Number 1 of the season. I don't usually hunt them this early but make an exception for ones that are digging under foundations and around buildings. 1st time at this particular farm. This place may provide some good hunting this year.
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Groundhogs 2017
bluedog
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Number 7 of the season, 3rd one on my farm.
Started off a little after 6pm. I first walked the fenceline with my neighbor's where I had seen one last weekend. No luck. It was hot but I thought by 6-6:30pm one would be out eating. So I walked back to my truck and drove over to what we call "the side field" which is planted in beans. I figured I would just sit in the truck and do some scouting as I hadn't been hunting here yet this year. Mr. bluedog had seen one on the far side but I figured there would be others too. I got there around 7pm. Close to 7:30pm I was getting bored and thought I would head home when a groundhog walked into the beans not 30 yards from me. LOL I already had the truck window open and was trying to get the gun in a stable position. It took me a few minutes as I had to go slow. The groundhog would look at me and then go back to eating. Finally I got a good shot. Another female that showed no signs of having been nursing so probably another 1 year old. On my way back to the house I ended up seeing 3 more but all too far to shoot. They were sure late coming out to feed tonight, I guess because of the heat.
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Started off a little after 6pm. I first walked the fenceline with my neighbor's where I had seen one last weekend. No luck. It was hot but I thought by 6-6:30pm one would be out eating. So I walked back to my truck and drove over to what we call "the side field" which is planted in beans. I figured I would just sit in the truck and do some scouting as I hadn't been hunting here yet this year. Mr. bluedog had seen one on the far side but I figured there would be others too. I got there around 7pm. Close to 7:30pm I was getting bored and thought I would head home when a groundhog walked into the beans not 30 yards from me. LOL I already had the truck window open and was trying to get the gun in a stable position. It took me a few minutes as I had to go slow. The groundhog would look at me and then go back to eating. Finally I got a good shot. Another female that showed no signs of having been nursing so probably another 1 year old. On my way back to the house I ended up seeing 3 more but all too far to shoot. They were sure late coming out to feed tonight, I guess because of the heat.
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I'm calling bs!!! Every groundhog#1 for me last night a little over 200yards with 223rem. My first kill shooting my own handloads. Tried to get a big blonde colored one but a truck coming down the road spooked him and sqack spotted another one so i snuck through the weeds and laid in the grass atop a hill and took aim and a miss. re ranged and adjusted the scope to about 2'' high from 100yard zero and flattened him. 55GR hornady v max did its job.
I didn't get a pic cause the beans were popping through and didn't want to walk over to him. plus that too far to walk!
you've ever shot has been invisible.....
I cent remember last time I shot one.Dint see them around here. I'm pretty good at running them over tho!
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250yards pal! Snipa!
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Hey Ohio See how blue dog just blends in! In the picture above!!
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Post 20 Ohio.
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Little long but tonight's hunt.....started 3 o'clock walking a railroad bed. Saw a ghog. A pup... make that 2. Belly crawled 160yds away. A house beyond some trees 5 hundred yards away kinda n line. No go. Got up Kept walking. While I was Crossing a ditch a there was a ghog in a big tile 7ft off the ground head sticking out 15ft away and just staired at me.. really thought about it shouldered the gun. No go to much metal a bit frightening that close. With a second tile that lays up against it. Walked back around to the original hogs and momma was out and kid no go house just on the other side of the tracks different angel but same thing to close to homes. Walked a long ways othere side of the farm. See one out spook trying to get to prone with bipod to see over a hill for a shot. I wait. Comes back out. bang. Miss high left....what the....another runs out close by and bang miss left. Wth... im done darn it. over 1/2 mile walk back. Back to targets. Thought I was good to go going 2 for 2 so far but I guess not. Switched bullets this weekend until my good order comes in.....I will be back saw 6 hogs on this farm and killed one there last Friday buzzards were all over there tonight. O well.
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#2 tonight at 80-90 yards. sqack popped his first for the year and shot at one at 400yards but missed.
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Finally got out this afternoon. An area where I know there are lots of holes, but there is curvature in the land, and sometimes you can only see less than 100 yards.
I'm at the farm of a friend of mine. The friend owns the land, his son is farming it. I set up looking down a tree line. But as I said, gentle hills make it so there are blind spots you cannot see. After sitting for about 45 minutes, I look to my left, and there's a ghog in the middle of the bean field about 150 yards away. Just as clear as can be. I knew the hold existed when I was scouting earlier this spring. I put a flag on the hole. (Which was not disturbed when they planted.) I had a clear shot to the ghog, but the son's house is exactly in the line of fire. So I have to move. I think the hog saw me and ran down it's hole. But I was able to move so the house is directly off to my right. But I'm concerned about having some dirt behind my shot. I don't want to be shooting upward where there is no backstop (dirt) of any kind. I crouch down and approach the hole from an angle that has me coming up a (slight) hill. By the time I get close enough to see the flag, I'm only 50 yards away. But if/when the hog comes out, it will only be able to see the top half of my body, and I've got trees behind me. (no sky backdrop behind me) But I'm still down far enough on the hill, I can't use my bipod. I'll have to shoot sitting position. (from my old target shooting days as a kid in the 70's) About 10 minutes later it came out. (I didn't even see it come out, I just looked up) I slowly put my ear plugs in, slowly raised up the rifle, put the cross hairs on the chest. ...was pleased I wasn't wavering too much...and pulled the trigger.
Entrance wound...pretty much where I was aiming.
I'm at the farm of a friend of mine. The friend owns the land, his son is farming it. I set up looking down a tree line. But as I said, gentle hills make it so there are blind spots you cannot see. After sitting for about 45 minutes, I look to my left, and there's a ghog in the middle of the bean field about 150 yards away. Just as clear as can be. I knew the hold existed when I was scouting earlier this spring. I put a flag on the hole. (Which was not disturbed when they planted.) I had a clear shot to the ghog, but the son's house is exactly in the line of fire. So I have to move. I think the hog saw me and ran down it's hole. But I was able to move so the house is directly off to my right. But I'm concerned about having some dirt behind my shot. I don't want to be shooting upward where there is no backstop (dirt) of any kind. I crouch down and approach the hole from an angle that has me coming up a (slight) hill. By the time I get close enough to see the flag, I'm only 50 yards away. But if/when the hog comes out, it will only be able to see the top half of my body, and I've got trees behind me. (no sky backdrop behind me) But I'm still down far enough on the hill, I can't use my bipod. I'll have to shoot sitting position. (from my old target shooting days as a kid in the 70's) About 10 minutes later it came out. (I didn't even see it come out, I just looked up) I slowly put my ear plugs in, slowly raised up the rifle, put the cross hairs on the chest. ...was pleased I wasn't wavering too much...and pulled the trigger.
Entrance wound...pretty much where I was aiming.
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what bullet you using? I hit one at 90yards last night with a 223 55gr v max and the hole was about the size of a baseball.Finally got out this afternoon. An area where I know there are lots of holes, but there is curvature in the land, and sometimes you can only see less than 100 yards.
I'm at the farm of a friend of mine. The friend owns the land, his son is farming it. I set up looking down a tree line. But as I said, gentle hills make it so there are blind spots you cannot see. After sitting for about 45 minutes, I look to my left, and there's a ghog in the middle of the bean field about 150 yards away. Just as clear as can be. I knew the hold existed when I was scouting earlier this spring. I put a flag on the hole. (Which was not disturbed when they planted.) I had a clear shot to the ghog, but the son's house is exactly in the line of fire. So I have to move. I think the hog saw me and ran down it's hole. But I was able to move so the house is directly off to my right. But I'm concerned about having some dirt behind my shot. I don't want to be shooting upward where there is no backstop (dirt) of any kind. I crouch down and approach the hole from an angle that has me coming up a (slight) hill. By the time I get close enough to see the flag, I'm only 50 yards away. But if/when the hog comes out, it will only be able to see the top half of my body, and I've got trees behind me. (no sky backdrop behind me) But I'm still down far enough on the hill, I can't use my bipod. I'll have to shoot sitting position. (from my old target shooting days as a kid in the 70's) About 10 minutes later it came out. (I didn't even see it come out, I just looked up) I slowly put my ear plugs in, slowly raised up the rifle, put the cross hairs on the chest. ...was pleased I wasn't wavering too much...and pulled the trigger.
Entrance wound...pretty much where I was aiming.
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It was a 40 grain Vmax. (Factory Fiocchi 223) I'm rather surprised at the exit hole...it was also very small.
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I reload 223rem and the v max exclusively and what I've read is it needs to be pushed rather fast to expand or frag. I shot a couple g hogs that the guts were slung all out the exit but the one the other night didn't have that effect but it did have enough power to literally roll him.
How fast are the 40gr going?
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was that on a g hog or person or target?
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It was a 2 mile shot by a Canadian.Bullet took ten seconds to get to isis target.Canadians have 3 of the longest shots .In the top five shots of snipers for distance .America has one and the brits have one
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Went out at 3 today. Took a .22mag with 30 grain plastic tip. Concerned with ricochet in this spot. Spooked 4 all eating together. Same spot as the other day. I dont have any answer in my gun cabinet for this spot besides a shotgun after driving around and seeing the houses unless the hogs feed way out into the field. I didn't stick around with the heat and high wind.
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I have been lighting them up on the farm I think I'm around 11 so far I closed up two today the first one was a pup at about 40 yards the 52 grain vmax did a impressive amount of damage on the way out. I went and checked another field that had tall dead weeds around the hole so my plan was to walk through the weeds rifle at the ready to knock him down if he went for his hole. I crept up to the burrow and no groundhog around. I looked toward the hole and there was really fresh dirt at the entrance. I stood there quietly for a minute and saw dirt fly out of the hole. I quietly flipped the safety off of the Bushmaster and pointed the rifle at the hole a few feet away. Slowly he worked his way backward out of the hole and I let him get just over half way out before I squeezed the trigger at 3 feet. I saw the entry hole in his back before I could grab his tail he made it back down his hole but I had done what I came to do.
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What ever the factory settings are. I don't reload. Apparently the muzzle velocity for a 40 gr vmax Fiocchi cartridge is 3650 feet per second. Pretty fast to me!
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3 ft , Now that's the way to do . A friend use to tell me many years ago . That it would make you a better hunter if you hunt them with .22 and sneak up on them close enough for a head shot . Than it does to shoot them from a long way off with a .223 .
Funny thing is the first one I ever killed was at 130 yards with a .22LR . First shot was a miss low and it took off running across the bean field . Then I had to get hold over and lead right . That took me a couple more misses to get right . I shot the rest of my 10 round clip in my 10/22 and he was still going . I put 6 bullets in the clip and shot 2 more times and it was over . When I walked up to it it had 5 holes in it and the one that dropped it was in it's ear . I never had to shoot one more than once with a .223
Funny thing is the first one I ever killed was at 130 yards with a .22LR . First shot was a miss low and it took off running across the bean field . Then I had to get hold over and lead right . That took me a couple more misses to get right . I shot the rest of my 10 round clip in my 10/22 and he was still going . I put 6 bullets in the clip and shot 2 more times and it was over . When I walked up to it it had 5 holes in it and the one that dropped it was in it's ear . I never had to shoot one more than once with a .223
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