Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Gopher Armageddon

Starts tomorrow!


Im gonna try the reduced load Bunny Gun on them, then start flinging full power 50 grain SX Hornadys all over the landscape!


We will litter the prairie with our kills!

I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place and broke the mountainside where he smote it in his ruin

Yeah.



That too!

There's those that do and those that wish, I prefer to do....

Frequent Flier Miles!

I hate you.

There will be none left by the time you get here!

You need to find a job.

he's got a job:

Ingwe, been shooting with my .222 this past week with 50 gr. Vmax.
More than once I have noticed gophers hit but the bullet didn't expand.. Saw more than several go bouncing across the field, sometimes it was a miss,but often after hit the little rodent.. Any of this with the SX.? In the .223i have 40 gr Vmax. No problems there, super explosive. Hope you have a great shoot!

Just remember the immortal words of General Travis at the Alamo...

"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes and the fleas on their noses!

Its them or us boys!

Lets do this for God, Country and TEXAS MONTANA!"

Bon Chance Mon Ami! We know you will stand tall and righteousness will once again prevail on the field of battle and the field of honor....


PS... Take Pics...

I haven't experienced it in the past using SXs but I'll do more research tomorrow


After that I have 1K 52gr. Amax ( which the gun loves and works well) to burn up, then 1K of Speer TNTs...also a known entity.


I have a ton of 50 SXs loaded up for my deuce, so I'll check them out when I take it out. ( tomorrow a .223 is getting the glory...)

our p/dogs are tough down here.......

gotta use enough gun.......

some have been known to charge our tables....

I believe that should be 'GOPHAIRE".....

Putting The Flight of the Valkyries in the CD player, cranking that mother up and descending upon the killing fields!


Have a nice day wankers!

Oddly enough, the gophers are playing Siegfried's Funeral March....

Film at 11?

You won't have that issue with the SX.




Travis

Right-O!


No issues with the terminal performance of the SX.....


Excellent splatter factor!


It was a slow day, we each expended right at 300 rounds. The reduced load bunny gun was a ball to shoot them with as a rimfire alternative, and no trouble ( other than a loose nut on the trigger...) scratching them down at 200 yds with it.

Sounds like fun to me Ingwe.

There was a little collateral damage.....

A HUGE bull gopher breached the perimeter and was coming for us!


I got the gopher in the proverbial nick of time, but I had to shoot through my mirror to do it!









Damn! It was the first time I ever knew what 'flave felt like......

and yielding 500 plus rounds out of a pound of powder no less...

what's not to love...

BTW, those SPSX work great with those reduced loads for the airborne factor.... like a 22 Mag, MAGNUM load with a 50 or 55 grain Bullet...

TNTs are another great bullet for that kind of service...

Glad you saved Montana from Santa Ana and his ninga gophers...
once again...

Shooting a bunch tends to do that...grin.




Clark

John...I really enjoyed that whole reduced load thing. As I said they were good out to 200 yards...shot flatter than I expected.

Didn't need earplugs, barrel didn't heat up near as quickly, killed gophs dead.


I will be doing lots more of it in the future!

Will have to lay in a supply of the SX! Aim sure I have a few, but at most, a couple hundred!

Yeah, they did great!

I mentioned on another thread I shot a bunch of reduced loads with Vmax, and they weren't always frangible. Don't know if its the bullet or the speed....

I have seen that done before on coyotes. Also saw a brand new paint job on pickup get a nice crease from s 22-250 fella has to watch shooting over the hood on a Dodge pickup.

My buddy did that to his Ford van's mirror a few years ago w/a 22-250 AND HOT LOADED 55 BT's (I loaded them). Cost him about $600 to get it replaced and the body work done!. Also another buddy (where do these guys come from?) cracked the windshield in my S-15 and later shot the end off of the antenna w/a 300 WSM, Damn kids anyway! I don't get to go to Augusta till May 21 or so to go gophin', can't wait-Muddy

Ingwe: Sorry about the errant bullet in the heat of battle there!
Over the last 19 years of HEAVY Gopher Hunting hereabouts I have seen 4 blasted rear view mirrors, two truck hoods shot, two floor boards "punctured" and one roof "penetration"!
Luckily I have not had to "pay" for repairing on any of these incidents, to date anyway.
I got out today myself and put a total of 250 rounds down range from 3 different rimfire Rifles.
My partner shot his traditional 40 magazines worth (400 rounds) through his heavy barreled 10/22 when we called it a day and finally got into the beer cooler!
What a GLORIOUS day here in the Rocky Mountains - 60 degrees, no wind, not a cloud in the sky and lots of targets.
By the way three years ago one of my Hunting partners shot his drivers side door mirror (an electric one!) three times before he figured out why he kept missing that closer in Gopher!
Be careful have fun!
Yeah "it's on"!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

It was indeed a glorious day to be in the Rockies yesterday. We were shooting up on the front so the scenery was fantastic.
New mirror on the way....$27.87 shipped


Had a pard lean over the hood of his then new Nissan Pathfinder to whack a PD with his .243....

Little too close to the windshield......

Once upon a time on a Wyoming PD shoot, a guy from elsewhere shot the hood of a rental SUV not just once, but twice. The first round "sounded kinda funny," and neither he nor his partner saw any dust fly, so he tried another. After that one they finally noticed two parallel grooves in the hood.

Oddly enough I was shooting a 50 gr. SX, it went through the mirror and apparently started to disintegrate, cause it killed the schitt out of the gopher, but it looked like he had been shotgunned at close range ( which it was.....about 8 feet....)


Price of gas and lunch $29

Price of ammo $53

Price of new mirror $28

Spring day on the Rocky Mountain Front: Priceless.

Not many can shoot through glass, plastic and fur in the same shot. Well done.

Its a skill.....like anything else........

Couple years ago on the Hi-Line we were into them hot and heavy. Shots were from 5 feet to 200 yards.
Aboard atv's, you will often have vermin "scatter" from nearly under your tires. Partner had a under 10' shot and the scope showed a clear field......
Next morning we were clening rifles before the next attack and he noticed a perfect hole in the 3x9 of his "other" rifle.
He had finished out the day still hitting gophers and continued to use the rifle for the trip.

A loser's philosophy on shooting. You load the cartridge to it's potential. If you need less, get less and shoot a Hornet. The inconsistency of someone that will shoot an AI, then download a cartridge, no wonder the youth of today is confused with that example...

Ya, my 63 comet had some of those in the roof from a 22. Muddy

A loser's philosophy on shooting


Really Shrap?

You can't help yourself sometimes, can you?


You don't do it the way I do it, therefore you must be phouced up...


Kinda Big Stickish, don't you think?

Not really, just being cantrary, wishing it was me on Safari...

Great stories guys.. We a getting a few goths each day not as many as ingwe, but some. Mostly with the .222& .223. But have a .22, mag. And a hornet for those close shots. It is a beautiful day in the northern Rockies. Cold and snow down home. Please fishing and turkey hunting hunting next !

BASTID!!!


I'll have you know I have provided a bad example for Americas youth....and it wasn't through the guns or ammo I was shooting.....


I'm still mad at you for selling that Honda 350- before I could steal it out of your garage!


I don't know if this helps or not, but my reduced loads were shot through a slow twist...on a stainless action with a synthetic stock and a Burris scope....



ooooops!


I'm just digging a deeper hole, aren't I?

I was seriously thinking about shooting that one close-up goph with my Ruger Bisley .22 but then I thought nooooooo....I haven't done anything stoopid yet today.......



Au Revoir mirror.....

Ingwe: You got off cheap!
Last fall some out of state friends were taking myself and my wife out to dinner at a restaurant in Twin Bridges, Montana.
They offered to drive as well and off we went in their newish Honda family van.
On the way to the restaurant my friend asked me why there were no Pheasants around Dillon and I innocently replied "there are to many predators like Fox, Coyote, Skunks and such around Dillon but there were lots of Pheasants up here around Twin Bridges - the difference being more marshy areas around Twin Bridges for the Pheasants to nest and hide in".
Not 5 miles closer to Twin Bridges two Rooster Pheasants ran up out of the burrow pit and took flight.
One of them flew right into the passenger side electric remote mirror of that Honda and knocked it clean off!
The bill was just under $400.00!
They decided to pay it themselves as being city dwellers they had several other insurance "incidents" of recent.
Your are right - "Spring day on the Rocky Mountain Front: Priceless!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG , where did you dine in Twin Bridges?

I dunno where VG went but the Wagon wheel in Twin Bridges serves up a good breakfast and more than passable burger for lunch.

Ingwe: Indeed the Wagon Wheel "usually" has excellent breakfast's and their lunch buffet with their homemade soup's (two types per day) and salad is VERY hard to beat.
WyoCoyotehunter: We ate just tonight at the "Old Hotel Restaurant" there in Twin Bridges and the Hawaiian owner and his wife serve gourmet type meals that are just flat outstanding.
Two of us tonight had the Mahi Mahi with hazelnut crust and rice with miso sauce and they both raved about that. My Gopher/Elk Hunting partner had rack of lamb with a dark sauce that was superb (I ate a small portion) and I had the 14 ounce (always on the small menu) Ribeye steak (that was just world class!) with Hollandaise sauce (paste!), asparagus and a dish of twice baked potatoes that I just inhaled!
Between courses our palates were refreshed with a homemade Blueberry sourbet that I wish had never ended!
(I don't sound like a Kansas City [bleep] do I?).
Also on the small menu was Cornish Game Hen roasted in a special sauce that the accompanying diners just raved about and another entree selection of a shrimp dish of which I forget the details.
Anyway this place is worth the dollars for dinner - they do a Sunday brunch but not breakfasts during the week - its right across the street from the Wagon Wheel by the way.
I have never had dinner at the Wagon Wheel though to date.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Will have to try that place if Im in Twin Bridges at suppertime!

So this has migrated from Varmints to Dinner Discussions..

Well if that is the case, guess that makes up my mind for me... Texas Roadhouse tonight....

after I'm done loading some reduced loads for the 20 Practical with powder 'Steel'.... which is looking like an alternative for Blue Dot or 12.5 grains of IMR 4198...

Thanks for the info. guys! We will have to check these out. My wife doesn't like eating out as much as I do. We just came through TB's, but she wanted to eat in camp, so here we are.

Have you been seeing any bunnies?

Ingwe, a few around Dillon. I haven't been near Lovell since winter.. When we get that way, I will see what I can find out for you. Just before we left for this trip I spotted a coyote running in a bottom along a rocky ridge.. There were bunnies hopping all over to get out of his way.. Of course he wasn't worried about them, he wanted to get away with out getting shot.. Lots of bunnies there!

Thanks for the G2...Im PD shooting in about a month in a good bunny area so it oughta offer some insight too.

You ever try bullets specifically made for the Hornet in your reduced loads? Supposed to expand more reliably at the lower velocities. I have a box or two of them waiting to try.

I have, but they didn't get shot at live targets. I can tell you unequivocally that I have had little trouble with expansion in a variety of bullets Ive tried.
Yes, I did have some 50 NBTs and 50 Vmaxes go through gophers and ricochet , but they damn sure killed the gophers, and were excessive on rabbits. The 55 grain Hornady soft point worked best on rabbit sized targets.
If it was nothing but non-edible gophers, a hornet bullet might be the shizz!


I'll have to try some 50 SXs and 50 TNTs too.......

Tom,

Back when they were real cheap and on sale ( on line) I bought about 4 or 5 thousand of the Winchester 46 grain HP...

its a round nose looking thing, with a big HP in the middle...

For the price I started using it in Blue Dot loads...

its meant for the Hornet.... it sure was accurate and also like hitting these sage rats with a Mini RPG....

Still have a ton of them....they still sell them.. If you're looking to unravel a gopher or sage rat, I'd recommend giving them a try...

Sierra's 40 grain HP was another one that did a good job of disassembling the little flea bitten rodents...

for those that are interested.... found a new alternative for Blue Dot if one can't find any.... and its suppose to be temp insensitive to boot...

Doubled.

Steel workin' for you Seafire?

I'm enjoying what I am seeing of it so far...

accurate, temp insensitive, bulk, slower than Blue Dot so that data is usable... and "Steel" is available on the store shelves...

have enough right now to load 2500 rounds...

Tag.

Seafire, Have you ever used any WW 571 for reduced 223/hornet ect loads? I've got 5# of it. It is a 20 ga and 12 ga heavy magnum ball powder. Thanks-Muddy

My apologies Muddy....

Sadly NO... I've never even held a container of WW571 in my little fingers...

Sea, thanks. Been digging in the garage for a few days and have found bunch of 3030 cast 150's so I will bury them in mt after letting gopher blood. Thanks muddy

Gopher Armageddon Part Deux is Tuesday!

I got a couple on I 5, right next to a state park, where some are running loose...

Funny, but a 70 mph Camry doesn't quite create the mess a well placed 22 cal round from a 223 does...

Sea ire, accidental road kills don't count!

Ingwe, good luck on part two. Turkey are my focus this week, then some gopher I my home digs..have fun travel safe, shoot straight and often!

Gopher Armageddon Part Deux is in the bag!

Two of us expended 800 rounds of .223 by 1pm

it was an absolutely perfect day on nthe Rocky Mountain front! A great many of the pups were out.

" Were" is the operative word there.....


First 100 rounds were through the reduced load bunny gun, the rest were full power 50 gr. SX Hornadys through my LVSF.

A great day to be alive....


unless you were a gopher!

Film at 11???

Sounds excellent! Picked up 500 SX in Bozeman! Have some at home will try these for Wy. gophers & p. dogs! Shoot on !

No film...and I hate those pics with blown up gophs on them, so I just snapped one pic for you guys of the view from the mobile rifle rest on the Rocky Mountain Front.





Note: mirror has been repaired

That's near Augusta.
Look at those heat waves shimmering off that poor barrel, melting the snirt off the mountains.
For shame.

Yeah...the birds tail gives it away...

Sir: we would get along well in the killing fields...


There are many among us who don't "get" the concept of high volume shooting, and high body counts...

BTW: MTM is now marketing a .223 ammo box that neatly holds 4 of those 100 round boxes...makes it easy to keep brass sorted, and maintain a round count...plus you just pull out 100 at a time, use them up then get another box...


FWIW I took three the other day....

so you're just planning a short afternoon...

just you and your AR?

I'd have to stay overnight to shoot all that up.. 2 day'er...

of course that's from a guy who is single shooting each round...

but even with that amount of ammo...

it wouldn't make a real dent in the sage rat field, and between the crows, seagulls, hawks, owls and eagles during the day, and the coyotes coming out at night.. there wouldn't be any sign anyone was ever there a day later.... unless you didn't police up your brass....

plus with my gopher loads, that would have eaten up 2.3 pounds of powder...

So does rubber maid... Wally World has a whole shelf of them, all sorts of different sizes..... but I don't think Rubber Maid is selling them quite for that application...

but yeah for that, I'd have 3 tubs that would easily handle all of that...along with my Country Crock Butter Spread Tubs for the lose brass after the round was shot....

I'm guilty of being a low tech kinda guy...

Here's another picture, Einstein.

Ingwe,

I'm sure we'd get along great killing stuff or otherwise. I'm gonna have to look at those MTM boxes. For the time being, I'm set up like this. Works great.

I was wishing for one of those little tables the other day!

They are pretty nice. I've tried about every which way it seems. This bulls bag, rear bag and table have been the best. Allows you to change point of aim in the widest amount the table is capable of and still be stabile for long shots.

Need something softer than a mouse pad for elbows though. After the first day things start to get tender. The bucket is great too as all the stuff that goes on the table fits in there.

I've got enough stuff to build another couple tables. Won't be until I get caught up at work, but if you wanna cover shipping, I'll do you one up.

If you'd cut that rear 'ear' of the table down to under 12 inches, you can 'hook' your elbow over the edge and you will not need any puzzy-pads.......grin

The pain starts right around my fallopian tubes....

No Cup Holders? I thought it was state law in CA that everything had to have cup holders? What gives?

OneRock would have installed Cup Holders...

I appreciate the offer, but Im going to stick it out with my mobile rifle rest.Most places I shoot are a long way from level....which screws up the table idea pretty good.


Besides the pain the fallopian tubes you mentioned kinda worries me........

Leave my elbows out of this please.....

You are a sick bastid.


We would get along.......