Cartridges for Groundhog Hunting

[Forum Boss]

22 BR

Very flat shooting, very accurate, plenty of punch. Bullets cheaper than a 6BR or a Dasher. With a good barrel, easy to achieve sub half-MOA accuracy.

With moderate loads, brass can last a LONG time with annealing every 6 firings or so.

If you want a little more velocity, a 22 BRA. Either way with factory no-turn necks.

This photo is from a Daily Bulletin Sunday Gunday Story:



Story: https://bulletin.accurateshooter.co...lti-state-varmint-adventures-with-bill-white/

 

[LHSmith]

Now that I am retired I go out about 4 mornings per week and I hunt between Memorial Day and Labor Day, I don't hunt in the spring because the young ones are not weined yet.
Drags

I always had better luck mid-day or late afternoon. I also would wait until Memorial day to start.

 

[drags]

I agree mornings or afternoon could be better, but the mornings (9am to about 1pm) is more convenient and defiantly cooler for me.
Drags

 

[drover]

I have never shot a groundhog but I have shot a truckload of rockchucks which are their western cousins and weigh about the same. And I have never shot one over 300 yards I pretty much confine my shooting to 150 - 300 yards since that seems to be my sweet spot for a high hit percentage.

My recipe is a 223 with a 40 gr Nosler BT @ 3750 they just "plop and drop".

drover

 

[RedfootRanch]

While out today swapping cards in a camera and looking over a recent deer kill on a property I do predation work on, the landowner came out as I got back to the truck. Being bad windy and no rifle taken, I sic'd my pair of decoy dogs on this one as he and I stood there chatting. He said he ought to head back to the house and grab a .22 until I told him it wasn't necessary.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[Litetrigger]

My wife is my favorite varmint hunting partner for chuck and prairie dogs. Here she is with a chuck taken with her .22-250. I prefer a .220 Swift for chucks.

 

[jghoghunter]

My wife is my favorite varmint hunting partner for chuck and prairie dogs. Here she is with a chuck taken with her .22-250. I prefer a .220 Swift for chucks.

My favorite was a swift ai and 222 rem. It's great that she's loves to hunt with you. Mines good for pd not much on chucks.

 

[jcm800]

Back in the late 60's through the mid 80's I hunted groundhogs extensively in Greene County in southwestern PA. A close friend of my father's own two large cattle farms near Nineveh that were overrun with ground hogs. I had exclusive access to the farms.

In those days I hunted mostly with a revolver, 357 Magnum, Model 27 S&W. The rolling terrain provided a lot of areas for stalking within 50 yards. I would roam those fields with the revolver strapped on my hip. These were some of the best hunts I ever had. I didn't keep records in those days, but I do remember one particular Saturday on a beautiful summer afternoon bagging 8 hogs with my pistol, all within 50 yards.

Ditto for me, ground hog hunting is my absolute favorite past time. These days however, it's all rifle here in eastern PA. But those hunts in Greene County were the best ever!

Same here, nothing I'd rather do on a summer day is spot and stalk some woodchucks with a handgun. Favorites were a 221 xp100 and a 686 357, both equipped with low power Leupolds. The 686 bagged a few out to 125 yds.

 

[ISS]

I moved from the St Louis area to SW Idaho in summer of 1978, for the hunting and politics. I started with a sporterized 30-40 Krag in the midwest for a farmer who paid a bounty on groundhogs and ravens. Got pretty good out to 200yds or a little farther.
SW Idaho, that's a Rockchuck hunters dream. I bought two Ruger #1's, a 22-250 and a 6mm Remington and put the classic Leupold 6.5-20 scopes on them.
I had a 22-284 built, good with the 80gr spitzers to pushing 800 yards. A couple year later I found the German 6,5x68 Shuler case. I necked it down to 25 caliber and sharpened the shoulder angle. Think of it as a 300 Win Mag necked to 22 caliber. A gunsmith named McCluskey in Seattle took a Jerry Simonson (sp?)110gr VLD set of bullet swaging dies I had made and made BR grade bullets for me. That fall a gentleman in VA (Premier Reticle) boosted a 6.5-20X Leupold and it to 18-42X and added stadia lines to my spec. The next spring I made my first shot hit and kill at 1007 yards, according to Leica Geovid range finding binoculars.
I killed several past 600 yards with a Savage in .338 Lapua two years ago. The spotter says they go up 8-10 feet, and parts fly off on the way back down.

The farther I can make that clean shot, the better it is. Beats the heck out of ELR targets at a known range, but that's just me. Sorry to be so wordy. Comes from writing for Precision Shooting Magazine 12 years, and a few other magazines.

ISS

 

[17VLD]

Sorry to be so wordy. Comes from writing for Precision Shooting Magazine 12 years, and a few other magazines.

ISS

It’s ok Rich some of us saved all of our PS issues and refer to them for great reading, nothing to be sorry for.Quite a few of us love the .257 bullet and what you did back in the day with it to those poor rock chucks

Matt

 

[357Mag]

it seams that the faster a bullet goes and the bigger a case is the acuacy of said case goes down .now we are talking about hitting a chuck in the chest that is for all it is in size of say 3 inches wide and maybe 5 inches high.my ppc in 6 mm has a1/4 inch 5 shot group at 100 yards and that on a good day makes it a 300 yard gun.energy on target is ample for this load.what arte you guys getting in groups for your bigger casesas far as 3 shot or 5 shot goers.aslso what do you concider the max range for your rifles that you have shot chucks at.

Maddysdad -

Here's a pic ( also posted elsewhere @ this cite ), that shows my first full-custom varmint rifle 'smithed by Fred Sinclair; and chambered for my " .22-35 Remington " wildcat.

Wichita WBR1375 single shot action ( s/n 15 ), Hart 24" SS 1-14 5-groove 1.375" diam, Ken Burns converted M700 2oz trigger , Bishop walnut/walnut laminate, custom Sinclair trigger guard and recoil lug. Weaver bases B & L rings; 16X Leupold w/ CPC reticle.

2nd Pic shows my .22-35 Remington w/ Hornady 55 SX seated.
Pic taken in 1978, after rifle was in-use for 1yr.

3rd pic shows same rifle, after Fred did a re-contour of the barrel; and put the barrelled action in a McMillan M40A1 stock. Scope is probably a Leupold 6.5 X 20 Vari-X III
w/ CPC reticle.

With regards,
357Mag

 

[357Mag]

Maddysdad -

Trouble sending pics

Hope this shows pic 2

 

[357Mag]

Maddysdad -

Howdy, again.

Here's the epic of my .22-35 Remington wildcat w/ 55 SX seated.


With regards,
357Mag

 

[Cowmooch]

204, 6xc, 6arc, 22 cm, and call me crazy I'm going to try slinging some 300prc for the far out ones.