Groundhogs 2016

["J"]

Well after going out 4 times, today (of all days) was a good one... Saw a total of 3 and connected on 2 of them, one male and one female.... Female was about 115 yards along a tree line in a field and the male was about 10 yards at a dump site on another farm... The male saw me went back into its hole and then stuck his head out about 15 minutes later as I sat above him waiting for that to happen....

Female





Male





Marlin 782 in 22 mag shooting CCI mini mags in hollow points.... Bushnell 3x9 sportview....

I've had this gun since 1983 and have shot over a hundred groundhogs over the years with it... It's a lot of fun using this gun and hearing the thud as it hits them from a distance....

 

[Hortontoter]

Good shootin, J. Groundhogs and rimfires were made for each other. Most times I carry my .17HMR, but my .22WMR gets a trip afield a couple times a year. The newer 30 grain bullets made the .22WMR a different rifle. I was out last week for a few hours, but never saw one little grizzly.

 

["J"]

Good shootin, J. Groundhogs and rimfires were made for each other. Most times I carry my .17HMR, but my .22WMR gets a trip afield a couple times a year. The newer 30 grain bullets made the .22WMR a different rifle. I was out last week for a few hours, but never saw one little grizzly.

I picked up a box of the hornady ballistic tips but haven't shot them yet... Back when my girlfriend then (wife now) bought this for me for a Xmas gift I shot all the available rounds at the time and the CCI's shot the best... Sub 1" groups @100 yards.... Kinda hard too mess with that lol.... The only bad thing is windy days wreak havoc with them out past 100 yards....

 

[hickslawns]

Nice shooting J! Wish I had time to get out. I am outside plenty, but not able to hunt.

 

[Bigslam51]

Nice shootin, J!

 

["J"]

Picked up a little bling for the .243.... Looked at the Harris and got sticker shock (should of bought one of them years ago when they were 60.00) lol.... Ended up picking up a Caldwell... Not as beefy as the Harris but for what I'm doing it should work fine, or I'll return it lol.... I like the pivot of this model and the spring adjustment it allows..... So I'll be trying it out and seeing if it was worth saving the money or not lol....
It's the 13"-23" pivoting model...

 

["J"]

Well had some time too kill so grabbed the .243 and headed out... First farm (where I got the last one) saw 3 but where I was set up I couldn't take the shot die too houses, barn and horses in the pasture... I'll have to take a different route in for those 3 and I'll take the 22 for them... Close shooting where I plan on setting up... Didn't see the ones I was hoping for... Spent about an hour and half there....

Off too farm #2... Saw 2 more out on the drive over there... Pulled in and walked the perimeter of the top field didn't see anything out while doing the trip, got close too the barn and one saw me before I saw it... Hauled the mail getting too it's hole and made it before I could get a bead on him.... Walked down too the barn and sat down leaning against it set the tripod up for a shot at where he went in and waited... 20 minutes later here he comes... There's a hole under an old piece of equipment and he made his way around it and popped out about 70 yards from me, I was on him following his route and when he stopped I pulled the trigger... He dropped like a sack of potatoes...





#3 for the year so far... 2 males 1 female....

 

[giles]

Hard to tell where you shot it...lol

 

["J"]

Aiming for the right ear and either I pulled a little or he moved a little.... Either way carnage ensued lol

 

[Hortontoter]

You will be happy with the Caldwell bipod. They make quality equipment. The pivoting feature is the only way to go IMO.

Glad to see you got one with the .243. What kind of load are you using in it?

 

["J"]

58 gr VMAX Ballistic tip with 43.2 grains of IMR4895....

Wishing I would of went too the spot overlooking the ones on the first farm... Would of been about a 125 yard shot but nothing behind them like where I was.... There's always tomorrow lol

 

[Huckleberry Finn]

So this is what one does upon retirement! Nice shooting.

If you don't mind, what did you give for the Caldwell? How does it attach? It's on the list for the .223, though I still gotta get some glass!

 

["J"]

49.99 at Gander Mountain.... Had to run to the base and while I was up there I took a stroll thru it... Was looking more so at the Harris and just couldn't justify the price tag on those.... I can get 2 Caldwell's for the price of a Harris and have enough left over for a couple boxes of CCI's.....

It has a pinch pivot that opens up and two posts go in (one on each side of the post) then it has a knurled screw that screws down against it and prevents it from accidentally coming off... Locks in pretty good and carrying it around with the sling attached is a must.... I like slings for long walks like the ones I do....
I like being able too set the gun up and have it zeroed in on a hole I'm looking at and all I have too do is slowly lift the gun straight up and shoulder it while the front of the gun just pivots down.... Nice easy move t and stayed lined up really good....

 

[hickslawns]

You carved a canoe out of that hog! Nice shooting J.

 

[Hortontoter]

58 gr VMAX Ballistic tip with 43.2 grains of IMR4895....

Wishing I would of went too the spot overlooking the ones on the first farm... Would of been about a 125 yard shot but nothing behind them like where I was.... There's always tomorrow lol

I wish a 58 grain bullet would have been an option back in the 70s and 80s when I hunted with my .243. Best bullet I had to work with was the Sierra 85 grain boat tailed hollow point. Yeah there was a 75 grain hollow point bullet available, but it had zero expansion. I pushed the 85 grain Sierra with a Winchester Magnum primer and 44 grains of 4350 powder, it made this bullet quite the little speedster. But, 44 grains pushing the 85 grain bullet made for some serious pressures. My Remington 700 handle thousands of rounds with no ill effects. I had a buddy shoot one of my reloads through a Savage 99. When he ejected the casing the primer was completely gone in the casing. My gunsmith told me the action on the 99 was not able to handle the pressure and the shot caused excess headspace which allowed the primer to disintegrate.

 

["J"]

We started light with his load and worked our way up, haven't run it thru the chronograph but plan on doing that whenever we get some actual spring weather lol

I hit one last year square in he shoulder and about cut him in half.... The VMAX definitely does what it's advertised too do.....

 

[Hortontoter]

Working your way up is the only safe way to do things. Even in the .17HMR the VMAX does a good job out to 120 yards. After that distance the bullet has slowed too much to allow the bullet to expand, that's been my experience anyways.

You need to find a place where you can make the .243 shine. By that I mean 400 yard plus shooting distances. What kind of optics are you using on your .243? Mine still has the Redfield 6-18X on it that I put on it in 1976. It makes a fine fit for use on a .243 varmint rig.

 

["J"]

I've had the Leupold vari X 2 4x12 since I've had the gun (1997 if I remember right) but as I'm getting older I'm liking that 6x18 more and more lol

 

[jagermeister]

Good shooting, J. And I'm digging the setup on that .243!

 

[Hortontoter]

As your eyes age, or shooting distance increases, more magnification is a plus.

I had one fogging incident with my Redfield back in 1977 0r 1978 while deer hunting opening day in WV. I hunted all day in the rain with the gun on my shoulder. That evening I looked through the scope and it was badly fogged inside. Being in Belington WV with five more days to hunt I had a serious problem. Well, I had an all steel scope so I removed the scope from the rings and stuck it in the guys electric oven where I was staying. I turned the heat to 225, figuring water boils at 212. I checked it often and after about 20 minutes it was clear as a bell. But, I'm sure I damaged an O ring at the eyepiece. The lens towards the back of the scope has a little play in it if you move it up and down with your finger. But, it has never fogged since, but I did watch more carefully on rainy days to protect the lenses.

Keep at it J, you'll get 100 of those varmints by the end of the summer.