9mm Ammo for Groundhogs

2LaneCruzer · Jan 22, 2015

The voice of experience. Pretty much what I expected. I'm betting a .22-250 or a .243 would be pretty effective also! I've seen what a .22-250 does to a prairie dog at 100 yards, and just let me say a single shot is sufficient!

k0ua · Jan 22, 2015

I have shot quite a few groundhogs with a .22LR hollow point, and made clean kills with it.
I cannot think of any pistol I would call quiet without a supressor. Even .22 LR pistols are very loud.
They used to make .22short hollow points. But nowadays who knows.? I killed many many squirrels with .22short hollow points "back in the day" when I was about 12 years old. They were considered a bit safer than the 22LR round by my dad.

dodge man · Jan 22, 2015

I'm sure you can kill them with a 22lr, just not a good choice in my opinion. With a 22, I'd want a scoped rifle and shots at 50 yards or less. Almost all the ones I shot were from the shadows of my garage. If the ground hogs saw any movement at all, they were long gone. Maybe at longer ranges they don't see you as well, I'm not sure but at longer ranges, you probably can't use a pistol either.

Garandman · Jan 22, 2015

Winchester makes a 147 grain Jacketed Hollow Point that is subsonic. Probably the best you will do in terms of noise and ricochet out of a 9mmP pistol.

http://www.winchester.com/Products/handgun-ammunition/Value/JHP/Pages/USA9JHP2.aspx
http://winchesterle.com/Lists/CatalogAmmo/Attachments/89/USA9JHP2.pdf

LD1 · Jan 22, 2015

Not sure where some of you hunt groundhogs, but around me, there is no way to get close enough to one without them taking off to even get a shot with a pistol. And a full-boar running hog at 30 yards.....Chances of hitting with a 9mm pistol are slim to nil:laughing:

I have also not had much luck with 1-shot clean kills with a .22LR. And thats with a scope and a good head shot. Ground hogs around here are just tough.

Only 2 good ways to kill em around here are long range with a .223, .22-250 etc. Or if you want to be upclose and catch them on the run...shot gun with something more than birdshot. #4 would e the smallest I would want.

polo1665 · Jan 22, 2015

You might be able to get close enough with a handgun if the pigs haven't been shot at too much before you got there. The first year I lived on our property I killed about 40 of them. I was able to get close enough to shoot them with jsut about anything. The next year they got a bit wiser, and the next wiser yet. It has gotten to the point now that I have to sneak down the driveway to even get a 75 to 100 yard shot with the .22 rifle. If they so much as hear me coming, they are running for the woods.

k0ua · Jan 22, 2015

polo1665 said:
You might be able to get close enough with a handgun if the pigs haven't been shot at too much before you got there. The first year I lived on our property I killed about 40 of them. I was able to get close enough to shoot them with jsut about anything. The next year they got a bit wiser, and the next wiser yet. It has gotten to the point now that I have to sneak down the driveway to even get a 75 to 100 yard shot with the .22 rifle. If they so much as hear me coming, they are running for the woods.

Well... they keep noticing the thinning ranks, every time you appear, and they put 2 and 2 together, and have decided you are bad for their health.! Can't blame them. We get one around here every once in a while, but the coyotes seem to think they are tasty.

wjmst · Jan 22, 2015

Thanks for the replies. I have a .22lr rifle that I have used in the past. Usually one shot to the head works fine and meets my requirements. The only probably is, I don't routinely carry it around, but I always carry my 9mm.

I guess the question would be then which ammo for 9mm would be least likely to exit a groundhog a 147gr at 900fps or a 85gr at 1300fps, both hollow point defense type ammo.

Maybe I just need to wait until spring and test for myself!

k0ua · Jan 22, 2015

In my opinion the 85 grain high speed.

LD1 · Jan 22, 2015

The lighter faster load actually has about 21% more kinetic energy.

But depending on bullet design and construction may help it expand more and give up more of its energy in the hog.

TOO many variables. Not all 147gr hollow points are created equal. And not all 85gr hollow points are created equal.

Only way to know for sure is to shoot each one into ballistic gel and measure penetration. But given the energy difference, IF both were a solid projectile that didnt expand at all, the 85gr bullet would exit the hog with more energy and speed than the 147gr