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Groundhogs
- Thread starter asp
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bdb
NES Member
These 2 little buggers found a way into my garden through the fence a couple of years back. 20 yards, a pellet to the head each about 20 seconds apart and the broccoli was once again safe 
Next big one I drop I plan to try and cook it and try it. Gophers?? No way in hell, they are just rats that live in holes in the ground, I spent my youth popping them in Saskatchewan. Squirrels and chucks I would have no problem eating. That said I have never tried a woodchuck but have eaten plenty of squirrels.
Next big one I drop I plan to try and cook it and try it. Gophers?? No way in hell, they are just rats that live in holes in the ground, I spent my youth popping them in Saskatchewan. Squirrels and chucks I would have no problem eating. That said I have never tried a woodchuck but have eaten plenty of squirrels.
I grew up in the '90s hunting woodchucks on my grandparents farm in upstate NY. I have great memories of walking through the fields for hours looking for them. Would love to find some space in Mass to do the same.
I always loved the 22 Hornet for woodchuck hunting. I don't think it's a really common caliber but it's a bit bigger than the 22mag and let's you reach out and touch 'em from a pretty good distance. Smaller than the .222 but big enough to get the job done. I used my father's 22 Hornet rifle so much he considers it mine and is holding it for me until I want to take possession of it. I think one summer I got close to 40 woodchucks with it.
I always loved the 22 Hornet for woodchuck hunting. I don't think it's a really common caliber but it's a bit bigger than the 22mag and let's you reach out and touch 'em from a pretty good distance. Smaller than the .222 but big enough to get the job done. I used my father's 22 Hornet rifle so much he considers it mine and is holding it for me until I want to take possession of it. I think one summer I got close to 40 woodchucks with it.
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Walking on my buddies property with my 12 gauge shotgun, taking down squirrels nests and they occasional squirrel, from the corner of my eye I see a ground hog running across the field, so I took a few shots at it but it was out of range, so I make it over to the hole and get down to take a closer look at it, and it was a lot more than just a tunnel there was a whole cavity like a mini cavern, so I unloaded a half dozen rounds into the void, I knew I was not going to get him but I am sure he had one hell of a headache, I was hoping to see him pop out somewhere nearby but to no avail, and that was a huge field I can't imagine the tunnel system.
Dean
Dean
bdb
NES Member
Found a gopher hole on the hill behind my house. Right where I plan on putting the garden. Also a clean shot from the bathroom window.![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
And to answer your question (before it was edited), Yes they are, at least in my mind
Windows make nice rests ![[mg]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/036.gif "Machine Gun [mg]")
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The best place to take a shot is, a house with a widows watch.
Dean
Dean
asp
NES Member
22 lr and north of 1400fps. The ones I have now are not actually even as good as I thought. They are CMP bulk ammo, 32 gr rem and I bet they don't get over 1100fps.
I just need to try a few more stores. It's crazy how hard to find 22 has been for the last year or so.
I just need to try a few more stores. It's crazy how hard to find 22 has been for the last year or so.
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Here is a groundhog rig if I have ever seen one, it's a 50 cal with a 22 center fire for comparison, one look at the muzzle and they keel over.LOL
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ccm75
NES Member
We used to hang out at my buddies farm house and he a chuck that used to live under his woodhouse and he'd come out and sit in the gravel driveway in the sun. One afternoon we spotted him from the second floor apartment window. My friend grabbed his model 37 DS and loaded a slug. We opened the window and he tried to snipe him from the kitchen window....Missed and left a nice hole in driveway...! We had a good laugh on that one.
And a day or two later I was stalking the same gopher with a .357 revolver trying to get the drop on him in the driveway...I was sneaking across a big farmers porch gun at the ready sneaking this critter when the local school bus came by....every head on the bus looking at me with big pistol in hand sneaking across a porch trying to shoot a woodchuck in a gravel driveway....
And no swat team response...as this was back in the day when people knew better...........
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My buddy had a barn with the hay stored on the second floor, just like in they old days before those huge round white plastic wrapped ones, any way I use to hangout there with the hay door open and the bails of hay arranged like a recliner, and just sit there looking over the meadow just waiting for something to move, it was a great vantage point, the problem is that I would fall asleep half the time in my hay lazyboy, who know how many opportunities I missed as I was snoozing. LOL
EC1
NES Member
I live next to a golf course and the owners have asked me to take them out when I see them but to stick to 22 if possible because it's quieter than .223 or others. Got my first one yesterday with my 10/22. I snuck up from behind a tree for 200 yards crossing a field and nailed it from 30 yards in the lungs and it just flopped over. Clean kill, dead in seconds. The thing that shocked me was that there was no exit wound. If I was much further away I don't know that it would have been as clean a kill. What's the max effective range of a 22 on a woodchuck/groundhog? 50 yards?
Pics or it didn't happen, right?
22lr high velocity should be good to at least 75 yards maybe a bit more to 100 yards, but like everything else, location, location, location.
I've killed dozens and dozens of groundhogs in MA using .223 and .17HMR. In both those calibers sometimes you do not get pass-through. Most of my kills were made with a .223 from 100 yards or more, I was using match ammo, but it was heavy 75gr. More than half the times there was no exit, but the groundhog didn't even move after being hit, like a lightening bolt. I just think the density of the animal, bones, or pelt causes tumble. The same, and more so, for the .17HMR, sometimes you just get no exit. In either case, if you hit bone (such as headshot) there is definitely a big entry/exit/who-knows hole! I once shot a large groundhog at 25 yards with .223 and couldn't find an exit OR entrance hole! There was no blood at all, just a large floppy animal. I pretty much think it destroyed most bones/organs inside but the fat sealed up the hole, I have seen this in bears and other animals. Many of the .223 victims that I threw away or moved were extremely "floppy" after being hit, so I figure bones were definitely destroyed inside, causing bullet not to exit.
So just because the bullet didn't exit don't assume that it doesn't have enough power. I am pretty sure my .223 is deadly out of 20" barrel bolt action well out to 500 yards, even if I don't get exit wounds at 100. The same rifle has killed deer (also with no exit) with same ammo at 150 yards, and they fell instantly just the same.
Don't worry about exit, worry about if the animal went down. If it did, keep using it.
So just because the bullet didn't exit don't assume that it doesn't have enough power. I am pretty sure my .223 is deadly out of 20" barrel bolt action well out to 500 yards, even if I don't get exit wounds at 100. The same rifle has killed deer (also with no exit) with same ammo at 150 yards, and they fell instantly just the same.
Don't worry about exit, worry about if the animal went down. If it did, keep using it.
asp
NES Member
This is a really good point... I'm at 4 hits and 3 confirmed kills. 2 head, one lungs and they have each flopped over dead before they knew what happened. The 4th was a bad hit but knocked it down and it got up and ran into its hole before I could take another shot.
strangenh
NES Member
Your match .22 is somewhere around 90ftlbs. of soft lead slamming into the critter. It will do the job with a good shot. Airgunners say you can take groundhogs with anything over 30ftlbs, with good shot placement. So there you go. Accuracy counts for more than some more ftlbs.
They are tough, tho. I hit one upper chest, center, with Velocitor at about 25 yards. It was crawling away (pretty quickly) when I ran over and finished it with another shot. The first shot didn't even exit. They are balls of muscle. Pure digging machines.
They are tough, tho. I hit one upper chest, center, with Velocitor at about 25 yards. It was crawling away (pretty quickly) when I ran over and finished it with another shot. The first shot didn't even exit. They are balls of muscle. Pure digging machines.
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Groundhog down! One of the three that needed to go. I was leaving the house this morning and from my truck saw him stick his head out of his hole. Stopped the truck and grabbed AR from passenger seat. waited.
soon.jpg
Sure enough after a few minutes he came all the way out of the hole and stood straight up. Opened door, got out, swung over hood and he took off running. One shot and dropped. Last picture is from kill looking back up toward truck.
Great way to start the day!
soon.jpg
Sure enough after a few minutes he came all the way out of the hole and stood straight up. Opened door, got out, swung over hood and he took off running. One shot and dropped. Last picture is from kill looking back up toward truck.
Great way to start the day!
Exactly! Ideally, a bullet will dump all it's energy inside a target. The trick is to use a bullet with enough energy. The only time an exit wound helps is when you have to track the animal you can see what the blood looks like to estimate where the hit was. Of course, nobody is tracking a groundhog, but for trophies or edible targets.
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