Groundhogs Anyway You Like It

Hunting chucks is my favorite type of hunting. I have killed as many as 600 in a season ( out West rockchucks ).

Usually I kill about 200 in an average year.

Calibers have come and gone and now I mostly shoot them with a 22.250AI, 223, 220 Swift or 243 Winchester.

Calibers I have used to hunt and kill chucks:

17 Mach II
17 HMR
17 Fireball
17 Remington
204 Ruger
20 BR
22 Long Rifle
22 WMR
22 Hornet
223
22-250
22-250 AI
220 Swift
6mmBR
243 Winchester
6-284
25 Roberts
257 Roberts AI
25.06
260 Remington
7mm-08
7mm Remington Mag
7mmSTW
308
30.06

All the rimfires are questionable on chucks IMHO. Head shots or neck shots work best with the rimfires.

I will be back in the varmint fields looking for chucks in a few more months.

Can't wait!

For some pictures check out a friends website. Dave has pictures of some chucks we have hunted and some darn good videos and clips.

RMVH.com

Mike.
 
Stormbringer,

That is an impressive list of rifles you listed, not to mention the amount of chucks taken. Very nice. If you have pictures of rifles or chucks and would like to post them, we'll be glad to see them. Thanks for sharing.
 
Groundhog hunting is my game with an occasional fox/coyote hunt thrown in..
Calibers I have and enjoy shooting at the whistlepigs & predators are:
22WMR - shooting the 33 grain Rem Premier
22-250 14 twist- shooting 55's
22-250 8 twist - shooting the 68 RPVB
6mmPPC - shooting the 55 grain Noslers
243 Win. - shooting the 75-Vmaxes
243 Ackley Improved - shooting the 70 grain blitzkings & 58 V-maxes

This is how I like to do it..
Image026.jpg

here are some results
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Hey! there is Yosemite Sam, how you been man, long time no see.


I have never seen the air time like that Dave gets with that 22-250 AI. They get some hang time coming off those rocks. Launch!
 
I will shortly have another caliber to add to my list. I just aquired a dream rifle. I have not shot anything with it but paper thus far.

Stolle Panda 6mmPPC
Shillen .262 neck 22" SS Light Varmint 13.5 twist
Kreiger .262 neck 22" SS Heavy Varmint 14.0 twist
Kelbly's polished 1" rings
Jewel two ounce trigger
McMillian Hunter BR stock
Nikon Monarch 6.5-20 Scope

I just tossed together some handloads for it. The worst it shot was in the .4's. The best was .087

That Jewel will take some getting used to.

Mike.

I do not have any pictures hosted at any sites. If somebody would like to see some pictures shoot me an email and I will send you some to post for me. Unfortunately this site does not allow pictures right from your computer.
 
Cool paintjob on that custom DAA, got any closeups. Looks like desert horizon using the wood grain as the sand. Love to see it up close.

HOGGHEAD, your 22-250 is no doubt a more than capable gopher gun as many of the "hot" .22's are. I've had time behind a 22-250, 22 hornet, many 223's, and even a 22 Cheetah. On paper some are very impressive and even make some of the 6mm loadings look less superior. The smack you get from the increased cross-section of the 6mm bullet seems to be more evident when they arrive on target in the form of energy. As a friend of mine says, "they arrive with a dramatic event in store". I was experiencing many crawl offs at distances past 200 yds with the .22's, especially with marginal hits. Now with a 65gr. V-max or 70 gr. Nosler at mild velocities, probably not much faster than a hot 223, out of my 243 Win, I pound them into the ground. I'm sure a crawl off is still possible with the 243 and a very marginal hit, I'm just not seeing it yet. My marginal shots have been DRT so far. I also like the fact that I don't have to drive my gun to near max velocities and shorten barrel life to get the same result as a maxed out .22 caliber. That's just my reason for doing it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif.
 
Thanks for posting some pictures Dave. I sure wish we could get into more of those Orangutan chucks again. They were some of the coolist looking chucks I have ever seen. I always think it is neat to see some markings on chucks ( blondes, white throats, red throats, albinos )

Is your new Dodge any lighter in the front end? Big Red sure did not like big mud puddles LOL!
 
New Dodge does sit higher, with bigger, even more aggressive tires (Toyo Open Country MT's). But that just means it will dig itself a deeper hole!

ARCOREY, that stock is fiberglass, so it's all airbrushed. The scene is a prairie dog town with a fire breathing dragon burning it down.

Nesika-1.jpg


Forend.jpg


- DAA
 
I strongly considered the 6mm cartridges when I was building my new ground hog rifle. However I went with the 22-250 for the following reasons. Tell me what you think about my logic(or lack of logic).

I wanted a rifle that was effective at ranges out to 600 yards. That is about as far as I can hunt in my area, and that is about as far as I feel my capabilites are.

I wanted a rifle where I could see impacts. So I went with an extra heavy 28 inch barel to help reduce muzzle jump.

I studied the BC of the 75 grain bullets, and IMO even with a slightly lower velocity the 75 grain A-Max is a bit flatter shooting at 500 and 600 yards than its slightly faster but lesser BC 6mm bretheren.

Now I realize the 100 grain bullet in the 6mm would be a better choice, however I would loose my ability to see impacts. The heavy 22-250 is on the ragged edge of seeing impacts.

I also detest crawl offs. And I hope I have made the right decision by shooting the 75 grain bullet. I will know soon enough. However I can go to the 68 or 69 grain varmint bullet as well.

I know when it comes right down to it that both cartridges will probably make a great choice. However I could only afford one custom rifle. So I went with the 22-250. I hope I made the right decision.

I understand what you mean by a larger diameter bullet, I am also a 45-70 fan-so I understand what you mean. Tom.
 
The only thing that I think would change it for me is barrel life - a 22-250 shooting 75 grain bullets is not going to be a long lived rig.

And premium barrels costing what they do, you can put ~60 to 75 cents per shot into the jelly jar - to cover the cost of a new barrel.

A 6mmBR shooting 65 or 75 gr V-Maxs is a 600+ yd rig with loooong barrel life.

.
 
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The only thing that I think would change it for me is barrel life - a 22-250 shooting 75 grain bullets is not going to be a long lived rig.

And premium barrels costing what they do, you can put ~60 to 75 cents per shot into the jelly jar - to cover the cost of a new barrel.

A 6mmBR shooting 65 or 75 gr V-Maxs is a 600+ yd rig with loooong barrel life.

.




I would have to agree with you on that one. I thought about that also. I imagine it will take between 100 and 200 shots to really get to know the rifle at the range. After that I imagine I will put another 100 rounds down the tube every year(at most). At that rate I hope I live long enough to be able to change the barrel. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I realize a lot of you guys are shooters and like to spend a lot of time at the range. However most of my range time is playing with my 45-70's.

I keep a pretty good log of my ground hog hunting. Last year I shot 98 ground hogs with a total of 113 shots taken. I will also do a lot of my hunting with my Rock River Varminter. Actually I will do most of my hunting with my RR. I also hunt a good bit with my Kimber 22 Hornet. I enjoy hunting small barn lots. So actually 100 shots through the 22-250 a year will probably be a high estimate.

I am hoping I can get 1,000 shots from my new 22-250. Does that sound like too many?? I also went with a 28 inch barrel because a friend suggested I could cut it back to 26 inch and do one rechamber?? Isn't that possible?? Tom.
 
Man, you guys have some nice rifles, not to mention DAA's shovel.

I have tossed around the idea of a 243 Ackley Improved rebarrel for a # 1 Ruger I have. I'm not sure how much of a shooter it could become, accuracy wise. Does anyone have any experience with #1s? I like the idea of it if, and that's a big "IF," it could be made to shoot.
 
David, I too was looking at the 243AI. I have been reading a lot of posts on other forums where people are only seeing 100 fps at best over the standard 243 with same bullet and barrel lengths and some vanilla 243 shooters with 28"+ barrels are real close to 20-22" AI shooters. Makes me think the almost $200 dies and odd rifle and case prep work aren't worth the trouble. Most AI owners love them once they do it, but most already have other AI's, so maybe it's a love it or hate it deal to go Ackley. In a #1, I think if you were going Ackley, the 100 fps gain to go 6mmrem + the 100 fps gain to go AI would make a total of 200 fps gain and may be worth the trouble. But, then again, you'll own 2 3700 fps 6mm rifles.
 
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Quote:
The only thing that I think would change it for me is barrel life - a 22-250 shooting 75 grain bullets is not going to be a long lived rig.

And premium barrels costing what they do, you can put ~60 to 75 cents per shot into the jelly jar - to cover the cost of a new barrel.

A 6mmBR shooting 65 or 75 gr V-Maxs is a 600+ yd rig with loooong barrel life.

.




I would have to agree with you on that one. I thought about that also. I imagine it will take between 100 and 200 shots to really get to know the rifle at the range. After that I imagine I will put another 100 rounds down the tube every year(at most). At that rate I hope I live long enough to be able to change the barrel. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I realize a lot of you guys are shooters and like to spend a lot of time at the range. However most of my range time is playing with my 45-70's.

I keep a pretty good log of my ground hog hunting. Last year I shot 98 ground hogs with a total of 113 shots taken. I will also do a lot of my hunting with my Rock River Varminter. Actually I will do most of my hunting with my RR. I also hunt a good bit with my Kimber 22 Hornet. I enjoy hunting small barn lots. So actually 100 shots through the 22-250 a year will probably be a high estimate.

I am hoping I can get 1,000 shots from my new 22-250. Does that sound like too many?? I also went with a 28 inch barrel because a friend suggested I could cut it back to 26 inch and do one rechamber?? Isn't that possible?? Tom.



I think that closer to 700-800 with 600yd accuracy is more reasonable, but you might be able to push it to 1,000 at 400 and 500 - and you can definitely set it back at least once and maybe twice.

.
 
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Man, you guys have some nice rifles, not to mention DAA's shovel.

I have tossed around the idea of a 243 Ackley Improved rebarrel for a # 1 Ruger I have. I'm not sure how much of a shooter it could become, accuracy wise. Does anyone have any experience with #1s? I like the idea of it if, and that's a big "IF," it could be made to shoot.



David...

I have had a mess of #1s and most of them were accurate (but not "Accurate")... they are good enough for 400-500 yd ground-hogs.

If you are talking about rebarreling your 218 Bee, fagetaboutit - leave that puppy alone, or you're in big trouble. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I have a Rem 40XB/single shot that has gone through three 22-250 barrels, and last summer, I finely changed it up to a standard 6mm Rem (244), and bought 1,000 pcs of Winchester brass for it.

I think if you want a hot 243/6mm, go with a bolt gun.

But the 243 AI will be just shy of your 6mm-06 and you already have that, and dies, etc, so you will not be adding anything new to your "stable" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Get a rush out of life and get a .220 Swift /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

.
 
Corey, you have a good argument there about the 243 Ackley vs a 6mm Rem. It may be more hassel than it's worth. I'd rather be shooting than trying to prep brass, not to mention spending more money than need be. As to having another 6mm in the 3700 fps category, I wouldn't mind that part.

As to the #1, I just kind-of like the idea of having one that will shoot. But, it might be a project that would lead to disappointment. If it wouldn't group well, I'd be thoroughly disatisfied. But I have to admit I love the looks of a #1.

CatShooter, no, there's no way I would rebarrel my 218 Bee. That little job is a classic and it's found a home. I have another #1 in 243, the model 1-A. It has the thin barrel and shoots ok for deer, but it's not much of a groundhog getter - except at closer ranges.
 
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My .243AI has a 29", 13T barrel, getting right around 4000 fps with 70 gr. bullets. Thumps 'chucks very pleasingly. Pic of it below:

243AIfront2.jpg

243Tang.jpg


My 6AI, had a... oh crap, memory is a terrible thing to waste... okay, either a 27" or 28" 12T barrel and it was getting 3850 fps with 75 gr. Vmax, and was absolutely FILTHY in it's treatment of 'chucks. Big clouds of 'chuck particles. Pic of it below:

TimSako.JPG


If building another rifle right now for 'chucks, and I had to choose between the standard .243 Win., the standard 6mm, or one of them in AI configuration, I think the 6AI would get the nod.

But my real workhorse 'chuck rig, is an old 700 chambered in .22-250AI, shooting 55 Vmax at a moderate 3800 fps. Nothing fancy. Just something about that rifle, seems like it has a personality and that personality likes killing 'chucks as much as I do.

Oh - just a "by the way...", my 8T .22-250AI, shooting 75 Amax, only lasted about 700 rounds.

- DAA
 
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