Groundhog Hunting

**dieselguy624** · June 16th, 2011, 08:06 PM

If you can work the soybean fields. All the newly sprouted tender young beans are like groundhog crack! They can't stay away from them. If it gets hot the action will slow down during the heat of the day.

Good Luck!

**leplat** · June 16th, 2011, 09:08 PM

Would a .22 mag or a .17hmr be better for hogs? I went a few times last year with my fav rifle (.270 ruger m77 hawkeye ,graduation gift, my dad got a m77 in .270 for his grad gift for high school as well.) But sadly never got the bead on one. I know im dead on at 200 yards so

. Thats gonna do some damage!!

**MicroMonkey** · June 16th, 2011, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by Pector55

Any tips???

Find a nice spot, and sit still for a while, or very slowly creep the field. They run like hell when you spook them, and down the hole they go (they are never usually very far from their hole). Have fun. I love doing it.

**SharpShooter88** · June 16th, 2011, 10:29 PM

I plan on trying it sooner rather than later. I need to get out and talk to some farmers. I know where there are a few local farmers with some soy bean fields, they probably wouldn't mind me blasting a couple.

**DennisPA** · June 17th, 2011, 01:57 PM

I'v always had my best luck just about an hour before dark. Like was said before be still if they see you it's over. Even after cracking off your shot stay on the scope and be ready for a second. They can be tough like critters and might need another, and if by some fluke you miss your ready. If they have not been shot at before they don't know what happened or where it came from. There is a good chance you will be able to get a second shot off. Be safe and have fun!

**Fitch** · June 19th, 2011, 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by leplat

Would a .22 mag or a .17hmr be better for hogs? I went a few times last year with my fav rifle (.270 ruger m77 hawkeye ,graduation gift, my dad got a m77 in .270 for his grad gift for high school as well.) But sadly never got the bead on one. I know im dead on at 200 yards so

. Thats gonna do some damage!!

I'd suggest getting some sort of centerfire and reloading the ammo. A .221 Fireball loaded with 34g bullets, or a .20 Vartag, or a .204 Ruger, are close to perfect for hunting farms. I hunt ground hogs with:

.17HMR got one with it this year. Works in the backyard (I'm rural) but not on farms. The cartridge results in too many crawl-offs to suit me on GH bigger than 6 or 7 lbs. The quietest of my GH rifles, and probably the least likely to riccochet.

.22 Hornet (CZ527 with 3-9xx40 Leupold) shooting 34g Midway DogTown bullets pushed by Lil'Gun. Longest shot with this rifle, so far, 167 yards. With the 34g DogTown or the 35g V-Max this drops them right in their shadow. Not too loud. I've shot 8 with it this year.

.17 Remington, 4-10x40AO Leupold shooting 20g V-Max. Longest shot with this rifle so far is 231 yards. I like this in rocky pastures and fields because the bullet stops at the first thing it hits, and never comes out the other side of a ground hog. It's quite loud and the wind blows the bullet off course, but on calm days it's deadly out to ~300 yards. Shot 6 with it last year, 2 so far this year.

.223 Remington, CZ527 American Sporter with a 4.5-14x40AO Leupold shooting 40g Nosler Ballistic Tips. This rifle is a ground hogs worst nightmare. It shoots the nosler bullets into tiny little groups with all holes touching @ 100 yards, has a point blank range +/- 1" out to ~250 yards, and only requires holding the cross hairs on the GH head or level with the top of it's back at 300 yards to drop them right in their tracks. The terminal performance of the 40g Nosler Ballistic Tip is awesome. You hit them, they dead, period. The gun is light, easy to carry around and seems to stick to my hand when I reach in the safe. It's my Go-To ground hog rifle. I've shot 8 with it so far this year.

.22-250 Savage LRPV. I bought it to shoot ground hogs wayyyyyyy iout there but so far I can't see them wayyyyyyy out there with my old eyes. It has a 9" twist barrel, I'll probably rebarrel it with a 14" twist and shoot 40g NBT or 55g NBT out of it to see if I can get more range than with the .223. This one has a 5-20x44SF BDC Monarch on it. It weighs 13 lbs and is a beat to carry around so I haven't taken it out this year.

.243Win, Savage Model 10 that I rebarreled. Has a 6-24x40 Bushnell Banner on it. Shoots 55g Nosler Ballistic Tips into tiny groups @ close to 4,000 fps. Better for wind drift but really loud, and heavier (10 lbs) to carry around.

If I were to buy a ground hog rifle today, I'd probably buy a CZ527 American sporter in .204 Ruger.

Fitch

**zb338** · June 19th, 2011, 10:06 AM

I use a Sako .264 with 120 grain Sierra bullets. Works
great on Chucks. Throws up a lot of dirt when you miss.
That way you know where you missed.

Zeke

**toadyoforangeville** · June 20th, 2011, 09:21 AM

This has been a bad year for toady lol, between work and house work i haven't got out. Other than a walk behind the house and all i saw was 3 turkeys and 5 deer. If I dont work saturday maybe the gf and i will give a few gophers hell

' cant wait to see what my 223s with 68gr bthp's will do

**Brutus2006** · June 20th, 2011, 12:33 PM

I carry a 22-250 and a 17 HMR with me and a comfy portable chair strapped to my backpack. this lets me sit and glass for them. The 17 I use for the shots out to 125 yds then the 22 for the longer shots. Don't seem to be able to hit them past 315 yds but working on it. Tagged 132 of them last season and 133 the year before. Would have more, but don't hit them all.