Groundhogs in yard

[Larry in wyoming]

The 22mag was my preferred round of choice in that situation, but the 22lr will do. Stretch the range past 100yds and it's time for a 223.

 

[.308 Norma]

FYI .... They're can be good eating as well

I've heard that before. I've even heard (I'm talking about the rock chucks we have here) people call the smaller ones "friers," and the larger ones "bakers."

 

[dh1633pm]

Well aimed shot and you’re good to go. Have a heart trap also works to catch them. You can move or shoot as needed. I tend to leave ‘em alone unless they cause a fuss, then I terminate with remorse. As I get older I hate killing things. Don’t take that as a “I won’t”. Just a would prefer not.

 

[Larry in wyoming]

Kinda greasy and strong for my tastes

 

[toivo]

A woodchuck showed up here and was burrowing into the space next to my retaining wall. We have large rock retaining walls on 2 sides of our house. So I broke out the .22LR, snuck up and shot him in the head. He flopped around a bit, but then made it back into my retaining wall, where he promptly died. I could not get the %$^^ thing out without digging up 1000's of pounds of rock. So there he lay stinking that entire summer.

A friend of mine had a similar problem. His garden was being destroyed. He was shooting them with a .22, but they would make it back to their den under the shed before they gave up the ghost. His only other rifle is a .223, which might be a bit much. I have a .22 WMR, which I think might be just the thing.

 

[12Bravo20]

I have shot groundhogs with 22LR and 17m2 at 50 yards and under. I prefer head shots when using 22LR. Groundhogs normally drop dead instantly when I shoot them with my 17m2 with a lung/heart shot. The 17m2 usually doesn't exit either.

As far as eating groundhogs, they are a lot like raccoons and are greasy. Best way to deal with that is to either boil them first to remove the fat or cook them on a grill.

 

[Bottom Gun]

I think it's nature's way of letting you know that you need a good .22 magnum rifle.

 

[22250Rem]

Years ago my buddy & I did woodchuck culling on his field that was loaded with them. We would conceal ourselves in the woods at the edge of the field and through experience we set up some guidelines as to what to use and how far out to use it. Out to 40-50 yards the 22 Long Rifle was accepted for head shots and beyond that I had a 22 Hornet that would work great out to the max range you could get a shot; which was about 125 yards. We never used bigger centerfires than the 22 Hornet very much after realizing that things like .223's, 22-250's, & 220 Swifts were actually "overkill" on a small field with a 125 yd. maximum shot opportunity. When my son & nephew were young they got a few with various .22's and managed to wound a couple that made it back underground before dying. Had to wait a few days for a confirmed kill when the other woodchucks in the den dragged the dead one out for coyote food when it started to get "ripe". Back then I always wished I had a 22 Magnum but never got around to it.

 

[.308 Norma]

Had to wait a few days for a confirmed kill when the other woodchucks in the den dragged the dead one out for coyote food when it started to get "ripe".

I had to chuckle a bit at that. As I've written about a few times on THR, my wife and I have killed hundreds of ground squirrels over on our friend's ranch in the last couple of springs. Last winter thinned them out somewhat, but in the spring of 2022, our friends were nearly overrun with the little varmints.
At any rate, one thing my wife and I noticed was, sometimes when we shot a ground squirrel, another would pop up out of a nearby hole, run over and grab the dead one, and start dragging it back towards its own hole. So, we'd sometimes shoot the second ground squirrel too.
The first few times we saw that happen, we kind of joked about it, saying, "What the heck? Was the second ground squirrel thinking he could give his buddy CPR or first aid? However, when we asked our rancher friend about it, he said, "Well they are cannibalistic, you know." So, we came home and looked it up, and sure enough - ground squirrels are cannibalistic.
Since then, we've noticed that many of the ground squirrels we've shot one day will be half eaten the next day. And there's not enough eagles and vultures around to eat that many of them.

 

[Larry in wyoming]

When I first started shooting groundhogs in Maryland, all I had was a 22mag. But the places I was hunting only offered 125yd shots. I found the 22 mag was great for that. Once I started hunting places with longer shots, I found the 223 was better suited to it

 

[HHollow]

Under 50 yards, I use a .22 with subsonic ammo. Head shots, only.

I like 22CB shorts. my lever action 9422 holds a bunch and they are quiet. depending on the maker of the ammo sometimes cycling the action makes more noise than the round firebug. ideal if the wife does not approve.

 

[Hookeye]

I haven't tested the CCI Segmented quiet .22 lr in my Savage or CZ yet.

Have .223, .22-250, .243 for varmints.
Under 300 think the .223 is about right.
They all seem too much for under 150 yards.

Hopefully get out next weekend. Had tornado warnings today.

 

[cdahl383]

Lots of great responses, thank you!

I ended up just using my 10/22 with .22 hollow point CCI mini-mags. I killed two with head shots. They died pretty much instantly. Another one I shot and it flipped him around but he ran back into the bushes. Haven't seen him since, it's been a couple days. Also shot at the mother which was considerably larger, got two shots in her but she still ran back into the brush/wood pile too. I haven't seen her since I shot her which was almost a week ago or so.

I'm shooting at about 25-35 yards roughly. I have a basic cheap red dot on there that is dialed in pretty good.

The one I shot when he popped his head up out of the hole. He just fell backwards back into the hole. I covered him up and buried him right there. The other guy came further out so I shot him in the head, he only crawled a foot or so into the brush and died there. I buried him in the woods.

It seems to me if you don't get a good clean head shot, they will run off.

I do have a Ruger PC Carbine rifle in 9mm that works well also. It has a red dot too that's dialed in pretty good. That gun has quite a bit more power than the 10/22. Maybe I should switch to using that one in the future if I continue to see any in my yard. I liked using the .22 though since I have a ton of ammo, it's quieter, and it still seems to do the trick.

I have a few 12 gauge shotguns as well, but that almost seems like overkill. The one Maverick 88 I have has two barrels, 18" and 28". With the 28" you can hit stuff pretty good from further away. I think that barrel may have a choke on it. The 18" is more for just up close/defense, etc.

My neighbor said he's never had any luck trapping them. I've trapped raccoons before that were hanging out by our chicken pen. I just shot them with the .22 rifle in the head while in the trap. It's illegal to relocate them, not to mention have you ever tried to pick up a trap with a live raccoon in it? They don't like that very much and end up making some terrible demonic sounds while trying to scratch your hands apart.

The farmer across the street from me has had quite a bit of his soybeans eaten up from a family of groundhogs living near an old barn out that way. He's taken quite a few of them out but I think there are still one or two hanging out there. They're destructive little things if you have stuff you're trying to grow.

I don't have a .223 or .556 rifle. Those look pretty cool. I'll probably end up getting one in the future.

 

[red rick]

At only 25 to 35 yards head shots on a groundhog with a.22 rifle should be pretty easy . Get your target out and see if you gun is still zeroed at that distance . You should have no problem killing them if hit in the head with a .22 at that distance . I killed over 20 in my yard a few years ago at the same distance with a head shot and a.22 rifle . All bang flop and I was even using Wolf standard velocity target ammo .

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

How about a .357 caliber air rifle? Can be silenced without a tax stamp. Uses butter soft lead bullets and can be had cheaper than another firearm. And excels at pesting distances in terms of accuracy. Hatsan refurb .30 / .357 cal models can be had for 300 ish. It might take a bit to hunt one down though.

 

[desmobob]

Under 50 yards, I use a .22 with subsonic ammo. Head shots, only.

Same here. But those Velociters will do a much surer job at the expense of a louder report. I've killed two groundhogs in my back yard with the Velocitors and they were quick and humane kills.

 

[Hugger-4641]

Sir, you need a new gun. A .223/5.56 will suffice but if you intend to switch it up to include any other pesky North American animal made from tastier meat, a .308 will be the better choice

Yes, he definitely neeeeeeds a new gun for this!!
But I think a 22-250 is a better choice. He can always get the .308 too.

 

[cdahl383]

I got two pretty easy, died pretty much instantly. The other two I hit but they were able to get back into the brush.

I have my red dot zeroed in good at 25 yards. I’ve never shot anything other than targets before though. It’s likely just me moving the gun or something.

I think they’re catching on to me. Before I could come out and sit and they’d eventually come out within 15-20 minutes. Now once they see me they won’t come out for a long time. Might only be one or two left now though, so less chance of seeing one I guess.

Sitting out here right now actually just waiting for the one I saw earlier to come back out.

Well aimed shot and you’re good to go. Have a heart trap also works to catch them. You can move or shoot as needed. I tend to leave ‘em alone unless they cause a fuss, then I terminate with remorse. As I get older I hate killing things. Don’t take that as a “I won’t”. Just a would prefer not.

I feel the same way. Not a fan of killing animals if I don’t have to. These guys are coming within about 10 feet of our garden. Eventually, if left alone, they’ll likely get into it and eat everything.

 

[.308 Norma]

It seems to me if you don't get a good clean head shot, they will run off.

That's been my experience with rockchucks and .22LRs - even with the so called "high velocity" .22LR ammo. In truth though, I've never tried any of the .22LR "hyper velocity" ammo (like "Stingers and "Yellow Jackets") on rockchucks.
The hyper velocity stuff might work better with body shots, I don't know. Like I said in my previous post, if I was serious about hunting rockchucks, I'd use my .22-250 - they don't run off when I hit them in the body with that.
I used to know a guy that had pretty good luck killing rockchucks with a "loaded down" .22 Hornet using cast bullets. I think he was only getting .22 Magnum velocities out of his "loaded down" .22 Hornet too.
So, as others have said - maybe there's your "reason" for buying yourself a .22 Magnum.

 

[cdahl383]

I have some Stingers as well, I could try those too I guess.

I waited for a while yesterday but never saw the ground hog again. Didn't see him over in my neighbor's yard either. Might only be one left and maybe he's the smart one haha!

 

[Hookeye]

Ive shot em w a variety of archery, handgun and rifle gear.

IMHO proly the best all arounder for near or out to 300 yds would be a .223 w a suppressor.

Or if you have electronic earpro, no suppressor.

Most of my chucks were taken w Ruger single shot or Remington bolt .243s. Worked great but under 200 yards seems too much. Currently using .22 250 and it feels same.

Lot of noise, heavy rifle....Im getting too old and wimpy to deal w it.

Big diff IMHO setting up on a field edge and shooting from one spot, vs walking around or lugging stuff to diff locations.

For a shorter range walking varmint rig maybe a K hornet would be right

 

[Hookeye]

Proly last weekend to hunt chucks here, w beans getting some rain. But one little field is so ate up, theres a lot of dirt visible between cover and crop.

 

[cdahl383]

Proly last weekend to hunt chucks here, w beans getting some rain. But one little field is so ate up, theres a lot of dirt visible between cover and crop.

That's how the farmer's field across from us looks. The area on the edge of the field near the old farmhouse is all eaten up, just plain dirt. Could be close to an acre they ate up. Everything is growing better now though since we got all that rain.

 

[22250Rem]

The hyper velocity stuff might work better with body shots, I don't know. Like I said in my previous post, if I was serious about hunting rockchucks, I'd use my .22-250 - they don't run off when I hit them in the body with that.

.......... That reminded me of the time back in the 1980's when I was thinning out the woodchucks on a friend's farm. Was laying down prone watching some active 'chuck dens about 150 yards distant with a .22-250 on a bipod, when a 'chuck popped up from the high grass less than 50 yards away. My job was to thin out the 'chucks for the land owner so I just couldn't pass this one up. ... At under 50 yards I could have just done a head shot with a 22LR if needed at that range. The 55 gr. .224" jacketed soft point made a pretty big exit wound. Photo title should be "Overkill". That's a digital pic of an old snapshot. Glad I had my old Instamatic film camera with me that day.

 

[Hookeye]

Supposed to T storm today and through weekend.