Hit ratio while in the field.

[K22]

Interesting question.

Since 2000 I have kept detailed records of all my varmint hunts (eastern groundhogs). As of the 2014 season here are my numbers for 2000 to 2014:

455 - hunts
1,412 - confirmed kills (35 wounded)
81.3 % - kill ratio.

All shots made off shooting sticks (no tables, no prone off bipods, no sand bags) and all shots were under 300 yards but none under 100 yards. (I pass on any shots under 100 yards)

During the last four years as I improved my technique my kill ratio has been in the 85 to 88% range.

 

[dedogs]

K22, That is a very impressive head count-- 353avg per year. My hat's off to you, you're obviously serious about 'chuck hunting. Hope to double my count this year--got a couple new spots that are thick with dens. Even if I do, I'll still be way behind you. Good job--and it's nice to know someone else is out there with basic equipment.

 

[searcher]

dedogs: Hitting the critter is obviously of prime importance to you or you would not ask that. I shoot squirrels a minumum of 5 or 6 days a month, year around, all day. Somewhere along the line, I lost interest in testing my marksmanship on squirrels at 50 and 100 yards- or even a bit further. I like to see how far off I can hit one. Bowhunters like to see how close they can get. I'm the opposite. If I miss one by an inch at 800 yards, I think that was a much more challenging shot than one at, say, 100 yards. Mind you, I'm shooting at vermin, not big game. I shoot between 35,000 and 45,000 rounds at them each year. I do this for fun and as a service to the ranchers who invite me onto their property to do this, not because I am being graded on how many I hit, though I do hit quite a few. I hit enough I don't have to worry about tallies. If you take more pride in a 1" group at 100 yards than 2" at 800 yards, that is just fine. If the simple act of killing the squirrel (or other varmint) trumps all shooting skills required to make a shot, you can have that too. I like a challenge, that is all. Don't get me wrong though, I like close-up "air time" shots as much as the next guy!

 

[spencerhenry]

1412 kills in 15 years is an average of 94 per year.


i killed 509 wyoming ground squirrels last year. a freshly tilled and planted pasture was prime breeding grounds the year before. that was one 240 acre pasture!

i know there are some that i did not get, but i doubt i will find more than 100 this year.


my best season ever was 888 squirrels.

 

[dedogs]

Once again the question was not how far of a shot have you made on varmints it was /is what is your hit ratio. Again I believe I answered the question.

It's not a matter of pride in shooting 1" groups at 100yds., hell my rifle shoots much better than that which is a major reason I take the shots I do, I have been blessed with a very fine barrel that doesn't foul any where near as soon as some of my other buddies' barrels do. (.17)

It's starting to sound like people think I'm some out of control shooter who takes really risky shots. If that is so--well they are entitled to their opinions, but I know what I am capable of doing (and not doing). May be I should have explained it better. If it sounded like I was bragging I assure you that was not my intent, my intent was to show that hit ratios are relative numbers and that different circumstances can result in different numbers. As several have stated--if the wind is blowing--hit ratios go down.

You say that a 1" miss at 800yds. is more challenging than a hit at 100yds. and I absolutely don't disagree with you, it is.
As you say hitting the critter is of prime importance to me because that is what I have been hired to do and I always do a job the best way I know how. I would love to get into a situation where I had unlimited targets at unknown ranges and learn how to read the wind. Unfortunately that is not in the cards financially. So I go to the range and play at trying to read wind at 200yds with a .22 long rifle. Very humbling and what it tells me is that I don't have the proper attention span to consistently be able to read the wind. So when it comes to the varmint shooting I do--I do it my way. I'm not testing anything I'm proving how accurate my rifle is and that I am capable of performing with it in difficult circumstances. I applaud you and everyone else who can make really long shots on varmints and vermin, I'm just not going to try in the circumstances I work in.

 

[dedogs]

1412 kills in 15 years is an average of 94 per year.


i killed 509 wyoming ground squirrels last year. a freshly tilled and planted pasture was prime breeding grounds the year before. that was one 240 acre pasture!

i know there are some that i did not get, but i doubt i will find more than 100 this year.


my best season ever was 888 squirrels.

Wow! did I screw up that math or what? :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ Thanks for pointing that out Spencer

 

[K22]

No question that the eastern ground hog is a much larger target than the western pdogs. However, the eastern ground hog can be a very tough animal to anchor if you don't hit them in the right spot. Gut shot hogs are famous for dragging half their guts to their hole and escaping inside their hole. I personally hate to wound an animal so I try my best to make killing shots within my range of capabilities.

Also, it's getting more and more difficult to find places to hunt since many of the farmers in my area have changed their farming practices growing more corn and much less hay. I use to see between 10 to 20 hogs a day but now a days a good day is 5 to 6. Of course not all of them are shooters due to location, range or being spooked. Still, it's great just to be outdoors in the fields, just love it, can't get enough of it

 

[ShootDots]

No question that the eastern ground hog is a much larger target than the western pdogs. However, the eastern ground hog can be a very tough animal to anchor if you don't hit them in the right spot. Gut shot hogs are famous for dragging half their guts to their hole and escaping inside their hole. I personally hate to wound an animal so I try my best to make killing shots within my range of capabilities.

Also, it's getting more and more difficult to find places to hunt since many of the farmers in my area have changed their farming practices growing more corn and much less hay. I use to see between 10 to 20 hogs a day but now a days a good day is 5 to 6. Of course not all of them are shooters due to location, range or being spooked. Still, it's great just to be outdoors in the fields, just love it, can't get enough of it

I have shot them with 6mm Rem, and .257A.I. which will literally blow them nearly in half and they have crawled, using their front legs only, into their hole! You are correct K22 about their "toughness"! Pound for pound, I don't know of ANY animal as tough as a 'chuck. Think about it, nearly in half and they know where their hole is and in more than a few cases, make it to the hole! Unreal!

 

[dedogs]

Western Rockchucks are generally a little smaller than Woodchucks but they are just as tough---which is why I shoot most of them in the head.

 

[spencerhenry]

Western Rockchucks are generally a little smaller than Woodchucks but they are just as tough---which is why I shoot most of them in the head.

in your first post you claimed to almost NEVER miss. now you claim to take mostly head shots. so let me get this straight, you claim to almost never miss because you get "paid not to miss", but then take mostly head shots which obviously would make the shot many times easier to miss, all while proclaiming serious repercussions for a miss. a marmot head is also much less likely to stop a bullet than a center mass hit, also leading to a potential errant bullet.

I think we need to get our waders on!

 

[JRS]

Western Rockchucks are generally a little smaller than Woodchucks but they are just as tough---which is why I shoot most of them in the head.

in your first post you claimed to almost NEVER miss. now you claim to take mostly head shots. so let me get this straight, you claim to almost never miss because you get "paid not to miss", but then take mostly head shots which obviously would make the shot many times easier to miss, all while proclaiming serious repercussions for a miss. a marmot head is also much less likely to stop a bullet than a center mass hit, also leading to a potential errant bullet.

I think we need to get our waders on!

Glad to see someone else caught on to that ;D

 

[dedogs]

Mostly head shots. This was one mornings varmint control.

 

[Ohio Varmint Shooter]

Western Rockchucks are generally a little smaller than Woodchucks but they are just as tough---which is why I shoot most of them in the head.

in your first post you claimed to almost NEVER miss. now you claim to take mostly head shots. so let me get this straight, you claim to almost never miss because you get "paid not to miss", but then take mostly head shots which obviously would make the shot many times easier to miss, all while proclaiming serious repercussions for a miss. a marmot head is also much less likely to stop a bullet than a center mass hit, also leading to a potential errant bullet.

I think we need to get our waders on!

It's because he's shooting a .17 Fireball....20gr Vmax. There's not a lot of knockdown power...THAT'S why he's shooting for the head. He said most of his shots are less than 200 yards...with many at 100. Probably not that difficult to make a head shot @ 100 yards.

He's making head shots because apparently he CAN shoot a 2 inch object consistently at less than 200 yards.

I've shot several groundhogs with my 17hmr. Head shot is best, otherwise a well placed heart shot. You can't just blast them anywhere in the torso and expect a kill shot. Otherwise, it's a wound shot. You have to be precise, and that's what he says he's doing. He needs to insure death with 1 shot.

I understand what you mean when you say why make head shots? Doesn't that make things more difficult? And why would you make things more difficult when you get paid to not miss? I understand your confusion.

...it's because a head shot with a small .17 20gr V-max will ensure a kill MUCH more than a body shot. This is not a 223 or 22-250 where you can shoot them practically anywhere. It's a .17...and you have to be precise.

ft-lb energy @ 300 yards:
17 Fireball= 240
22-250= 800


No waders needed.

 

[CatShooter]

Western Rockchucks are generally a little smaller than Woodchucks but they are just as tough---which is why I shoot most of them in the head.

in your first post you claimed to almost NEVER miss. now you claim to take mostly head shots. so let me get this straight, you claim to almost never miss because you get "paid not to miss", but then take mostly head shots which obviously would make the shot many times easier to miss, all while proclaiming serious repercussions for a miss. a marmot head is also much less likely to stop a bullet than a center mass hit, also leading to a potential errant bullet.

I think we need to get our waders on!

Yeah, right on!!! No one, I mean NO ONE, can hit a 2" target at 100 yards!!

What do people think this site is, "Accurate Shooting" or somfin'.

 

[CatShooter]

Any of you know how to 'unsubscribe' from a topic? Getting tired of clicking on the new replies here hoping to read something interesting or informative only to find people like CatShooter bickering and arguing and making rude immature comments. Must be one of those 'Sniper's Hide' guys the more senior members are always complaining about for coming on this forum to disrupt the peace and order...

Lets see - you've been here 9 months and I have been here for 9 years, and I am not on Sniper's hide - seems like you are talking about yourself.

 

[spencerhenry]

i don't have any issue with someone taking head shots. a 2" target is not super difficult at the specified ranges. the b.s. part comes in when it is stated that there are horses worth $30,000 and homes worth millions, and that the property owner is there paying attention to misses. if a miss is that big of a deal to you and the property owner, then head shots beyond 100 yards would mean that chances are being taken that do not need to be. a body shot marmot with a 20gr v-max is a dead marmot. they may not be DRT, but they will die shortly. additionaly, if the bullet just nicks the head, the result is bullet parts flying off, and a not dead rodent, so really, the kill zone if the head is 2", is about 1.75" or less.

to proclaim in one post that you only missed once in 155 shots, and then several days later add that the majority of those 155 shots were head shots strains credibility.
i find it hard to believe that with the costs of a miss so high, that someone would chance a head shot on a marmot at 200 yards. i also find it hard to believe that out of 155 shots from a sitting position no less that no more than once did a puff of wind come up, or no rodent ever moved, or the shooter never missed his center of head shot by more than 7/8".

 

[dedogs]

Spencer, You are starting to sound to me just a wee bit JEALOUS. If you can't make the shot...don't take it.

You also seem hell bent on painting me as an unnecessary risk taker and a liar. You are entitled to your opinion of course, just as I AM.

By the way if you had very much experience shooting ROCKCHUCKS you would know that they sometimes lay around in the sun for hours NOT MOVING!

Also by the way, I am not advocating every one use my methods. I am simply stating what works for me. And as I said before the question raised is what is your hit ratio and nothing else. I believe I have answered the question.

 

[CatShooter]

Spencer, You are starting to sound to me just a wee bit JEALOUS. If you can't make the shot...don't take it.

You also seem hell bent on painting me as an unnecessary risk taker and a liar. You are entitled to your opinion of course, just as I AM.

For a site that is dedicated to "Accurateshooting", which is presumably populated by guys who are "accurate shooters", I am surprised that members would question 2" targets at 200 yds.

Bunches of guys on this site can shoot 1/2" groups at 200 yds without sweating.

Our local group holds chicken egg matches at 200, 300, 400, and 500 yards... and there is nearly always a 500 yard shoot-off cuz all the eggs got kilt.

So what is the big deal with a 2" head at 200 yds - that is a chip shot with a decent rifle.

If you can't do that, the girls room is down the hall.

 

[csandfort]

So what is the big deal with a 2" head at 200 yds - that is a chip shot with a decent rifle.

If you can't do that, the girls room is down the hall.

My wife can make that shot. Does that mean she gets to go in the boy's room? ;D

 

[dedogs]

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D