Been a long time , ground hogs

[Kenneth66]

Been making friends with a local farmer and the other day he asked if I would come over and take care of some groundhogs after he does the first hay cut .
I haven't did a ground hog hunt in years .
It is a forty acre field on an open farm , so I want to use a bullet that explodes , with little chance of ricochet .
I have 6mm 85 Gr. SGK HP . Would this bullet be safe as far as ricochets go ? I have only shot paper with it as I use 100 Gr. SGK for deer .
I have some 80 Gr. GMX and Speer 70 Gr. HP , but have not shot these bullets in this gun and was trying to avoid having to work up another load if you think the 85 SGK will be explosive enough .
The rifle is a T/C Icon , I think it is a 1/10 twist , is that twist still good down to 70 Gr. ?
Thanks , Kenneth

 

[stacy]

YOU SHOULD BE FINE I USE THOSE BULLETS ALOT NEVER HAD A PROBLEM THAT I KNOW OF!!!!!! THATS THE 85GR SIERRAS I'M SPEAKING OF.

 

[ShootDots]

Been making friends with a local farmer and the other day he asked if I would come over and take care of some groundhogs after he does the first hay cut .
I haven't did a ground hog hunt in years .
It is a forty acre field on an open farm , so I want to use a bullet that explodes , with little chance of ricochet .
I have 6mm 85 Gr. SGK HP . Would this bullet be safe as far as ricochets go ? I have only shot paper with it as I use 100 Gr. SGK for deer .
I have some 80 Gr. GMX and Speer 70 Gr. HP , but have not shot these bullets in this gun and was trying to avoid having to work up another load if you think the 85 SGK will be explosive enough .
The rifle is a T/C Icon , I think it is a 1/10 twist , is that twist still good down to 70 Gr. ?
Thanks , Kenneth

The 85Gr Nosler Ballistic-Tip is a phenomenal "fairly" long range varmint bullet that is pretty explosive. However, if you keep your shots "about" 300 yards and less, the Speer 70Gr H.P. will almost blow a 'chuck in half if hit where that belley meets the rib-cage. That bullet is VERY frangible!

 

[MrMajestic]

I'm thinking the GameKing is built for Whitetail. If I were you I would go with a Blitz or BlitzKing. I run the 70 grain BlitzKing at 3850 fps from a 14tw .243AI in rural farms and feel comfortable. JMHO

 

[Kenneth66]

Thanks , after I load some 85's , I'll throw a couple 70's together just to see how it likes them .
Also am going to try for head shots and try some young ground hog , hear it is good .
He said they have his sheds and barn undermined too , I'll use the 17 HMR there , they will probally be pretty close shots .
Be like a kid again , LOL .
Kenneth

 

[MrMajestic]

I'm sure you will have a great time!

 

[MildBill]

as mentioned the 85 grain sierra bt hp gameking is a tougher bullet, hence it would be more prone to ricochets than some other options.

of the ones you listed the 70 grains speer is the least risk for ricochets.

the sierra 70 grain blitzking, 75 hollow point or the 80 grain blitz would be lower risk.

 

[snert]

as mentioned the 85 grain sierra bt hp gameking is a tougher bullet, hence it would be more prone to ricochets than some other options.

of the ones you listed the 70 grains speer is the least risk for ricochets.

the sierra 70 grain blitzking, 75 hollow point or the 80 grain blitz would be lower risk.

Excellent and accurate advice there.
If you are concerned about bullet bounce, stay away from the gameking. I really like the Blitzking Vmax and the cheap Sierra 70 grain or Speeer 70 grain in my 6BR. No concerns about bullet bounce. I live in rural NY...but Wyoming it isn't. Have to be certain that bullet will break up, so that is what I use.

 

[Chalktaw]

Years ago, a good friend of mine and I would offer help on the farm for the opportunity to hunt on the farms. It worked out great for the both of us, I enjoyed driving a tractor etc. Spring ground hog shooting was top notch in those days. Now deer season, we would always give some of the meat back to the farmer.

 

[P72]

My feeling is the 85 grain Sierra hpbt is a fairly tough bullet and with a 1-10 twist I might try the 75 Hornady VMax, that is because I am a Hornady fan. The 87 VMax would also work, one of my favorite varmint bullets and have sort of the same load characteristics of the 85 Si bthp. Never had any ricochet problems with the 87 VMax. Don't worry about spinning them too fast with a 1-10 - even a 65 or 55 grain bullet would work and the 55's can be driven over 4000 fps and 40 acres is not that far across to shoot.

 

[Brians356]

if you keep your shots "about" 300 yards and less, the Speer 70Gr H.P. will almost blow a 'chuck in half if hit where that belley meets the rib-cage. That bullet is VERY frangible!

I assume you mean the 70-gr TNT? Yes, it is explosive, accurate and also a best buy for price.
-

 

[Shaggy357]

Be cautious of ricochets, and pieces of any bullet that may be coming apart. I have helped fix aluminum sprinkler pipes that were damaged by close shots, that didn't ricochet, but did have jacket pieces puncture the pipe. Friendly local farmers have good memories and they like to talk. Do right by the farmer and he may introduce you to friends with varmints.

 

[AckleymanII]

Kenneth, I have shot thousands of the 6mm 85 Gr. SGK HP and they do not come apart easily. For your application, the Sierra 70g Biltz king, 70g Speer TNT, and the Nosler 70g Varmageddon are the very best choices and don't over look the Sierra 55g Blitz king at 3800-4000 fps will hedge your bets on explosive bullets. These 55g Bullets are very, very accurate.

 

[Webster]

Been making friends with a local farmer and the other day he asked if I would come over and take care of some groundhogs after he does the first hay cut .
I haven't did a ground hog hunt in years .
It is a forty acre field on an open farm , so I want to use a bullet that explodes , with little chance of ricochet .
I have 6mm 85 Gr. SGK HP . Would this bullet be safe as far as ricochets go ? I have only shot paper with it as I use 100 Gr. SGK for deer .
I have some 80 Gr. GMX and Speer 70 Gr. HP , but have not shot these bullets in this gun and was trying to avoid having to work up another load if you think the 85 SGK will be explosive enough .
The rifle is a T/C Icon , I think it is a 1/10 twist , is that twist still good down to 70 Gr. ?
Thanks , Kenneth

The Hornady 58 GR VMax, Hornady 65 GR VMax and the 70 GR Sierra Blitz King are very explosive. The 58 VMax shoots small holes with my 6BR at 3550 fps.

 

[Kenneth66]

Thanks to all . Finally got a field open , rain has been a problem here . Took my 243 with Speer 70 gr. TNT and 222 Rem. with 50 gr. Nos. ballistic tip . First shot was farther than I realized and must have been luck I guess . I thought it was about 125 -150 yds , stepped it off and it was 210 paces and I used long paces to be somewhat close to one yd. paces . Shot with the 222 and held top dead center of head and all I saw was a puff and then the tail doing the helicopter . When I went and looked , shot him right below the ear with a thumb hole exit . Then hit one in the torso about half that distance , he made it into the hole . Going back in a little , this time I'll try the 243.
Kenneth

 

[snert]

Good results, good report! Congrats!

 

[Kenneth66]

Thanks , got two more . With 243 this time , holy sheet ! What an exit hole those 70 gr. made first was just a little over a hundred yds , hit right at the base of the head , exit hole was half of head and shoulder . Second was a good bit further than the one I shot with the 222 , a young one , it was on all fours trying to make it across the field , held just in front of it's nose a few inches high and hit right behind it's shoulder . About wiped the whole other side .
Not the numbers I had hoped for but for first time in forty or so years , I'm ok with it . Will take my range finder tomorrow and check my actual yardage .
Turns out he is looking for some help on the weekends raking and cutting hay , agreeing to do so has gotten me into some properities he has leased . I don't know how much acreage , but it consist of three farms and a field , hopefully this will result in some deer hunting too , but I'll bid my time on that . Kenneth

 

[boltfluter]

Kenneth,

Sounds like you have found a honey hole in the making. We need some pics to see the lay of the land. Have fun!!

Paul

www.boltfluting.com

 

[Kenneth66]

Got in the field around 6:30 this morning and stayed till 8:30 . Nothing , they cut the field earlier this past week , and there is literally hundreds of uncut acres all around this field on other farms . So maybe I didn't wait long enough or maybe they went were the cover is .
Anyway , ranged the 210 pace shot and it turned out to be 189 yds , the longer one was 245 yds . I'm guessing luck played a lot into that as I generally target shoot 100 yds with center fire and 50 with 22lr .
One of these days I keep saying I'm going to join a club and do some longer shooting or make it down to the Fairfax Rod and Gun club for an IBS 200-300 yd match and get some experience at farther ranges .
Being home only on weekends crowds a fellows time though .
Thanks for all the input and likes , Kenneth