how do they do it?

[model 12 toby]

if you shot a ground hog at 500 how tough would it be to shoot a deer at 500? ;D. sure wish I could go out west.

 

[lpreddick]

i'v joked, but some truth to it, large game hunters only need minute of refrigerator accuracy in their guns. i don't hunt game since i would feel obliged to clean and process the meat. i ate a lot of venison killed by my father but didn't enjoy the processing of the kill. wonder if the sportsman channel would do a show on ghog hunting? i bet varmint hunting guns etc would sell like hotcakes.

 

[model 12 toby]

got another one this morning at 455 yards. seems like bullet kills better at a distance. same think. band drop. leg kick.

Yeah. I think they would. It's just hard for me to believe how much easier it must be to make contact unless you had a lot of wind. I'd probably be a bit nervous too. can you imagine something that big standing there? In your mind you'd be like. "watch this" I seen a video by grey bull precision that had wayne van zwoll shooting an elk at 606 with a 140 out of a 6.5 creedmore. it didn't even know it was shot at first I don't think. went 5 yards real quick then looked around and fell over.

I use a 6.5x47 lapua for ground hog hunting. I shoot a very light load and 123 a-maxes. I did a ladder test and did not know how fast they were going what so ever but 3 shots were 3/4 at 265 yards all different charges. it's going around 2675fps.

dial up are this so far. it's sighted for 235 yards. 340 is 3.1. 500 was 8.3. 455 was 6.75. also got 1" group at 340yards. old timer at work said it doesn't matter how fast they are going. several people on here did too. goes sub sonic round 1200 yards. I just shoot ground hogs and I'm glad they drop like rocks. I want them to just make it to the ground hog.

 

[joejo]

not hijacking or anything but....
here in western pa the hog hunting has gotten a bit slow. i talked with some of my friends who farm and they have told me that alot of farmers are filling holes with fertilizer. 10 years ago you could go out to any alfalfa field and find 3 to 4 hogs. i have hunted several days this summer and only found 1.
the other hog i see are along public roads.

 

[AckleymanII]

You have to understand how the bullet expands and creates a temp wound cavity

I have seen the same thing on coyotes, problem turned out to be the bullet was not exanding on contace, but just prior to exiting the animal, thus the huge exit wound.

95g V max should change the situation with all the draggers you are getting. Plus, you should have at least 250 fps more speed.

 

[WyleWD]

Re: You have to understand how the bullet expands and creates a temp wound cavity

95g V max should change the situation with all the draggers you are getting. Plus, you should have at least 250 fps more speed.

Keith is right on the money as usual. If that rifle of yours will shoot 95gr Vmax's it'll lower your crawler rate by a bunch. Those things are just NASTY out of a 6.5-06. The carnage is just phenomenal. WD

 

[Bangs OH]

Put me down in the "not many crawlers" column, too. My groundhog rifles are 204s, .22-250s, and .221 Fireballs. The latter round is surprisingly efficient at turning a big 'hog's inside to Jello out to 275 yards or so; the others do well at (reasonable) ranges beyond that. A tip: try carrying a small mirror with you to use the sun's reflection to shine down the hole, as often a "miss" or a crawler will make it only to the bottom of a plunge hole or partially slide down the main hole before it expires. I've previously wasted more than a few hours of my life waiting for a dead groundhog to re-appear. :-[
As for the apparent lack of "targets" in EC OH: you're not imagining things, Toby. They just don't seem to be moving right now. I hunt both ends of nearby Knox County and my usual by-Father's Day total was half what it usually is. Normally, dry beanfields in the middle of June are ideal for seeing/shooting big numbers of g-hogs, but as we enter true drought conditions - plus hot weather - they go semi-dormant, only coming out in the morning to lick dew off the grass. I figured out today, as I fished the 3rd 'hog carcass in a week out of a tank at the treatment plant, that the little buggers are just plain thirsty and so desperate for water that they'll belly-flop into a tank of aerated sewage for a drink - and certain death by drowning. Doesn't sound like you could have shot out that 400 acres yet if it had an average population to begin with. I've been laying off the pups, of which their seems to be a lot of this year which is probably due to the mild spring, just on case there could be some disease epidemic in the area groundhog population, but I doubt it. Hang in there.

 

[model 12 toby]

for sure. it's weird too the one I shot at 505 and 455 dropped like rocks. tail waggin on one till it stopped. other hopped once fell over and kicked it's leg for a few then gone the same. must need to slow down and it kills them better. shot them both in the shoulder didn't wait for them to stand up. I hope to sight in for 770 this week and get ready for "the spot" I also found a place the other day to shoot 1200 or so fairly easy. I'm not sure my lapua will do it shooting it as slow as I am and screw the magnum. ;D. I'm going to try to get very compitent as I can at 770 yards first with what I got.

I'm really happy this year with the ghog population this year compared to last year. I've at least seen 1 or 2 every single morning I've been out. last year??? not even close. found another 400 acre farm to hunt on also and have to meet the guy one day next week so he can show me property lines. Got vortex scope level coming too. I think I missed 515 on thur morning due to cant. There was absolutely no wind.

 

[Nomad47]

Hey Bangs, is your wife's name Julie?