Gopher shooting

[13Fox]

I made it back to Wyoming for my first business trip after moving away and to the Pit of Dispair. I was able to get out to one of my very favorite places one evening to shoot chizzlers (gophers).

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/13Fox/Gros Ventre/IMG_0387.jpg?t=1340849024

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/13Fox/Gros Ventre/IMG_0386.jpg?t=1340849244

[Prince Humperdink]

Nice!I haven't been out shooting gophers or prairie dogs in a long time,but My last outing took out many,but that M1 carbine gets expensive!!!

[seaninmich]

Sorry, gotta ask. What is the difference between a gopher and prairie dog?

[Prince Humperdink]

Sorry, gotta ask. What is the difference between a gopher and prairie dog?

gophers are small,actually,I refer to ground squirrels as"gophers".

[Orlando]

Stunning view

[buckshot85]

gophers and ground squirrels are different though.

[Prince Humperdink]

gophers and ground squirrels are different though.

I know,but that's how Montanans roll.

[buckshot85]

i completely understand. ;)

[Rick B]

Here are Ohio Gophers. I am 6'3" at 240 so as you can see he is not little and was every bit of 20 pounds. Them little ones you have are a sport at that distance and more enjoyable when you get one. Rick B

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/6956/sizedhog.jpg

[buckshot85]

ah Rick, what's gonna happen now next Feb. 2nd? we're all screwed.

[Orlando]

Those Ohio whistle-pigs can get good size to them and tough as nails

[13Fox]

These gophers are about 1 1/2"-2" wide and 6"-7" tall. I shoot them from about 50 yards to about 150 yards. The tough part is finding them at the longer ranges due to their size. Wind was tough that evening making the longer shots quite tough. Not impossible, but tough...Sometimes having to hold into the wind by up to two gopher widths.

Prairie dogs are considerably bigger at about 3"-4" wide and 10"-14" tall. We shoot them about 100 yards to 500 yards. They are easier to find but the only trip out a few days after the gopher shoot yielded dismal results. Either the area we were at had the plague go through or lots of oil field workers found our honey hole and shot them out. Good day of prairie dog shooting is 300-400 rounds. These are not the really big towns you read about. Much more of a spot and stalk operation, but the stalk always takes place from inside the truck!

[M1orNone]

I'll never forget shooting one particular gopher, years ago.

I was driving this old logging road in my GMC, looking for gophers. Great spot to find them, as usual. Seems like everyone stalked the same place, year after year, but the gophers were everywhere.

Anyway, I'm idling along in granny-low. About 25 yards up the road, I hear the trademark whistle. Seeing nothing through the ol' Tasco 10x50's, I continue on. I finally reach the same spot the little bastard had been teasing me from. On the side of the hill was the freshly-dug hole, probably 6" in diameter.

I grab the ol' .220 Swift off the seat, and make ready. Mind you, the hole in the hill is only maybe, maybe 10 feet away. It was a dumb thing to do, I guess you could say. 45gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, near max load, which shot very well in my rifle. Yadda yadda...

The fargin' little SOB decides to poke his head out of the hole, and stare at me. "All right, you little F-stick, I got ya now", I think to myself.

I line up on him.

BOOM! $auto$


Gopher shit, guts, blood, and fuzz all over the door of the truck, up my face, on my shirt, on the back of the side mirror. Yay Nosler!$vomit$

[13Fox]

Ballistic Tips, VMAXs, and BlitzKings are oh so fun!

[tljames]

I "had" notice the past tense, an excellent place for shooting prairie dogs. Alas the fellow who allowed me to hunt them sold the place. There's a "No Hunting, No Trespassing" sign on the gate now and the new owner never hesitated when he said NO!
I don't blame him, hell if I'd spent the cash to buy a place the people allowed in would be limited.
Yet it was a LOT of fun. I shot those 'lil rascals with a SKS, 270 Win, 30-06, a 22-250 , 22 LR, but my favorite was my 17 HMR. It has a Sweet 17 BSA scope on it and on a calm day it was easy to smoke dogs out to 300 yds with that 'lil rifle!
Now I drive by the place and the population has increased greatly and I swear just last week when I went by, one of the 'lil beggers was flipping me the bird!:(
Oh well someday (maybe) I'll find another "town" and be able to get permission to hunt them.

[Prince Humperdink]

I "had" notice the past tense, an excellent place for shooting prairie dogs. Alas the fellow who allowed me to hunt them sold the place. There's a "No Hunting, No Trespassing" sign on the gate now and the new owner never hesitated when he said NO!
I don't blame him, hell if I'd spent the cash to buy a place the people allowed in would be limited.
Yet it was a LOT of fun. I shot those 'lil rascals with a SKS, 270 Win, 30-06, a 22-250 , 22 LR, but my favorite was my 17 HMR. It has a Sweet 17 BSA scope on it and on a calm day it was easy to smoke dogs out to 300 yds with that 'lil rifle!
Now I drive by the place and the population has increased greatly and I swear just last week when I went by, one of the 'lil beggers was flipping me the bird!:(
Oh well someday (maybe) I'll find another "town" and be able to get permission to hunt them.
Hopefully His land gets totally overrun and they strip all the vegetation and His livestock all breaks their legs in the holes.