I agree with your choice of calibers. My 260 Ackley is my primary LOONG range stick shoooting the 140 Hybrid. My NF with Tremore makes shots what would be very diffi8cult with less. For longer distances I use the Barr & Stroud Optical rangefinder with 14 power eyepiece.7 and 6 power lasers are not sufficient for little critters at distance.
400 to 1000 yard
- Thread starter maddysdad
- Start date
Yep, capable range finders and field optics are the name of the game. I first experienced the Horus reticle several years ago while testing an optics setup on top of a 7 RSAUM with a Military electronics contractor that was mating the reticle to a palm pilot app, and I believe at the time this was a first. My job was to start with zero knowledge of the system and see how far I could get in the shortest period of time to some level of competence. My first look at the reticle took place that day on the range and I was a bit shocked to say the least at how complicated the reticle first appeared. Once I started working it, with my spotters giving me the dope, it didn't take long to realize this was a game changer.
I've shot a ton of groundhogs between 600-1,000yds in central PA. I used a lot of different rifles, but my favorite (and most accurate) rifle was a 22-243AI shooting a 75gr A-Max moly bullet at 3,670 ft/sec. It was, without a doubt, the quickest killer of groundhogs of anything I shot, regardless of distance. I was using a Leupold 6.5-25 LR scope back then.
My all-time best group with that rifle was a confirmed .625" group fired at 600yds. But never to be repeated. LOL
Ahahahaha - Nope. The farm took part in a 10 year conservation program which prohibited farming the land and required letting it grow wild. The govt paid the farmer to "not farm" his land. It was designed to reduce excess fertilizer from eventually reaching marine estuaries, I think in the Chesapeake Bay IIRC. The property was also then used by Pheasants Forever for releasing birds caught in the Dakotas. The birds could easily survive under the now heavy grasses/brush.
The farmer was permitted to mow down 20% of the property every year, on a rotational basis, to prevent extreme overgrowth. I showed up a couple of days after a big cut and found holes filled with chucks that had been unmolested for years. They were all mature animals. I took 23 on that day.
That was probably the most productive day out I've ever had. Over the last 10 years I've witnessed a progressive decline in the number of groundhogs on all the farms that I had access to. It's not realistic to believe that they were overhunted because there is plenty of protected areas around the fields. Even though I hunted almost every week, I spread the pressure out over many large farms. Rarely did I ever see anyone else hunting the same properties.
The locals all have opinions as to why there has been such a reduction in groundhogs; ie: coyotes, weather, disease, etc but I just don't know. For me, continual development of property and reduced farm size and availability has really killed the sport that I loved so much.
Why is it that things always seemed to better in the past? Don't things ever get better?
pm to you
My Sig works fine on ground hogs. I most times range the sandy den with very good range accuracy. Sometimes it can be difficult but most times it's a very effective method. Definitely cannot hit the Hog beyond certain ranges.
MATT, been waiting for your return phone call.
Well placed head shots on ground hogs with the .22 RF kills instantly. No crawling in the den and very little flopping after the impact. Use to use it when I started shooting them down in VA. We had some super accurate .22s that kept very small holes ( 1.5") on paper at 100 yards for a 22 rim fire. Today I prefer the longer shooting with larger case .224 rifles or deer rifles where detection by the ground hog is nearly impossible.
I considered building a rifle in that caliber, it just made sense to me. Just my opinion but it puts that 75 grain in the right velocity.
It would make a wicked whitetail/antelope cartridge too, but my rifle was too heavy for that use. I built a full BR rifle in 6.5x284 to extend my range on groundhogs a bit farther but the 6.5x284 never shot as good as the 22-243AI.
I'm running a 6MM Remington with 75 grain VMAX Moly at 3,900 FPS. I rarely get shots at chucks past 600. The terraced fields made huge changes in my old stomping grounds. The eddy currents in the wind, you power through or bounce around. My 223 is a fine out to 350 or 400 in low winds but outside of that it's a non-starter. My 6mm is great in moderate wind out to 500 but needs the wind to slow down at 600.
I have another 6 that's cut for heavier projectiles that shoots well but I'm of the the opinion that my next build be it another 6mm or a 22 needs to push velocities between 3,600 FPS and 3,900 FPS. That certainly means some over bore design.
The E-Z button would be a straight forward 22-243 in a fast twist tube. When I was shooting a non-AI version, I simply ran Lapua 243 cases into a FL 22-243 die and went shooting. But, you won't get to 3,600+ with a heavy bullet. IIRC, I was getting around 3,400 ft/sec with a Berger 80gr bullet in my 22-243 (plain).
I might add that I had surprisingly good barrel life with my 22-243AI. I put 1,000 rounds through the barrel before it was set back and rechambered to 22-243 (plain). It shot almost as good as new again.
When you go the velocity/high pressure route changing barrels is just a fact that you live with. My varmint guns being used for chucks last years but the round counts aren't high.
Since they terraced the fields on some days it's like skipping rocks across the pond. It's easier to see at shorter ranges and the 223 with a bit of a gust across a terrace you'll see one go wild against the general read of the wind.
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