Ground hog living in my shed...

[creekbend]

Yuck.. well they are definatley off the menu too. I havent eaten a squirrel for a lot of years..come to think of it, they are just a rat with a pretty tail.

James K0UA

I have never been bitten by a Rat, but I have been bitten by a Squirrel. I was squirrel hunting and had several in the game pocket of my hunting coat, and when I went to put another squirrel in the game pocket, one of the "Boogers" bit me good. It was my fault though, because I should have checked better. The reason being was that I was at a large oak tree on Gus Chrisian's property that was loaded with sorrels, and I was somewhat exuberant.

 

[dodge man]

Ground hogs can be very destructive with their digging. There is no season on them in Illlinois, you can shoot them any time. We have old dog kennel where we live. A very fancy dog kennel that is made out of concrete, maybe a total of 800 sq ft. They have just about destroyed it by tunneling under it. I don't use the kennel so no big deal, but I don't want them under my shop. I've shot about 15 of them, either with a shotgun with 00 buck or my mini 14. They have great eye sight, so I've shot most of them with the mini 14 hiding in the back shadows of my garage. I would recomend at least a 223. I don't think a regular 22 long rifle would anchor one with one shot on a regular basis.

 

[toppop52]

Ground hogs can be very destructive with their digging. There is no season on them in Illlinois, you can shoot them any time. We have old dog kennel where we live. A very fancy dog kennel that is made out of concrete, maybe a total of 800 sq ft. They have just about destroyed it by tunneling under it. I don't use the kennel so no big deal, but I don't want them under my shop. I've shot about 15 of them, either with a shotgun with 00 buck or my mini 14. They have great eye sight, so I've shot most of them with the mini 14 hiding in the back shadows of my garage. I would recomend at least a 223. I don't think a regular 22 long rifle would anchor one with one shot on a regular basis.

I shoot them with my 10/.22 and LR hollow points, never took more than one shot.

 

[k0ua]

I shoot them with my 10/.22 and LR hollow points, never took more than one shot.

My best shot was 75 yards with a .22 Colt Woodsman/Huntsman pistol.. one shot, clean kill. I was 15 at the time. You can believe it or not, your choice.

James K0UA

 

[MrWhippy]

It takes a fair sized dog to take on a full grown ground hog. I have seen some beagle hounds thoroughly shredded by a ground hog. A cornered ground hog is pretty scrappy.

Two Jack Russell Terriers. Ours hunt together. One gets on the head end, the other on the tail end. Then they start pulling until stuff comes off. Pretty scary to see actually. JRT's may be "domestic" pets, but when they're on the hunt, there's nothing domestic about them.

 

[creekbend]

My best shot was 75 yards with a .22 Colt Woodsman/Huntsman pistol.. one shot, clean kill. I was 15 at the time. You can believe it or not, your choice.

James K0UA

That is a nice pistol. I really like the balance and the grip. Using that weapon is like using an extension to your hand. :thumbsup: Just my thoughts.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

I hate ground hogs. We had a ton of the little buggers diggin' holes all over the place when we moved in 10 years ago. It became a personal challenge to get rid of them that first year and the keep the population under control ever since..... I keep a little rifle that shoots .22 win/mag handy for them. We have mulberry trees that they love. They start getting really busy when the berries start dropping off. The rifle does great and stops them with one shot (as long I don't miss). I desperation to rid the place of them I have at times shot right from the back door of the house. The only problem is that all the dogs in the house know whats going on when they see me the rifle and they immediately start loosing their minds 'cause they wanna go try to eat the dead critter. I also keep a .44 pistol handy when I go to the back of the property and was surprised that it's fairly accurate up to about 25 yards - usually the distance where I surprise a ground hog when I walk through the break in the treeline. I've gotten 3 or 4 of them that way.

 

[kf4uda]

My best shot was 75 yards with a .22 Colt Woodsman/Huntsman pistol.. one shot, clean kill. I was 15 at the time. You can believe it or not, your choice.

James K0UA

I have no problem believing that shot with that particular pistol. They are awesome pistols. Several years back, my friend had one and I had a Ruger Mark II. We put many rounds through each target shooting. I liked my Ruger but I enjoyed shooting his pistol as well. My Ruger had a bull barrel and target sights and his Colt would shoot with it all day long.

 

[dodge man]

I've hit a couple of them with my 223 and it didn't drop them right away. It could be it wasn't the greatest shot placement. It just doesn't seem like a 22 would be my first choice, unless noise or some other factor made it so.

 

[toppop52]

Well noise is a factor, I'm about a hundred fifty yards from one end of the airport and they get funny about ammo popping. But most of my shots are 50 yds or less and I have been able to get head/neck shots most of the time.