers are the best in entertainment value, distance and accuracy IMHO. Little more expensive though. I use bulk pacs when I'm more interested in just shooting more, rather than blowing up a gopher every shot. I shoot a 600 and 64 cooey, 10-22, 94-22 and Ruger 22-45 and Taurus Tracker, the Stingers work very well in all.
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are you located in saskatoon? i am and ive been to the indoor club probably 2 or 3 times a week for the past 2 weeks just trying ammo. if youre in saskatoon, what time do you usually head out there? indoor or outdoor?
sadly i'm shooting a brand new bolt action tube fed marlin, the 981T. ive tried out 7 different types of ammo, oh wait, 8 now i think(lapua super club, federal gold medal, federal 510, american eagle hp, remington game load, remington golden bullet, cci pistol match, winchester superx, and now fed bulk pack 525) and the fed 525 bulk is pretty much the only type that are inconsistant. i was actually trying to rezero my scope @ 30m because i had to remount it and thought that my scope was jumping zero. must have taken 50 shots with the 525s and it would barely ever make a grouping where 3 or more shots would share a hole. boresnaked it and still no improvement, so i tried 2 5-shot groups with the remi game loads, and whatdya know, both groups had a single hole and 1 flyer each. atleast i know the game loads are somewhat consistant, along with the AE hp but they both only come in v of box' of 40. is that how HPs usually are? 40 instead of 50?
EDIT: oh ya, thanks for all the reply guys. i'll see if i can pick up some dynapoints, xperts and other hp loads to test.
for gophers i usually buy what ever the coop has on sale. we just came back shooting with the federals 525 pack hollopw points. they definately did a number on the gophers. we had very few that crawled down a hole on us. most just rolled over and did the funky chicken. we both shoot 10/22 with 4 power scopes on them.
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leveractionjunkie
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Kamloops, BC
My marlin 39A likes the Remington Yellowjackets and they really work well on gophers I shoot. My 10/22 shoots the Federal 525 Bulk Packs very well and I can't complain with the results on gophers.
Federal bulk HP was on sale locally for $11 per pack. Got $100 worth. They shoot good enough for gophers in my heavy bbl bolt gun. Winchester Super X is somewhat more accurate with fewer fliers but the gophers can't tell the difference.
