Groundhog Hunting?

270 Deer Slayer

Anyone hunt groundhogs with .270,.243, or a 22lr. I want to get into it and try shooting them at far distances. These calibers would be the ones I would have available to use for groundhogs. Any kind of ammo recomended to shoot at 200 yards plus? Also anyone ever eat a groundhog?? Just Curious on how they tasted. Thank, 270 Deer Slayer

"If it's brown, it's down"

daddo

I know there will be an arguement on this one but, the .270 is too large. The 22lr too drifty and light. The .243 perfect with a 60-80 grain bullet. I reload, so I couldn't suggest a brand of ammo..
My expierience with factory ammo. is not good, and for accurate shots to 200 yds, try several brands till you find one that gives constant groups- zero on that and don't change brands. Nothings worse than spending a day shooting dirt. Good Luck!

hawaiipighunter

270 deer slayer,


i have hunted "woodchucks" with a 243 and the 270 with 100 gr winchester ammo. at the time i had my ruger 77 243 with garden variety 100 grain ammo. most shots were under the 200 yard mark. dad used a ruger no 1 with winchester 100 gr ammo.

on one occasion i had "woodchuck" i think th ewhole key is to eat them in aseaon when they are eating well. it can be said that game tastes like what it eats. in summertime a woodchucks diet is mostly grass, so not too bad to eat then.

if you have a favorite 270 or any deer gun for that matter, why not use it on woodchucks? its a great chance to shoot your deerguin more on something besides paper targets. im sure that if you hunt with a 7mm mag that your shoulder will not love you for it but hey!!


just my take.

kyle

groundhog devastation

I've probably killed more groundhogs with a 243 and 22 than your truck could haul in 10 trips stacked 47 high!! The 243 with 36 grains of 3031, BR-2 primer and a 75 grain Speer HP is a great combination! Not as good as a 22-250 with 40 grains of Win. 760, CCI-BR-2 primer and 52 grain Gold Match Speer but since they don't make that bullet anymore I'll leave it up to you to find the right one for your gun! Yes, I've eaten them! Tastes like rabbit just a whole lot more meat on them rear legs! And young ones are more tender! As far as what they eat, they eat grass all their lives! They hibernate in winter (I have killed them in all 12 monts of the year) are clean animals, and provide wonderful targets!! GHD

v35

If you're going to shoot groundhogs at 250 yards or less get a Hornet or Bee and handload max loads for it. Anything larger is too much gun & too much blast. With a good outfit and some experience you'll be able to stretch the effective range to 300+ yards.If you hunt alone, you wont be able to spot your hits and misses through the blast of even a .222. You wont need a repeater. A single shot like the Winchester LoWall is easier to load and retrieve brass from in the prone position. Equally important are a set trigger, a 10-15x scope and a bipod. Without a good trigger you'd just be kidding yourself. If you're going to shoot at greater distances look at the 22-250 but know the blast and concussion are great. You will soon find the challenge is not in the caliber but in trying to find a steady enough rest and light enough trigger to keep the crosshairs on a 200-300 yard chuck throughout the hammer fall.
For shorter ranges if you dont handload, look at the new .17 HRM. Members of this board are reporting surprising effectiveness on chucks
below 200 yards

DancesWithSheep

quote:
[I've probably killed more groundhogs with a 243 and 22 than your truck could haul in 10 trips stacked 47 high!!... Yes, I've eaten them!... They hibernate in winter (I have killed them in all 12 monts of the year)...


GHD: Some day you'll have to explain how you got your GB name. [:D]


Resident Wittgensteinian

pabooger

I have a Ruger 22 Hornet,stainless,laminated stock, target rifle that I won a few years back. It's a very nice gun but it doesn't get a whole lot of use. Most of the land owners in farm country around here will not give you permission to hunt groundhogs on there property.
Id love to replace the trigger, add on a nice bipod, and attach a good scope and kill some groundhogs. Right now I have used it for fall Turkey hunting, and Dustin did kill his first deer with it, with a well placed shot.
One downfall with the hornet is the ammo isn't cheap and I haven't as yet got into the reloading game.
Ive thought about trading it for something Id use more, but darn I hate to part with any of my guns, especially one that only cost me $10.00 bucks for the ticket.





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270 Deer Slayer

Hey, uncle tim, is there any good places around there to hunt them? What about that big hill side going up to the super slab?

"If it's brown, it's down"

pabooger

Yep thats a good spot, the owner will give you permission to hunt there, but the problem is everyone else hunts there too, they kill most of them off pretty quick!


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270 Deer Slayer

O, I didint relize that a lot of people hunted groundhogs.

"If it's brown, it's down"

pabooger

Not a whole lot just a certain few who are darned good shots!!![:D]
Me excluded!!


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270 Deer Slayer

LOL... What a good joke.

"If it's brown, it's down"

270 Deer Slayer

Nevermind, thought you wrote, me included.

"If it's brown, it's down"

pabooger

Maybe we will have to trade Ground Hog Devistation a day or two of hunting the varmints at his place in Virginia, for a couple days hunting deer up the Hollow![:)]


PaBooger was here!

faldum

If you must, be a "sport" and use
a Daisy, or at most, .22 BB or CB caps.
Put your "stalking skills" to the test.
Indiscriminate slaughter in the name of
"sport" or "target practice" is pathetic and
certainly not worth boasting about.
If one is truly hungry and in need of
food, survival is a different matter.

ps The old excuse of a horse/dog/pig etc.
breaking a leg after falling into a marmot
hole is a convoluted justification for pursuing
such a cowardly practice.



I got your junior...

pabooger

Stirrin this morning eh Faldum? [:D]


PaBooger was here!

sharkman8810

I hunt groundhogs quite a bit. I use a .22 mag. If you start asking landowners to hunt on there land and use a deer rifle they might get a little jumpy as u are using a big gun for a little critter. They are easier to get permission if you are using just a ".22". Also you become a better hunter if you only got a max of about 100 yards. You can use a .22 lr if you use stingers then i would 60-70 yards is a max range for a good shot. You can go to 50 yards on a groundhog if you use velocitors or cci mini mags. Also play with shotguns makes it a challenge too. Farmers dont get as jumpy if you use a shotgun and that can be fun playing tag around barn corners with a shotgun. Ask the landowner what kind of gun is permitted, they dont want cannons going off, and there is no need. After a couple of days out it wont be long till you get good on sneaking and killing them, without a big gun.

groundhog devastation

If you want to make it real tough on the close up shots, use your bow!! The only bad part of this is that a $3.00 arrow and a $5.00 broadhead being dragged down a hole gets real expensive!!! I've only shot 2 animals with my bow and one was a skunk and the other was, what else? A GROUNDHOG!!! A great sneak and a 20 yard broadside presentation. A Razorback 5 broadhead and a brand new Easton 2115! Perfect shot! Right behind the shoulder! He ran to the den with arrow sticking out both sides, it hung on either side of den opening, I couldn't get there fast enough to kick him out of the way and just as I got there the arrow folded fom either side and down the hole he went!!! $8.00 up a groundhogs butt!!! Rifles or shotguns are cheaper but the thrill is in the hunt!! That thrill don't work no more for me!! GHD

Rob Greene

I've always used a .22 lr or a .22 mag. I enjoy seeing how close I can stalk them to get a good, clean shot. Of course, I live in Maine, so there aren't any real long range shots around here, for the most part. And they do kind of taste like rabbit. Or taste like chicken. Your choice.

**It is your right to posess a firearm. In case of questions, please refer to amendment 2, United States Constitution.**

spiny

Awww! I like Groundhogs. Granted, I have a fence to protect my editables. Some say they will eat your garden bare, but I am not convinced. Neighbors have no fence and no missing veggies either. I don't see a reason to hunt these little critters. They eat dandilions and clover for dinner! How bad can that be? They are cool sentrys to see on the road and funny as hell when they run!
Shoot rats for practice guys! They are smaller and run faster.
JMHO

Rob Greene

Hey Spiny, I like groundhogs, too! I enjoy seeing them run to their holes when you * them driving on a road. I like deer, too. I enjoy seeing them by the roads and watching them run for cover if they get spooked. And I love to hunt them! Rats are fun to shoot, but the town dump where we used to hunt them has been closed and covered for a quite a few years now, and before that it was closed to rat shooting for "safety reasons", even though i can't recall a single incident where someone was hurt while or as a result of rat hunting. Darn anti-hunting liberals and their ilk.

**It is your right to posess a firearm. In case of questions, please refer to amendment 2, United States Constitution.**

RobOz

I like the 25-06 AI with 75 gr V-Max for splat and that. Now if I got too stetch the 1/4 bore out, I like 100-115 NBT.

savage170

When I lived in Missouri dad use to have a savage 99 22 hi-power that rifle has gotten it's fair share worked wonders on coyotes too. My brother has it now been trying to trade him something for years to get it.

Spartacus

quote:ps The old excuse of a horse/dog/pig etc.
breaking a leg after falling into a marmot
hole is a convoluted justification for pursuing
such a cowardly practice.


NO, it's simple economics. My cutting horses are worth around $5K each.
22lr is $25 a brick.
simple economics!

n/a

Digging back seven years Rob? [:D]

ripcord55

I use a 22mag for keeping our pastures cleared from them . have horses as well as my 2 amish neighbors. found that keeping numbers down they tend to burrow in hedge rows and woods. we don't have a problem with that.but unknown to most general public groundhog holes are a great fear of any horse owners. also the way i've tasted breaded fried groundhog taste like chicken , but only cook the young ones older are tough and chewy. my job years ago was skinning and cutting up for pot. I've always thought they were very stinky,made me lose interest in eating mostly.

MBK

I took this above a dead prairie dog.
Can you see the Subaru with a shooter's bench set up by the tailgate?
215 yards. 22 Long Rifle, 12x scope on a Marlin 60.

MMOMEQ-55

When I go to see my kids up in Pa I always take my Encore in a 14" 223 barrel. This is good out to about 250 yards. To many hills to take a shot farther. Most are less than 100 yards. This one dairy farmer loves to see me come up and kill off some of the gh.

moose56

All three are groundhog takers, the .22lr would be my laast choice. I had a .243 for years and combined with a HP bullet, I've taken them out to 500+ yards. The .270 is an excellant choice with 130 grains pills and it is a flat shooter.

Moose

wallbanger

quote:Originally posted by moose56
All three are groundhog takers, the .22lr would be my laast choice. I had a .243 for years and combined with a HP bullet, I've taken them out to 500+ yards. The .270 is an excellant choice with 130 grains pills and it is a flat shooter.

Moose


The local USCS or farm office had a Groundhog iradication program one year and offered 500.00 dollars for the most groundhog tails ,I won it with a 243 Rem Varmint and 149 tails ,I now use a 17 rem center fire ,it has the same brass as a 223 but shoots a 25 grain bullet,I've killed lots of hogs 200 yds. and beyond and one coyote about 300.Its a safe gun for that sport ,a 25 grain bullet traveling a 3800 ft a sec when it hit the ground there nothing left to ricochet but I wouldn't give a dime for a 17 rimfire.