Ground hog hunt ?

[smoothy]

I am wanting to organize a "whistle pig" hunt for this summer. Does anyone have an idea for different hunt formats. Ive had no experience with these competitive hunts. Specifically, rules determining the winner and setting up the hunt in general. I know it can't be as involved as the coyote hunts we have. We want to know what works the best or what different options exist.

[crowsnest2002]

I'd go most hogs shot and heaviest pig . There is a place called Keystone Country Store in Franklin County and you bring in your g-hogs and they weigh them and chalk one up for you. At the end of the season they divy out prizes (guns, ammo, hunting equip) to the people that had the largest recorded weights and most shot (maybe a g-hog tail would be acceptable for counting shot groundhog). There is an entry fee, but how else would they be able to give away guns and ammo and such????

[djturnz]

Reddings Hardware in Gettysburg has a Biggest Hog Contest every year. You pay $10 before hand and then if you get a big one bring it in to be weighed. Someone told me they keep it in a freezer until a bigger one is submitted, but I don't know. I don't know what won last year but supposedly the one that won the year before was only 13lbs or so.

[Tomcat088]

Good grief those are some pretty big dogs. We don't get them that big here, but I knew I had seen some big ones up in PA while visiting my sister up there. I just want to bring up one point, isn't trying to get the heaviest dog a bit biased? I'm a varmint hunter myself and like to shoot the .223, .204, and .22-250 for varmints because of the nature of unknown distances and the flat shooting of the .204 and .22-250. The trouble is that many of these calibers don't leave very much of the dog to collect, alot of the time not even a tail. I've see praire dogs (I know much smaller than the hogs) explode from a well placed .17 HMR round too, although not nearly the same way as the other calibers. I'm just saying, it's hard to take weights on these animals when half of them is other places, and that limits people to mainly .22's. Is that what most of ya'll use on ground hogs?

[WMG]

biased .... because we weigh them? .......... well they aint got any "points" to count ...... so we weigh em .......... place i hunt weighs your 5 heaviest ghogs .... combines that toal ..... and there ya have it
.......... i shoot mainly a 223 with bt's ...... and it doesnt explode them ...... makes a hole for sure ....... but it aint like they explode .

[smoothy]

Our hunt is still taking shape. It is though an intact carcass as one requirement. I don't want a bag of bones, fur and guts brought to weigh-in. So realize a little common sense. If you blow one up tuff, go shoot another and use a 22mag. or cool your load somewhat there slayer. Just don't start crying already please.,,,, Apparently those Texas whistle tits can't keep it together and fall apart under the high speed calibers. Our hogs Tom get blown apart with deer calibers 243, 270, and when I send my 7mm mag. out to greet one. They spin some of the coolest airborne cartwheels with the high footpounders. Easier taking far away standers with the flat, tight speeders. My hog huntin buddy is the 220 swift.,,,,, Payout is possibly like this. $5 registration fee, $10 entry fee totalling $15. All entry fees will be awarded. Hunter must be registered 5 days before hunter's groundhog can be brought to check-in. Carcass must be fresh. This rule is to guard against hunting first then joining the hunt after hog is shot. Probably a July / Aug hunt with awards given Sept 2, 2007. You'll be able to monitor hunt statistics on our club website. Http://tubmilltroutclub.org

[Tomcat088]

Lol, I ain't crying about it because I'm not even going to be in the hunt, I'm in Texas. I just was thinking about some of the rounds that I do use and sometimes they don't leave that much. The .22-250, .204, and .243 AI are much worse than the .223 in terms of "explosive hits." It's not just the load that makes it do that, it's the design of pretty much all of the bullets, they're made to do that. When you hit an animal with a light bullet that is moving at around 4,000 fps or faster, it's devastating. Anyway, it was just something that I'd ask about for some of the people that might shoot those calibers.

[Karys]

Lol, I ain't crying about it because I'm not even going to be in the hunt, I'm in Texas. I just was thinking about some of the rounds that I do use and sometimes they don't leave that much. The .22-250, .204, and .243 AI are much worse than the .223 in terms of "explosive hits." It's not just the load that makes it do that, it's the design of pretty much all of the bullets, they're made to do that. When you hit an animal with a light bullet that is moving at around 4,000 fps or faster, it's devastating. Anyway, it was just something that I'd ask about for some of the people that might shoot those calibers.

The big fast varmint calibers do lots of damage on groundhogs here, but they don't vaporize them like they would a praire dog. Groundhogs are quite a bit bigger and can take more punishment.

I have a friend that shoots groundhogs with a high end twelve gauge, fully rifled slug gun. There isn't much left when he hits them with that, but they pretty much stay intact when hit with typical varmint calibers.

djturnz, you know who I'm talking about.

[Tomcat088]

Thank you Karys for addressing my question and not accusing me of bitching. I also appreciate smoothy answering his post later on so that it kind of looked like he answered my question the first time. Yeah, prairie dogs definately go all to hell when you shoot them with the fast moving varmint calibers. I've shot a couple of dogs with .300 winmag, sometimes it shoots through them, and sometimes there's nothing left, depending on the bullet and what it catches first. With the right bullet, I can see how things would be wild with the 7mm mag. I hit a coyote in the face the other day with a .300 winmag and it turned him inside out, lol. I have pics that I'll send in PM or something if you need proof. Best of luck in ya'lls hunt, and thanks again Karys of not accusing me of a bunch of BS.