ghog season has begun!

[drags]

Hi varmintshooter, I'm curious could you expand on your groundhog hunting strategy, your techniques, your rifles and loads approximately how many times you hunt in a season do you hunt in the morning or evening or both ect.? The farms near my home are getting smaller and it is more difficult to get longer shots I have been using a .204 ruger .223 rem. and .17 rem. and the 22x47 for the longer shots. I like the .204 better than the .17 rem. so I will probably sell the .17 or have it barreled to .20 VT. By the way 324 groundhogs is very impressive, I have been out 20 times this year and have shot 33 so far the longest shot has been 355 yards, I hunt mostly in the morning because it is usually cooler.
Joe

 

[justinp61]

Unless I can catch them out in a cut hay field the beans way to big to see them. I've killed 8 in the small bottoms behind my shop, 7 have been over 400 yards, 405 to 446.

This is the view over the scope of where the 7 were shot.

 

[varmintshooter]

Drags, if I had to pick I would hunt in the evening, but as I drive a couple hundred miles when I go I hunt all day. I go for 2-3 days at a time and I do a lot of walking. I do have some farms where I can sit on a hill and shoot 500-600 yds. If you can find a hay field with a lot of rock breaks you will most likely find hogs. My guns range from 17 hmr, 20 vt, 221 fb, 204, 223 ai I have larger cal guns but don't use them. It is a sickness. Good luck

 

[lpreddick]

Do ghogs come out at night to feed? We are having a heat wave with temps not dropping to less than 80 until after dark. I've gone to fields really early with temps around 75, but none. I believe they can stay down for a day or more, but have to eat eventually. Don't have one of those cameras that can be left viewing a colony's entrance which should be very interesting...anybody done this?

 

[lpreddick]

the temp dropped below 80!!!!! mid 70s, so i went. didn't take long and one was peeking out, probably checking the temp. couldn't wait so i popped him on hole's edge and he was DRT. 170 yds, so the WHAPPP was a millisec after the boom. i noted a terminal ballistic's phenomenon i have seen before. i hollowpoint my 55 gr 22 cal target bergers so that they EXPLODE immediately after entry, hopefully dumping all their energy without producing an exit wound. this liquifies soft tissue and produces a shock wave that paralyzes the nervous system. the pic shows a tear in the chest skin and shoulder in this one. there was no hole in either so no bullet fragment exited. i can only surmise that the chest expands so fast and so large as to tear the skin...a slow motion video of this should be impressive. if a small bullet fragment hits this area, an exit opening results. shot 2 at close range and had this on both. neither of them moved. day's total was 4. 8 pounders at best. the hunt continues...

 

[lpreddick]

talk about wind drift!!!! went to a field on sat that we have more misses than all fields combined. a zeroed gun will throw one left, then right, usually beyond 250 yds. set up at the usual site. a light wind at 3 o:clock. one comes out to graze at 370 yds. knowing the winds bizarre behavior, i held into the wind what i thought was excessive. my 55 gr berger going 3700 fps smacked him .200 sec after leaving muzzel. i suspected a nice chest impact as he rolled and did not move. what i found was an impact 1/2 from his nose tip!!! next time i am planting wind flags all over the field...should be interesting.

 

[lpreddick]

snug as a bug in a rug...not. whacked this one yesterday. his hole was vertical. the tight fit stopped his fall into the abyss.

 

[Webster]

In my experience on several farms the farmers dogs have no problem killing large numbers of GH in the day time. I would think coyotes would be more efficient? My neighbors dog killed 2 GH and a skunk in the backyard this Summer. They cannot out run a dog.

 

[snert]

talk about wind drift!!!! went to a field on sat that we have more misses than all fields combined. a zeroed gun will throw one left, then right, usually beyond 250 yds. set up at the usual site. a light wind at 3 o:clock. one comes out to graze at 370 yds. knowing the winds bizarre behavior, i held into the wind what i thought was excessive. my 55 gr berger going 3700 fps smacked him .200 sec after leaving muzzel. i suspected a nice chest impact as he rolled and did not move. what i found was an impact 1/2 from his nose tip!!! next time i am planting wind flags all over the field...should be interesting.

I just shot one in the wind at just under 500 yards. I held well over three feet left. Basically I used the heavy plex as an aiming point, and shaded that a whole GH length. The wind tends to blow a bit here...

Snert

 

[potatoe]

I would love it if they produced more heavy high BC varmint bullets.

 

[MrMajestic]

Tater, the A-max line expand quite dramatically.

 

[potatoe]

I tried them before but couldn't get them to shoot consistent. That's why I went to such a heavy cartridge for my ground hogs, I have many choices and high bc

 

[MrMajestic]

Did you try length sorting?

 

[swd]

i can only surmise that the chest expands so fast and so large as to tear the skin...a slow motion video of this should be impressive.

Years ago there used to be a slow motion video on "The Coyote Gods" web site (the website is no longer up), that showed a good size bobcat getting hit in the chest with a frontal shot from a 17 Remington. The entire body of the kitty more than doubled in size for a nano second. It was incredibly impressive! And it was only a 17 Rem shooting a 25 grain HP. Anything bigger would just be more fun. ;D

 

[lpreddick]

Could not wait!!! The temp was in low 90s but I needed ghog hunting therapy, so I went to a few fields. Nothing but HOT. Sometimes a ghog gets really hungry or has to poop/pee/get away from the old woman and will appear briefly...but nothing. 7:15 and I'm ready to pack it up but stopped near an old house with a large apple tree and the landowner swears a HUGE ghog lives there...shot two small ones earlier that came out a hole in the side of the house, so I'm glassing this area and noted a shadow that I swore moved...in the opening. Out come old faithful(22 BR, 55 Berger at 3700 fps nothing moves after being hit gun). There is a face in the hole, so round chambered and tgt dot of my sightron is square between it's eyes...190 yds. WHAT THE HELL!! The thing looked like a seal or pecorina! Completely out and facing me...a tiney head with an enormous body behind it! The dot settles at it's neck base/ upper chest and the 55 gr Berger is sent. WHUPPP! The monster drops, lowers it's head and stops. I am now shaking a bit more than usual as I know this is the one. I will post pics later. This old female weighed in at 14# 2 oz!!! Bullet went thru neck/chest with no exit...1000+ ft/ lbs energy mushed her innards. One always wonders "what would she have weighed in late Oct?". I'm good for a few days now...ghog hunting therapy at it's best...aaaahhhhh.

 

[snert]

Could not wait!!! The temp was in low 90s but I needed ghog hunting therapy, so I went to a few fields. Nothing but HOT. Sometimes a ghog gets really hungry or has to poop/pee/get away from the old woman and will appear briefly...but nothing. 7:15 and I'm ready to pack it up but stopped near an old house with a large apple tree and the landowner swears a HUGE ghog lives there...shot two small ones earlier that came out a hole in the side of the house, so I'm glassing this area and noted a shadow that I swore moved...in the opening. Out come old faithful(22 BR, 55 Berger at 3700 fps nothing moves after being hit gun). There is a face in the hole, so round chambered and tgt dot of my sightron is square between it's eyes...190 yds. WHAT THE HELL!! The thing looked like a seal or pecorina! Completely out and facing me...a tiney head with an enormous body behind it! The dot settles at it's neck base/ upper chest and the 55 gr Berger is sent. WHUPPP! The monster drops, lowers it's head and stops. I am now shaking a bit more than usual as I know this is the one. I will post pics later. This old female weighed in at 14# 2 oz!!! Bullet went thru neck/chest with no exit...1000+ ft/ lbs energy mushed her innards. One always wonders "what would she have weighed in late Oct?". I'm good for a few days now...ghog hunting therapy at it's best...aaaahhhhh.

Photo with something to compare it to!!!!

 

[lpreddick]

as promised the photos of the 14# 2 oz ghog.

 

[snert]

HOGZILLA!!!!!

 

[lpreddick]

Ever noticed how much weight a ghog loses from the time you have him in your scope,(16#!!!), 281 yds,, whack him, and watch him roll over, THEN, you go to him and he now weighs 10, 3oz. Well, it happened to me today, again. It wasn't that hot, so he couldn't dehydrate that much and the exit wound was a chest shot...not much heavy stuff there. These critters continue to amaze me.

 

[people]

Ever noticed how much weight a ghog loses from the time you have him in your scope,(16#!!!), 281 yds,, whack him, and watch him roll over, THEN, you go to him and he now weighs 10, 3oz. Well, it happened to me today, again. It wasn't that hot, so he couldn't dehydrate that much and the exit wound was a chest shot...not much heavy stuff there. These critters continue to amaze me.

Lol. One has to love "ground shrinkage".