Annual Groundhog tally for 2013

Went out tonight to try out some new bullets from the 20-250, first field I went to I spotted one at 252 yards held right on its chest as soon as it stood up and laid it out with a 55gr BlackHole, then like 3 minutes later another popped up at 207 yards shot it in the same spot center of the chest.

Went to another field where I had seen some hanging out in a soybean field about 600 yards away but none showed so I went on to the next hayfield and spotted one at 367 yards held on the top of it's head and took it right through the neck

the first two
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farthest shot of the night 367 yards
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Started to move into position for the shot and this one caught me moving. He froze, so I froze. Finally I just simply took the shot off hand, wrong hand, left handed. But it worked with precision. Shot him behind the ear at 100yds, gotta love that Illuminated German #4 Dot reticle in that Leupold VX3. Browning 17 Ackley Hornet's number 31 for the year.

 
Rich 44:

Tell us more re "Black Hole" 55 gr. bullets in a 20/250. I thought the heaviest .20 caliber bullet was 40 grains; is Black Hole a custom, heavier .20 bullet?

What velocity are you getting with your 55 gr. bullets?
 
Blackhole bullets are made by Blaine Leisy he makes 20 cal bullets from 30 to 60+ grs.
Berger makes 20 cal bullets over 40 gr also 50 & 55, I shoot the 55 Bergers from my 20br at 3600 fps and from the 20-250 at 3800fps same for the 55gr Blackhole
 
Have not been hitting it very hard this year. Decided to head out for a partial day trip, keeping it close to home. Chose a small farm where I usually get a couple each year. This time I had to explore some smaller secondary fields due to hay baling on the field I like to hunt. Took my Ruger .22 Magnum since distances are usually under 125 yards.

Not sure if you can see him right in the center, but this guy watched me show up. He was too close for a sporting shot so I passed.
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I set up on a tall haybale and over the next half hour whacked 4 of them out to 135 yards. I was surprised - their heads kept popping up in areas I never expected.

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I came back out of that field a different way and sure enough I saw the first groundhog...this time I think I saw him first and put a Remington Accutip through his head.

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Went to another field and saw a couple first year 'hogs moving about. I had to shoot offhand because the grass was so tall and was able to take both.

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I ended the day at my usual spot that always produces. Sure enough I spot one nosing about and drilled it in the head at 110 yards. It never twitched. I stayed where I was as I thought I had seen some other heads bobbing around, and after awhile a giant red appears in a nearby hole. This was a giant! It crawled out but faced away from me so I waited and watched for my clear headshot. It went right to the dead one and I could see it doing something - I thought it was attacking the dead one after reading another thread here lately. The big one ended up picking up the dead one (which was smaller) and took it back down the hole! I can only guess it was the mother. It made me feel a bit sad!

Anyway, ended up being a great day with 8 falling to one of my favorite rifles that I don't carry very much any more.
 
Wahoo
Thats a awesome day with a rimfire very nice shooting

I went out this evening to a new field we had never hunted we saw 6 my brother missed the first at 112 yrds with 17 HMR then missed a long 470+ shot then finally connected at 300 yrds and hit one at 600+ it went down spun around and went down its hole so no body no count

I think this one was praying shot him through both front feet and chest
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Awesome pics and stories, folks! I've been getting out and shooting some, but have been lazy about keeping up with this thread
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I am keeping track of body count and taking some pictures, but not nearly as creative as the rest of you!
Some pics from weeks past to the present:



Two Saturdays ago Blueridge boy and I headed East and got off to a good satrt...

This is how we finished the day:
nine in the truck, bringing me to an even 50 for this year.
 
Good to finally hear from you guys. It's about time you started posting. Have to enjoy the hunt vicariously through your efforts since I've not been able to get out much myself with all the house cleaning and building activities these last six weeks or more. Hope that improves once we get back home from visiting family in OH. Keep up the good work!
 
I didn't really "hunt" last Saturday, but stopped into one of my favorite farms outside of Culpeper while on my way to visit some old friends in Madison. No pictures taken this day, because after all the rain I would have to have hip boots to retrieve the critters in both locations. First I checked a fence line on the east side of the farm. There are always holes there, but it's been two years since I've actually seen a groundhog there to shoot at! This time there was one present hiding on the edge of the alfalfa under 150 yards. The 204 did the job on that one, the corpse plainly visible....#51.
Then I drove to the west side of the farm. There is a complex of holes right at 401 yards from the gate where I always stop. This year they planted beans in what used to be alfalfa. Ten to fifteen yards past the holes out in the beans were several young piggies in a group that appeared to be three feet, or less, across. Two piggies kept standing up in the middle of the group, so I took aim on the right one, held what appeared to be 8-9 inches over it's head, and about a body width to the right to allow for the wind, and touched the trigger on the swift
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On regaining my sight picture after recoil, I see the tail salute from the intended target, and others scurrying towards the holes......... BUT WAIT( as they say on the tv commercials) I see a second piggie flopping around on the ground in the general direction of the holes! But, he gave out and expired half way to the hole!
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Both bodies clearly visible! #'s 52 & 53 with one shot at 400+!! That is a first for me! I've killed two with one shot before, but they have always been under 100 yds.
I didn't make it out at all during this week, but BRB met me at 2:30 this afternoon and we headed East. The first farm we pulled into had five out at one time, but not a single safe shot! There's a subdivision that borders that beanfield. One made the mistake of letting me drive to about 50 yards of it, so I reached for the pellet rifle, stepped out of the truck, got a rest on the hood and WHAP! The piggie did a complete sommersault!DRT in the hole! First one in the back of the truck for the day! We couldn't get any others to cooperate and stay in place for us to get close enough for another shot with the pellet rifle so we continued to other farms adding a couple here and one there, and the back of the truck started filling up with pasture poodles! At just after 7:00 we had 12 in the back of the truck, and only one miss! I'm calling it a miss because we couldn't find the body....it may have been poor marking on our part, but I felt good about the shot...solid rest, and under 150 yds with the 204.....oh, well, it happens!
Last stop was a place that so far this year has been underproductive. I've only killed two, and BRB one, there before today, but they have all been longer shots pushing or besting 400.....it's a big field!
It was my shot, and I was down seven to five! I spied one little one at just over 400, set up the bags, the wind had died completely out, and turned the swift loose! My spotter didn't see a thing! No dirt, dust, mist or anything else, but he said the groundhog was still there! The pig I was shooting at was definitely GONE! We argued about it for a minute until we realized we were looking at two different pigs! Since I was already set up, I took a poke at the other one! No confirmation of hit on that one, either! So we walked out to where the piggies had been. First hole we came to was the second target, and one dead piggie missing most of it's head
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Then I said "I'm going to look for the first one!" I don't think my partner believed there were two different poodles, but forty yards from the first, was another much smaller piggie with a goodly portion of it's noggin' missing!
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BRB was shocked and in disbelief, so I made him carry my rifle the 400 yards back to the truck, while I carried the piggies back for the "group picture"

Yours truly and the back of my bloody truck!

The little one on the left in the picture was the first one shot with the pellet rifle. The two closest to my right hip were the last two I shot. This brings me to an even 60 for this year to date.
Sorry for the long post........
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Went to a new field today took the rimfire along, let the barrel cool down on the 20-250.
And as usual when I have a rimfire they are all 300 yards away so had to do some stalking on two but ended up with 3 for today

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Went out Saturday to check on the farm. Was told a field was cut and a planted field was still short. Walked a mile and a half one way to find out the field was indeed cut, but only the outer ring was bailed. Watched a little buck for a bit then walked the crop field checking mounds. Most were dead holes that had been washed shut. Out of about 40 acres, there might have been 6 good holes. I think the heavy snows the last few years took a toll on the chucks. Stopped by the barn looking for the farmer. Spotted a chuck in the barnyard. Too close to the barn and saw mill for the 243. Tried to sneak up with the Glock 19, but feared ricochet, so passed him. Saw a chuck on a rock on the way to the farmers house. Parked and slipped under the fence for a 110yd shot off the sticks. Hog went flying 3' back off the log. Opened her up bad on the backside. Was able to roll her around for a picture even though the 243 was brutal.
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Thanks Tim. Battling a sick truck and weather has held me down for the last two months. Now it looks like I'm waiting on the hay bailer
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. I'm thinking the Contender 22 LR pistol needs some barnyard practice in the mean time
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Originally Posted By: ARCOREY

Out of about 40 acres, there might have been 6 good holes. I think the heavy snows the last few years took a toll on the chucks.



There is sure something going on. Chucks have become an endangered species here in Connecticut.

We used to see them all the time, and a drive on a parkway would see 5 or 10 on the side of the road, eating prime, fresh cut grass... I didn't see any last year.

And a good friend is talking about getting an out of state hunting license for NY and PA, and his family owns 300 acres of planted farm land - he got 3 this year.

Maybe they get the plague like PDs.. I don't know, but it sure is really lean pickin's up here.

 
Originally Posted By: CatShooterMaybe they get the plague like PDs.. I don't know, but it sure is really lean pickin's up here.


I think there may be a combination of factors for my areas. The farm I hunt has a decent predator population as well as a growing number of birds of prey such as Bald Eagles. It is also tucked up near the mountains where the snows seem to be more prevailant and rains seem to linger more. A few years ago we had deep snows sitting around for unusually long periods of time. This weekend, I noticed holes had recently washed shut from the heavy rains with only small air hole openings if any at all. I also notice most of the chucks I take having some sort of mange or dermatitis. They look pretty patchy and balding in areas more than I remember them when I first started hunting there. The holes I do find are not out in the open as much as they use to be either. It seems they have migrated more to cover and into the brush piles. This could be due to air assaults from the birds or the lead assaults from my 243 now that I can shoot across most of the fields. I took 45 chucks the first year I hunted this farm and missed way more than that. Last year I think I took about 15 off this property. I do shoot a few spring chucks to stay on the farmers good side, but this year, I only took one spring chuck before the grass got up. I also suspect the leasing farmer may be dropping poison in holes when nobody is looking. I've watched several active dens with chucks go cold over the last few years with no shooting going on.
 
In my area a lot of farmers are planting from road to road some spots they have no more fence lines or tree lines between farms, I have permission to hunt fields that I have to park on the road they don't even have a drive, there planting on any ground they can to get the most bang for the buck I suppose,
Also I think with fuel prices being so high they aren't mowing along what drives and ditches they still have, we use to shoot a good number of chucks there
 
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