gopher calibre

[rena0040]

I'm looking to get into some serious gopher shooting this spring. I've made arrangements with a few ranchers so all I need is a good rifle, the .22 just won't cut it.
I'm looking for suggestions on calibre, i'm torn right now between a .223 and a .17 hmr. I've noticed alot of favoratism for the 22-250 and .204 but if i decide centre fire it will almost definatley be .223.
for those who shoot gopher what do you think? rimfire or centrefire. i guess i should add that it would also be my new primary target rifle (0 - 300 meters, nothing hard core)

[brett01]

centre fire is a bit pricey for rodents. Well i guess there is that cheap winchester .223 ammo. Fun though, ive hammered a few gophers with the .204 just for fun. Dosn't leave much! ive been out with guys who have .17 hmrs and let me tell you that is a wikid gopher gun. But it is still expensive if a guy is spending the whole day out there. If i were to choose go with the .223 and you can use it for coyotes to.

[brett01]

if you want to shoot over 175 yards with percision go with the centre

[roger]

i have killed 400 gophers in one day with a 1022, i guess its about kwontity or kwolity.
id go with the 17hmr it is 'no contest' to 200, wind is finicky at times, but cheaper shoots equal more shoots...

[Sputnik]

.17 HMR

Hands down the best gopher gun I've ever used.

No cripples,

Solid, consistant ballistics out to 100 - 125 yards, have made longer shots but you have to have the right conditions.

No richocets

Light to carry, ammo is cheap compared to Center Fire (not a reloader).

No recoil, can shoot it all day.

Good for the kids to try out as well, they will be very successful inside 100, and deadly at 50.

What more can I say.

.

[roger]

Originally Posted by lurch

For a true 300 yard gopher killer - a .17 Remington or a .204 Ruger.

If you have more wind I would lean towards the .204

ya true enough, but you should be able to 'spot and stalk' a little closer than that.

[aulrich]

I am typically carring 2 guns if I am walking. a 22 and either the 204 or the 17 hmr. If you get into a good field and you need either a 22 or a bank loan. Now that we started shooting off portable tables the 204 sees less walking.

The centerfires and the 17hmr are fun but in a good field the most useful is a good semi 22, and a gopher call.

[manitoban]

for a accurate fun shooter cant beat a 10/22 ruger in 22 cal.cheap and the options are endless.check out the whistlepig website and boyds.

[manitoban]

Gopher Call?

[Ron AKA]

Originally Posted by aulrich

If you get into a good field you need either a 22 or a bank loan.

I was thinking the same thing as I am gearing up to get a .22 rimfire, and have been sizing up the ammunition costs. 2.9 cents a round for Federal bulk hollow point at Wholesale Sports seems to be about as good as it gets, and one has to pay double that for some of the good stuff. This got me thinking as to what it would cost me to load up some 85 grains bullets in my .264, and save me the cost of a new gun. A quick estimate brought me to my senses as with current component costs this load would appear to cost me about 63 cents a round, not including cases. And with a 200 yard 3" pattern at best, I would not like to estimate the number required per gopher. The 6 cent rimfire rounds now look cheap, and require no reloading! Those 200-300 yard gophers can also rest easy - not as if they would be in much danger in any case.

Ron

[roger]

Originally Posted by manitoban

Gopher Call?

ya the one i have a piece of copper pipe bent a certain way and you suck air into it. it makes a peep, then i make a popping sound with the 1022

[aulrich]

Never heard of a home built one, but you can get them at wholesales but as described it just mimics thier warning call. As it turns out the instinctive response for a gopher to anothers warning call is to stand and look for the danger.

and yes hopefully followed by a wet pop.

[220swifty]

My gopher rifle is a savage 110 Tactical in 223. i handload it for fairly cheap, and it gives me a satisfying chunk and mist result at the longer ranges. It also has a lower report and heats barrels up a bit slower. I still bring out the 22 LR and get all the close ones before i start booming though. Gotta say, that is the most fun way to exterminate gophers. That and my terriers

[highwayman]

Mine's a .222 Rem in a 788 Remington with 50 gr. whatevers & 19 gr. BLC-2 ... cheap & easy... Splat ! !

[TreeGuy]

.22 mag. 'nuff said.

Tree

[sbtennex]

Originally Posted by Ron AKA

This got me thinking as to what it would cost me to load up some 85 grains bullets in my .264, and save me the cost of a new gun.

Ron

But you'll more than lose any savings when you're looking for a new barrel!!
.17HMR hands down, or maybe a .45-70 with 405gr GC........

[Cordur]

I ordered an SKS for this years gopher hunt. I figure at $220 for a crate of 1120rnds that I can live with that kind of cost.

[220swifty]

Originally Posted by Cordur

I ordered an SKS for this years gopher hunt. I figure at $220 for a crate of 1120rnds that I can live with that kind of cost.

You will need cheap ammo with that one, you will give more dirt showers than lead injections with an SKS.

[Okotokian]

confusion abounds... do you want a cheap gun and ammo to kill lots of gophers, or do you want to practice making 300 yard shots? I mean, you can walk up on gophers, so 300 yard shots are not neccesary unless you WANT to make them. So if it's the latter, forget the rimfires and get the 204. Hell, if you want to see big clouds of blood smoke, use your big game hunting rifle LOL. .270 connecting with a gopher... priceless....

[Scott N]

I agree with the guys who say get two rifles, a rimfire and a center fire. For practicality and economy, a 22 Rimfire can't be beat. I don't own one, but I think the 17 HMR is interesting. I guess it depends on how much you end up shooting, but a 17 might get expensive after a while.

I own a 222, but admit that it isn't very popular any more, but a 223 or 204 would be a great second rifle. 22s are fun, but you haven't lived until you've launched gophers a few fee in the air with a center fire. The milder centerfires like these let you spot your shots a little easier than a 22-250, 220 Swift, etc. would. A 223 would probably be the most economical choice.

[nekred]

Get a 22 LR scope it up and have a ball....

I have a 22 hiawatha single shot 22 that I bought for $35 and put a scope on for 100 bucks and have killed thousnads of gophers....

i decided to get a bit fancier and be able to take a buddy so I bought a brno .22 in a McMillan anschutz stock and have reached out 200 yards on gophers quite often.... It sometimes takes 4 or 5 shots but at 3 pennies a round who cares!.... I bought 20 boxes of 550 round federal ammo from same lot number and get good accuracy!... the odd flier but no worries.... it is only 3 pennies...

I got a savage 17 hmr and when I get the new trigger it will reach even further.... more expensive but still fun!....

It is awesome practice learning holdover and how to read the wind on 150 yard shots....

Totally gets you read for long range centre fire shooting at fraction of cost!... If you can hit gopher with .22 at 150 yards easy to flatten a deer at 300!....with a 270...

Of course last year snuffing gophers with a bow and small game heads was pure evil fun

[brett01]

600 nitro nothing more nothing less! Haha yah and harpooning them is awesome bow practice, actually gophers are probably the best shooting practice there is.

[BL Ranch]

i have 2 .223s and 2 22-250s but my favorite gopher gitter is my cz varmit barreled .204 it has the recoil and noise of the .223 and the reach of the 22-250

[aulrich]

One more thing to add to the kit list, especially when you want to stretch it out.

http://www.aeroaces.com/bench1.htm

So useful I hardly go to a formal range anymore.


Not that you will want to hual it a long way but when you start playing around at 300+, it's alot more comfortable and steady than liying on the ground with a bi-pod.

[gube]

My favorite prairie poodle medicine are my 204's. A savage 12 VLP and a BTVSS. There's nothing like launching them up in the air at 3 or 400 yds and seeing the impacts through the scope. I have a ruger 10-22 for the close stuff. If you reload absolutely go with the 204. If you don't, go with the 223.

[25-06rem.model700]

go with a .223 and buy army surplus ammo its cheap i think cabelas you can get 2000rounds for under 200 bucks probley not the most accurate i heard that the shoulder degree is slightly different though and people have had their bolts fly by their ear but probley just a load of crap

[aulrich]

SAMMI (The manufacture's standards board) has identified shooting 5.56 nato in 223 guns as a dangerous combination.

Let alone firing hardball in gopher fields, a good way to get unwanted holes in stuff.

[BuckBuckBuck]

I have progessed in shooting gophers from a single shott 22 lr, to the ruger 10-22, to the 17hmr, and lately its been the .223 remington.

I still prefer to bring the .17 and the .223, but my 22 rimfires just seem to collect dust nowadays.

The .17 in the popular savage laminate/stainless with the thumbhole stock and ventilated stock is such a pretty firearm. Its a quiet, 0-recoil tack-driver that puts the fun back into gopher-hunting. Plus it feels very sweet in you hands. You cant go wrong with one of these.

On the other hand, I just loaded up the .223 with barnes varmint-grenades and shot the first gopher of 2008 this weekend. My buddies were watching it through binos and said it turned into a fine dust. Almost like it siezed to exist. very cool. i actually thought i missed it at first.

My buddies Steyr 50HS


it's only 10 bucks a shot...gophers are worth that aren't they?



Just kidding...only did that once. I use my sks a lot.