Size of groundhogs?

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  • Racer Doug14

    Thread killer
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Feb 22, 2013
    8,003
    Millers Maryland
    I'd love to use my AR on them, but too loud and not enough stand off from others property. My 17hmr has done excellent on them. All my shots are well within 200yrds.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I'd love to use my AR on them, but too loud and not enough stand off from others property. My 17hmr has done excellent on them. All my shots are well within 200yrds.

    Yeah, that's my thing. Current house is a bit wishy washy with safety zones. I've confirmed with immediate neighbors they are okay if I've gotta take care of a fox or a racoon (just over an acre properties). New house I am moving to in a week is 4.4 acres and a bit of it is over 150yds for safety zones. One neighbor said "please kill all the deer you can. Also if you want to hunt foxes, varmints, squirrels, whatever you want". Also the other neighbors have been okay with one of them bow hunting on the back side of our properties.

    We have chickens which are coming with us and my wife wants goats. I've used quiets in the past and I'll probably look at just using regular 22lr. Though I'd still like a suppressor at some point for my 10/22.

    Distance to coop will probably be a little longer. Right now it is spot on 30yds from my back door, which is manageable with quiets. My experience with my 10/22 zeroed for 50yds with Minimags, I need a 3" hold over with quiets at 30yds. At 50yds, it is about an 8" hold over, which isn't manageable and I don't want to zero my 10/22 for just quiets. The new quiet autos have 25fps and 5gr more to them, so it might be an inch or two less hold over, but still not good.

    Coop is probably going to be about 50-60yds from the house by where the veggie garden is going and if something, like a ground pig is on the other side of the garden, it is going to be more like 70yds.

    I'd love to use my AR, but WAY too loud for the situation. Basically rimfire only. My concern is with goats if we get coyotes wandering our way. we certainly have them, roadkill yote about 6 months ago out on 32 a quarter mile from my house. I am sure a 22lr could dissuade one, but actually dropping the suckers seems problematic.

    I wonder if minimag segmented rounds would be best for what I am handling, or if velocitors is a better choice. Or, hell load 3 mags, one with quiet, one with minimag segment and one with velocitors and pick and choose what I need to handle based on pest and range.

    Regular minmags and velocitors are close enough in POI out of my 10/22 to be interchangeable (Velocitors seem to need about an inch of hold under at 50 for my zero to be dead on and at 100 it is about 4 or so inches of hold over, versus about 6" for minimags).

    Damned unlikely I'd be taking pot shots at anything over 80yds away as that is basically on to my neighbors' property at the new house depending on which direction you are talking.

    As tough as ground hogs are, CCI segmented rounds seem to put them down fairly fast.
     

    Racer Doug14

    Thread killer
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Feb 22, 2013
    8,003
    Millers Maryland
    Yeah, that's my thing. Current house is a bit wishy washy with safety zones. I've confirmed with immediate neighbors they are okay if I've gotta take care of a fox or a racoon (just over an acre properties). New house I am moving to in a week is 4.4 acres and a bit of it is over 150yds for safety zones. One neighbor said "please kill all the deer you can. Also if you want to hunt foxes, varmints, squirrels, whatever you want". Also the other neighbors have been okay with one of them bow hunting on the back side of our properties.

    We have chickens which are coming with us and my wife wants goats. I've used quiets in the past and I'll probably look at just using regular 22lr. Though I'd still like a suppressor at some point for my 10/22.

    Distance to coop will probably be a little longer. Right now it is spot on 30yds from my back door, which is manageable with quiets. My experience with my 10/22 zeroed for 50yds with Minimags, I need a 3" hold over with quiets at 30yds. At 50yds, it is about an 8" hold over, which isn't manageable and I don't want to zero my 10/22 for just quiets. The new quiet autos have 25fps and 5gr more to them, so it might be an inch or two less hold over, but still not good.

    Coop is probably going to be about 50-60yds from the house by where the veggie garden is going and if something, like a ground pig is on the other side of the garden, it is going to be more like 70yds.

    I'd love to use my AR, but WAY too loud for the situation. Basically rimfire only. My concern is with goats if we get coyotes wandering our way. we certainly have them, roadkill yote about 6 months ago out on 32 a quarter mile from my house. I am sure a 22lr could dissuade one, but actually dropping the suckers seems problematic.

    I wonder if minimag segmented rounds would be best for what I am handling, or if velocitors is a better choice. Or, hell load 3 mags, one with quiet, one with minimag segment and one with velocitors and pick and choose what I need to handle based on pest and range.

    Regular minmags and velocitors are close enough in POI out of my 10/22 to be interchangeable (Velocitors seem to need about an inch of hold under at 50 for my zero to be dead on and at 100 it is about 4 or so inches of hold over, versus about 6" for minimags).

    Damned unlikely I'd be taking pot shots at anything over 80yds away as that is basically on to my neighbors' property at the new house depending on which direction you are talking.

    As tough as ground hogs are, CCI segmented rounds seem to put them down fairly fast.

    Velocisters and Stingers are my go to 22lr for hogs. Minimags will get it done too. But given a choice ,I'd take the hyper fast ones.
     

    Bountied

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2012
    6,903
    Pasadena
    I shot one two years ago from my deer stand. Used a 12ga 3" magnum slug from 15-20' away. The deer weren't doing shite and it was well past noon. Lets just say it died humanely after it's head exploded. I felt kind of bad for a minute...
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Sounds to me like justification for a second 10/22. :innocent0

    Actually that’s a third of the reason I either want another 10/22 or a American rimfire.

    Unfortunately my wife doesn’t want me to own more guns. So we’ll see who wins out and when.
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    Yeah, that's my thing. Current house is a bit wishy washy with safety zones. I've confirmed with immediate neighbors they are okay if I've gotta take care of a fox or a racoon (just over an acre properties). New house I am moving to in a week is 4.4 acres and a bit of it is over 150yds for safety zones. One neighbor said "please kill all the deer you can. Also if you want to hunt foxes, varmints, squirrels, whatever you want". Also the other neighbors have been okay with one of them bow hunting on the back side of our properties.

    We have chickens which are coming with us and my wife wants goats. I've used quiets in the past and I'll probably look at just using regular 22lr. Though I'd still like a suppressor at some point for my 10/22.

    Distance to coop will probably be a little longer. Right now it is spot on 30yds from my back door, which is manageable with quiets. My experience with my 10/22 zeroed for 50yds with Minimags, I need a 3" hold over with quiets at 30yds. At 50yds, it is about an 8" hold over, which isn't manageable and I don't want to zero my 10/22 for just quiets. The new quiet autos have 25fps and 5gr more to them, so it might be an inch or two less hold over, but still not good.

    Coop is probably going to be about 50-60yds from the house by where the veggie garden is going and if something, like a ground pig is on the other side of the garden, it is going to be more like 70yds.

    I'd love to use my AR, but WAY too loud for the situation. Basically rimfire only. My concern is with goats if we get coyotes wandering our way. we certainly have them, roadkill yote about 6 months ago out on 32 a quarter mile from my house. I am sure a 22lr could dissuade one, but actually dropping the suckers seems problematic.

    I wonder if minimag segmented rounds would be best for what I am handling, or if velocitors is a better choice. Or, hell load 3 mags, one with quiet, one with minimag segment and one with velocitors and pick and choose what I need to handle based on pest and range.

    Regular minmags and velocitors are close enough in POI out of my 10/22 to be interchangeable (Velocitors seem to need about an inch of hold under at 50 for my zero to be dead on and at 100 it is about 4 or so inches of hold over, versus about 6" for minimags).

    Damned unlikely I'd be taking pot shots at anything over 80yds away as that is basically on to my neighbors' property at the new house depending on which direction you are talking.

    As tough as ground hogs are, CCI segmented rounds seem to put them down fairly fast.

    My advice on a suppressing a .22 is get a 9mm can. Much quieter with supersonic .22 LR.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    My advice on a suppressing a .22 is get a 9mm can. Much quieter with supersonic .22 LR.

    How are they with leading and fouling though?

    Also a question, what about a .45 can with a 5/8-1/2 adapter? I realize there isn’t one can to rule them all, but if I can get a can for all conceivable handguns I’d want to ever use it on and it would work fine on 22lr, that would be awesome.

    Bounced a hog today. Pretty sure my shed is going to start smelling soon. Sucker took off before I could get another one in him. He left quite the blood trail and where he ran under one of my wood sheds on his way to my workshed there was a nice big bubble in the blood smear. So pretty sure I lunged him.

    As much of a blood trail as he left, I am surprised he made it that far. Though he probably only ran about 25yds before the blood trail disappears under the workshed, but it wasn’t straight line.

    22 quiet segmented. I really want to try out the semi-auto quiets. See if they’ll cycle my 10/22. Though I suspect a segmented 40gr .223 caliber bullet is going to do more damage than a LRN 45 from .223 caliber bullet. Especially when the velocities are nearly the same also.

    Maybe CCI will come out with segmented semi-auto quiets. Those would be ideal.
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,163
    Actually that’s a third of the reason I either want another 10/22 or a American rimfire.

    Unfortunately my wife doesn’t want me to own more guns. So we’ll see who wins out and when.

    Tell her you don't want her to own more shoes.:innocent0
     

    traveller

    The one with two L
    Nov 26, 2010
    18,266
    variable

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    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    So far I think I am 3 for 3. All of them got back to their dens, but I haven’t seen them again since (more than a week for the more recent one). First one left a massive blood trail and I am shocked it made it that far. Others left little, but they all jumped like they were hit and have since disappeared.

    Been groundhog free for a bit now. Bunnies are making trouble though. I’ve got a big one trying to get in to my garden. A few littler ones in the area, but so far not pests. So might be having rabbit stew soon if the big one keeps it up.
     

    Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    What round are you using? 22 round point always lets them get away, or back. 22 hollow point is better and 22 mag hollow point drops them in place or leaves them flopping before death.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    What round are you using? 22 round point always lets them get away, or back. 22 hollow point is better and 22 mag hollow point drops them in place or leaves them flopping before death.

    Segmented quiets. A couple of neighbors are fine with me whacking varmints. Not sure how the other couple feel. So until I am sure or I get a can, I am sticking with quiets mostly. I am going to try out subsonic segmented as that might be acceptable. I am saving HV of any type for fox or raccoons when they are an imminent threat to my chickens. I did whack a raccoon that was nosing around my chicken coop with segmented quiets. Took 4 shots. First 2 I know connected and the 4 dropped it out of the tree dead (one in the vitals, another I am not sure where it hit, but it jump and flinched and the tree shot hit it in the neck).

    Lesson learned with the bigger, tougher guys (it was a BIG raccoon).

    I hear 22 shoots around every once in awhile. Partly I need to just get over it. I still don’t want to make a bad impression, especially as I plan to bow hunt for deer on my property this fall (both neighbors who are fine with me shooting varmints have encouraged me to thin the deer population and one neighbor I haven’t met yet has a deer stand hanging almost on my property. Which is going to be a conversation.)
     

    traveller

    The one with two L
    Nov 26, 2010
    18,266
    variable
    What round are you using? 22 round point always lets them get away, or back. 22 hollow point is better and 22 mag hollow point drops them in place or leaves them flopping before death.

    My new neighbor is a cop. Two days ago we were talking about some issues he was having with the HOA over the location of a shed and somehow the conversation got to groundhogs. He asked me, 'so what do you do if you have a groundhog problem ?' I stood there like the guy from Hogans Heros and said 'I know noothing'. He burst out laughing. :innocent0
     

    Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    Yea, we live in a hollow and I shot the 30.06 sighting in for deer season the first year and heard the echo 3 times. I was like, Damn, the neighbors are going to hate me. Now we get out back with the 9mm and 44cal BP pistol banging away.

    The neighbor in front of me had a coon she said was rabid over the dog pen. I think it was just a stupid juvy that wouldn't leave. They asked me to kill it since they don't own guns. I didn't take the shotgun and tried to use the 10/22 with normal 22LR round point ammo as I didn't want to make too much noise. Shot him 5 times in the tree and he hit the ground almost running still. Dumped the last 5 in him and said "Screw the neighbors, and their ears, I'm bring the right size gun next time!"

    I've meet all my neighbors and they are fine as long as they know you got a good backstop and being safe. We had some other people over last year that said they could shoot. I found they missed the 10" plate at 20 yards, missed the 3' dirt berm over it and drill a 9mm hole through a small cedar clearly a full 1' over the berm. :rolleyes: Some people that say they can shoot, need to go back to the air rifles with the boy scouts, so the boys can teach them.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Yea, we live in a hollow and I shot the 30.06 sighting in for deer season the first year and heard the echo 3 times. I was like, Damn, the neighbors are going to hate me. Now we get out back with the 9mm and 44cal BP pistol banging away.

    The neighbor in front of me had a coon she said was rabid over the dog pen. I think it was just a stupid juvy that wouldn't leave. They asked me to kill it since they don't own guns. I didn't take the shotgun and tried to use the 10/22 with normal 22LR round point ammo as I didn't want to make too much noise. Shot him 5 times in the tree and he hit the ground almost running still. Dumped the last 5 in him and said "Screw the neighbors, and their ears, I'm bring the right size gun next time!"

    I've meet all my neighbors and they are fine as long as they know you got a good backstop and being safe. We had some other people over last year that said they could shoot. I found they missed the 10" plate at 20 yards, missed the 3' dirt berm over it and drill a 9mm hole through a small cedar clearly a full 1' over the berm. :rolleyes: Some people that say they can shoot, need to go back to the air rifles with the boy scouts, so the boys can teach them.

    One shot from a 20ga or something probably isn’t going to get the cops called. Two might. That’s part of the dilemma. I am a pretty decent shot, but I miss sometimes. Don’t want to end up with some walking fire and the cops called because it took 3 or 4 rounds of .223 to connect with some stubborn raccoon or ground hog on the run.

    3-4 rounds of 22 probably wouldn’t get the same result. I am on 4.4 wooded acre, next door neighbor is on the same, but most of the other properties are 1.1-1.6 with a couple vacant/unbuilt lots mixed in right around me. Top of a small ridge and a stream in the valley behind me in the woods. I’ve got a lot of good backstops or I am shooting down at a fairly steep angle. That said, unless you were taking something possibly dangerous to people like a coyote, I wouldn’t shoot a centerfire in my property for any reason, not just the sound. A 22 no real worries so long as I am mildly careful. 22 quiets, especially segmented that are going to break apart on any given branch or probably large twig, rock, etc. I have zero qualms about.

    Enough kids around I can’t be positive there isn’t one down in the woods (I wouldn’t shoot towards the woods with only a tree as a backstop, I’d want ground as backstop). To me the point is a dangerous ricochet from a 22 isn’t super likely and from a segmented one even less and a low velocity segmented 22 pretty much not at all unless maybe you are a couple of feet away from where it ricochets.

    Wife was asking me last night for a friend, “so she’s got a ground hog problem in Connecticut and can’t use a gun on her property. What can she do?”

    “Crossbow”

    Her friend ordered one a few minutes later.
     

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