Groundhogs Anyway You Like It

Thanks 6mm06 for the great post and for the invitation to share....

Triplets....
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This guy was doing push ups to pull grass. He would push rapidly upward and bring his front feet off the ground to pull the grass out. He died with his mouth full...
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The Sako 75 Varmint Stainless 22-250 (aka "Ol' Painless"). It has a 7.5 oz set trigger which is more than marvelous and a 6.5-20x40mm Leupold VX-III...
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6mm06 - good to see you on here again. Guess you were hunting all summer to get new footage for your video? Hope I get to see another one soon. Did it get cold in your part of VA last night? It is still only 8 degrees here and will be zero tonight. Later
 
Great pictures - I've killed a few with different calibers over the years. Nothing like some of you. I'm just waiting for time to get back out there. I did buy a Savage Model 40 single shot 22 Hornet last year and really like it, killed 36 groundhogs with it. I shot at 37 only one got away and he was the closest shot i had all year, no more than 30 yards. (Used more than 37 rounds Ha Ha)

22lr
22mag
6mm rem
243
25-06
 
cngerms, thanks for your post. I really like that rifle. I've always wanted a Sako but have yet to get one. I can just imagine how sweet that trigger is.

va ken, I'm glad you enjoyed the groundhog video. I have plans for more and actually hope to do some videoing of a fox hunt soon, and another groundhog video next summer. A couple of guys have invited me to hunt with them and do some filming, so I'm looking forward to that. I have secured a domain name already, but don't have the website built. I hope to get that going before too long - as soon as I can get my son motivated enough to build it for me. As to cold here, it was -3 on my back porch yesterday morning at about 7:00 AM.

dunkslot, that's a lot of groundhogs with that Savage 40. I take it you like that rifle. I have a Stevens 200 with the factory camo stock in 223 that I like. It shoots 60 gr. V-Max pretty good and we took several groundhogs with it two summers past. Thanks for sharing your story. If you have pictures available, how about posting one of your Savage 40, and any groudhog photos you might have.
 
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Thanks alot there Sonny. Now I need a bigger backpack for the chicken and Iced tea. Just when I thought I couldn't carry anything else... maybe this summer I'll hang a little closer to the ATV and incorporate an unbrella into the setup /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
 
ARCorey, an umbrella is a requirement on those hot blistering sunny days in the beanfields. I stick my beach umbrella right down in the ground passed the footpeg and shifter, tie it off with a bungy cord.

Come on down David

Bring that Sako with you there cngerms, I wanna test drive that thing.
 
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Bring that Sako with you there cngerms, I wanna test drive that thing.



HA! You bet! Name the time & place. You guys can test drive her all you'd like. I have a blued, Sako 75 Varmint with a set trigger in 204, too. It hasn't taken the life of one varmint yet, but it will soon now that I've found a deadly accurate 35gr Berger load for it. I'm bursting at the seams to break her in.
 
Just as I began to learn reloading, I learned my Sako 22-250 shoots better than I do. I shot this group off the trunk of my car and got so excited I jerked shot #5. I knew I should have stopped at #4. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angry-smiley-055.gif

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I know the feeling. Something similiar happened to me with a Cooper in 22-250 and a certain load I had worked up, Holy Cow. It's neat when it happens to you and a load you've built for a rifle.

germs here's a group from a 204 of mine. 39grain Blitzkings with Benchmark, at 100yds off of sandbags. Keep in mind those are 20 caliber holes. It is a Browning A Bolt Hunter sporter/pencil barrel.

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Yea, that's dang cool, Pruson! What an awesome group! I'm going to try the 39 BKs for my 204 soon. I'm waiting to try 40gr Bergers and 45gr Hornady Spire Points I've already loaded though. So far, the 35gr Bergers are all I've actually tested. Went through several powders to get great results with H4895. I KNOW I'm addicted to reloading now.

I'm guessing the BKs shred ghogs, yes? Are you aware of any ricochets you may have had with the BKs? I'm ricochet paranoid in the worst way.

I wish I could post a pic of a ghog I shot with a .243 loaded with factory Nosler ballistic tips just so you could see the terminal effect, but it's too graphic. That was the first ghog explosion I'd ever witnessed. I've only been hunting them a little over 2 years now.
 
Man, I'd hate to be a groundhog living near you guys. I'd probably go nocturnal. Those are some darn good groups.

Sonny, I may take you up on that offer one of these days. Maybe we can get some more good groundhog footage for another video.

Here is a group I shot with my baby; the 6mm06. Of course, you guys have me beat since mine is only a 3-shot group.

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Here is a group I shot with my baby; the 6mm06. Of course, you guys have me beat since mine is only a 3-shot group.



HA! I think I'd pay deference to both you guys seeing how I'm the rookie on the block. As long as I remain the rookie, I can offer the most excuses for misses.
 
cngerms, I know what you mean about those 243's and the NBT's. I had several I didn't even want to pick up. I usually push them into a hole with my shooting sticks.

David, how fast are you pushing those 75's with your baby? It looks like a lazer beam cartridge. I doubt there's much hold over at 400 yds with that.

Sonny, the chicken, iced tea, and umbrellas sound nice, but where I hunt, it's more of a run and gun scenario. I park the vehicle at the nearest barn and either creep around on my Honda Rancher or walk the fences. I carry a daypack that I use for predators and deer also. I usually have several bottles of water, my shooting sticks, binos, snacks, sunscreen, sandbags, ammo, camera, knife, allergy medicine, Mark II Ruger, and the all important roll of T.P. just incase. Probably weighs about 30 lbs. not to mention a rifle that weighs about 13 lbs. The hogs where I hunt seem very nervous for some reason(Gee, I wonder why /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif). I spend as much time belly crawling and on all fours as I do sitting and standing. I have a few high knolls I can sit on and glass, but most of the time it's spot and stalk for me. I have to pick my angles in several locations due to the background and have to "out flank" hogs to get a good backstop. There are some days where I will hunt the same spot on 3 or 4 different rounds while walking and scanning. The older I get the better that sitting under the umbrella thing is starting to sound though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif.
 
germs, not to worry about ricochets with the 39 gr Blitzkings. In fact, I have called Sierra, whining about their bullets coming apart in flight or on the surface of the animal, splashing. Push em to fast and they splash on impact or hit a weed and it's over, they are pretty fragile, but I've found nothing more accurate. I have two 204s, due to twist rate and speed, one will shoot them with great results and the other only shoots them accurately, splashes on impact are higher in that gun. I have to shoot the 40 gr Bergers in it. Smacks em dead at 300 yds.

ARCorey, your style of hunting will make you a much better hunter. Don't get old or you will be like me, lazy.
 
Corey,

You sound like me with all that gear to pack. When I predator hunt, I seem to take most everything I own with me on my back. Seems that I add something new to the pack everytime I go out. I like the idea of packing light, but can't seem to do it.

As to the speed of the 6mm06, I've got it at 3621 fps with the 75 gr. V-Max. It can go faster and I've had it somewhat faster - over 3700, but the accuracy is good at 3621, so I just stopped there. On a ballistic chart, the difference of 100 or even 200 fps increase is negligible at distances that I normally shoot, which is under 400 yards. But I know the cartridge can be pushed to faster velocities. Either way, it ruins a groundhog's day.
 
Sonny, I figure by the time I get my 243 fully customized the way I want it, I'll be to old to crawl around like some young fool and have to find more hilltops to take those long shots from. Land is getting harder to come by and the neighboring hillsides seem to be growing houses making the bigger boomers harder to use. Luckily the guy I hunt on is fairly well to do and hasn't sold anything yet, but times are hard on all and he has started leasing it out. So far it hasn't effected me, but I still worry it will some day.

David, I thought my buddy was going to die this deer season when he tried to put my backpack into the truck. My deer pack is by far the heaviest and probably weighs in at 40+ lbs. I've had many packs that just can't take it. I don't know why they weigh so much, I just hate to not be prepared. Makes me wonder how I hunted with just a small fanny pack for years. I like gadgets too much I guess. I'll have to say, that 6mm06 sounds and looks impressive on your videos. I was temted to start my current varmint gun as a 25-06 looking the 6mm06 direction, but I wanted something with less recoil and liked the short action family in the 243Win/6MMrem direction. The older I get, the smaller the calibers I buy and the less I can tolerate recoil and noise. Come to think of it, I'm starting to head Sonny's direction. Next thing you know, I'll be toting a micro in 17 Ackley Hornet and sitting under umbrellas eatin' chicken, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif. I guess it could be worse, you do get results Sonny, the proof is in the pictures. This chicken thing really has me thinking /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif, maybe groundhogs do taste like chicken. Or maybe you shouldn't lick your fingers after handling whistle pigs /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif.
 
Is there a reason why you guys like the 6mm caliber over the 22 caliber when it comes to the 75 grain bullet?? I just put together a new Gorund Hog rifle in 22-250 with a 1in8 twist Krieger for long distance ground hogs. I am looking to get between 3300-3400 fps with the 75 grain A-Max. I considered an AI or a Middlested for a little more velocity, but decided upon the 22-250. The BC for the 22 caliber 75 grain bullet is much higher than the BC of the 6mm 75 grain bullet, IMO?? So what made you guys go with the 6mm?? Tom.

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Hi Tom, and thanks for your post.

I know a gunsmith friend who has been building the 6mm06 for many years, and using them in the field where it counts. Years ago I happened to be at a farm the same time he was, and got to see it in action. I immediately liked it. I have used and still use a 22-250 for years with good success, but never shot more than 55 gr. bullets. I tend to like a caliber somewhat larger, and the fact that I can use it for deer and antelope was also appealing. That's just kind of a personal preference. As well, the distances I shoot groundhogs are generally under 400 yards, so I really don't consider any gains in BC to be of any real advantage, unless it is a great difference. There is also something said for frontal diameter and how hard a bullet hits home. That 6mm06 just seems to hit with authority.

I have even been experimenting a little with a 257 Arnold Magnum, which is a 264 Win Mag necked down to 25 caliber. I have shot groundhogs with a lot of calibers and had a great time doing it. This past summer I even used a Remington Sendero 7mm STW and 120 gr. Ballistic Tips. But just seems that the 6mm06 is my go-to gun when I want to stretch the range a little.

My opinion of your rifle and caliber is good. I just happen to have the 6mm and kind-of have a preference for it. That doesn't mean that yours isn't a great one for groundhogs. You have a really nice looking outfit and I appreciate your post and conversation on that. Hopefully others will respond and give their two-cents worth.
 
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