Small varmint kills (the bastards!)

[Mr. Z]

Doubled up today.

 

[Longshot231]

 

[Sniff]

I often use my Marlin 917 in .17HMR for rabbits and magpies during the day:

Leupold Vari-XIII 4.5-14 and a Gunworks suppressor.

 

[Sniff]

The Bergara B14 .22 works well on rabbits and magpies too. Vortex Strike Eagle scope and DPT suppressor.

 

[Sniff]

At night it's more likely to be my 10/22 with an 4x Tasco scope and Parker Hale suppressor. I've shot hundreds and hundreds, maybe thousands of rabbits, magpies, hares, rats and possums with this rifle.

 

[jrhtx]

Does it count if you kill them with a broom? This met me late yesterday at the back door. Had just finished using leaf blower on the porch. Almost stepped on him going in the door.

Had a 38SPL with snake shot but that was a no go on the concrete. Shovel was too far away in the barn. Didn't want him to get away.

 

[Sniff]

Took the S&W M&P15/22 for a shoot last weekend. I got 11 possums and three turkeys.

Crap photo but shows one of the possums (Australian brush tailed possum - completely different to what you call a possum in the States.)

Aimpoint Comp M4 with 3x magnifier and DPT suppressor. Cheap and nasty, but powerful spotlight.

 

[carbonbased]

Does it count if you kill them with a broom? This met me late yesterday at the back door. Had just finished using leaf blower on the porch. Almost stepped on him going in the door.

Had a 38SPL with snake shot but that was a no go on the concrete. Shovel was too far away in the barn. Didn't want him to get away.

View attachment 8434404View attachment 8434405

Hell yeah it counts!

 

[YotaEer]

Killed over a dozen so far this summer, including 2 yesterday that had made holes in and around our bigger barn.

Everyone just cut hay with the record heat on the east coast coming this week, so should be even more visible going forward until the crops get too high

Mix of 6 ARC and 6.5 creed. 108 and 140 ELDM

 

[carbonbased]

Killed over a dozen so far this summer, including 2 yesterday that had made holes in and around our bigger barn.

Everyone just cut hay with the record heat on the east coast coming this week, so should be even more visible going forward until the crops get too high

Mix of 6 ARC and 6.5 creed. 108 and 140 ELDM

Dang those things look huge . Are they woodchucks?

Can’t wait until the field I shoot on gets hayed. Got a pdog shoot scheduled in Aug too.

 

[sandhiller]

While out checking cows I jumped two coyote pups.
Gone before I could get a shot but this little guy popped up in my scope.
Remembered this thread so pulled the trigger on the equally little.17

 

[YotaEer]

Dang those things look huge . Are they woodchucks?

Can’t wait until the field I shoot on gets hayed. Got a pdog shoot scheduled in Aug too.

Yes they are woodchucks. All have VERY healthy diets of corn, beans and wheat. You should see the ones I get in august once the beans start to ripen and they really fatten up. Massive.

I’ve killed literally hundreds in the fields around my parents barn since I was little and there’s no stopping them. Neighboring farm has roughly 3000 acres of corn and beans with hay fields mixed between. Untold amounts of them out there.

 

[carbonbased]

Yes they are woodchucks. All have VERY healthy diets of corn, beans and wheat. You should see the ones I get in august once the beans start to ripen and they really fatten up. Massive.

I’ve killed literally hundreds in the fields around my parents barn since I was little and there’s no stopping them. Neighboring farm has roughly 3000 acres of corn and beans with hay fields mixed between. Untold amounts of them out there.

I wish Minnesota had some. I called the DNR once and they said there are very few here.

 

[sandhiller]

I wish Minnesota had some. I called the DNR once and they said there are very few here.

As far as I know we don't have them here either

With the damage they do in the @YotaEer pics above, not sure I want them around.

Happy hunting!

 

[Mr. Z]

Pretty common here in SWish WI. Curious there’s so few across the big river.

 

[sandhiller]

Does it count if the cat killed it?

I figured it earned the beer, damn packrat was more than half it's size

 

[carbonbased]

Does it count if the cat killed it?
View attachment 8440555
I figured it earned the beer, damn packrat was more than half it's size

 

[A.sosa]

nutria make the list?

 

[YotaEer]

I wish Minnesota had some. I called the DNR once and they said there are very few here.

half my family lives in Northern PA in the allegheny mountains along NY border. Further north, higher elevation and lake effect snow makes for much longer winters and less than ideal soil for crops. Consequently, there are significantly less groundhogs up there.

Probably a similar deal for you guys in Minnesota.

 

[Longshot231]

Had I been alive back then, I believe I could have tolerated life in the WW1 trenches, except for one thing. Rats!

 

[carbonbased]

half my family lives in Northern PA in the allegheny mountains along NY border. Further north, higher elevation and lake effect snow makes for much longer winters and less than ideal soil for crops. Consequently, there are significantly less groundhogs up there.

Probably a similar deal for you guys in Minnesota.

Yeah, but it’s a little weird why they don’t show up more in MN. Looks like they have the fur to survive here?

I find this Wikipedia graphic to be perhaps a bit optimistic?

I did learn that it is part of the marmot genus, which, in turn, is part of the squirrel family (subfamily Xerinae).

Also learned there are way more varieties then I thought possible (hoary, Olympic, Vancouver Island marmot, tarbagan, Himalayan, etc etc etc)

Groundhog - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Jmccracken1214]

I love these threads

One of my favorites…

View attachment 8415462

And most recent. Straight lines be damned.

View attachment 8415463

Boy! I have chased some damn big rats/mice out mowing at the farm….. going straight and then looks like I got drunk and hydroplaned lol.

 

[carbonbased]

Boy! I have chased some damn big rats/mice out mowing at the farm….. going straight and then looks like I got drunk and hydroplaned lol.

You see, this is part of the reason I started this thread. You don’t see dudes mowing over elk or coyotes lol

 

[Mr. Z]

You see, this is part of the reason I started this thread. You don’t see dudes mowing over elk or coyotes lol

It is only a lack of opportunity.

 

[Longshot231]

Yeah, but it’s a little weird why they don’t show up more in MN. Looks like they have the fur to survive here?

View attachment 8440721

I find this Wikipedia graphic to be perhaps a bit optimistic?

I did learn that it is part of the marmot genus, which, in turn, is part of the squirrel family (subfamily Xerinae).

Also learned there are way more varieties then I thought possible (hoary, Olympic, Vancouver Island marmot, tarbagan, Himalayan, etc etc etc)

Groundhog - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

“I suppose that in this day and age, the most readily available live animal upon which to practice will be the common woodchuck or ground-hog. From personal experience I can testify that excellent stalking practice may be gotten by anyone who will really stalk woodchuck, and not merely use them as a long-range rifle target. In recent years I have talked with a great many woodchuck hunters, many of whom told me what excellent ‘hunters’ they were and what splendid shots and kills they made. Mostly at the longer ranges running up to three hundred yards. I never bother to explain to them that it was rifle practice they had been getting and not hunting practice at all. Those of you who wish to learn the art of stalking under such conditions must hold your fire until you have stalked forward to within thirty to forty yards; which may readily be done in any hilly or rolling country, or where the grass or other cover is of any height. Too easy a shot, do you say? Well then: use a light .22 rifle and hold for the eye, or else take a running shot offered in the few yards distance our ‘chuck will be from his den. The idea I am trying to put over is that you must get your rifle practice on the paper target and your stalking practice on the woodchuck or other available live game.”
- A Rifleman Went to War by H.W. McBride © 1935 (pages 300-301)

 

[YotaEer]

“I suppose that in this day and age, the most readily available live animal upon which to practice will be the common woodchuck or ground-hog. From personal experience I can testify that excellent stalking practice may be gotten by anyone who will really stalk woodchuck, and not merely use them as a long-range rifle target. In recent years I have talked with a great many woodchuck hunters, many of whom told me what excellent ‘hunters’ they were and what splendid shots and kills they made. Mostly at the longer ranges running up to three hundred yards. I never bother to explain to them that it was rifle practice they had been getting and not hunting practice at all. Those of you who wish to learn the art of stalking under such conditions must hold your fire until you have stalked forward to within thirty to forty yards; which may readily be done in any hilly or rolling country, or where the grass or other cover is of any height. Too easy a shot, do you say? Well then: use a light .22 rifle and hold for the eye, or else take a running shot offered in the few yards distance our ‘chuck will be from his den. The idea I am trying to put over is that you must get your rifle practice on the paper target and your stalking practice on the woodchuck or other available live game.”
- A Rifleman Went to War by H.W. McBride © 1935 (pages 300-301)

Bought my first rifle the day I turned 12. Marlin 22 mag. Had pellet guns before that and killed plenty of chipmunks with it, but really Learned/taught myself hunting and stalking with that marlin and wood chucks.

Still doing it every summer, just much longer ranges.

Similarly, I’ve been educated on wind, mirage, and my “workflow” via ground hogs more than shooting steel. They don’t sit still very often

 

[Longshot231]

Bought my first rifle the day I turned 12. Marlin 22 mag. Had pellet guns before that and killed plenty of chipmunks with it, but really Learned/taught myself hunting and stalking with that marlin and wood chucks.

Still doing it every summer, just much longer ranges.

Similarly, I’ve been educated on wind, mirage, and my “workflow” via ground hogs more than shooting steel. They don’t sit still very often

The groundhog should be another trophy class game animal.

 

[carbonbased]

“I suppose that in this day and age, the most readily available live animal upon which to practice will be the common woodchuck or ground-hog. From personal experience I can testify that excellent stalking practice may be gotten by anyone who will really stalk woodchuck, and not merely use them as a long-range rifle target. In recent years I have talked with a great many woodchuck hunters, many of whom told me what excellent ‘hunters’ they were and what splendid shots and kills they made. Mostly at the longer ranges running up to three hundred yards. I never bother to explain to them that it was rifle practice they had been getting and not hunting practice at all. Those of you who wish to learn the art of stalking under such conditions must hold your fire until you have stalked forward to within thirty to forty yards; which may readily be done in any hilly or rolling country, or where the grass or other cover is of any height. Too easy a shot, do you say? Well then: use a light .22 rifle and hold for the eye, or else take a running shot offered in the few yards distance our ‘chuck will be from his den. The idea I am trying to put over is that you must get your rifle practice on the paper target and your stalking practice on the woodchuck or other available live game.”
- A Rifleman Went to War by H.W. McBride © 1935 (pages 300-301)

I tend to agree that long-range shooting of animals is not “hunting” in a fair chase sort of way.

For example, I do object to long-range shooting on larger game animals. I feel one should be close enough for the potential to spook them, to give them a fighting chance. This method is closer to the honorable elemental nature of ancient hunting.

However, for rodents (their official classification), I consider them as vermin, “fairness” is not part of the equation, and the point is to kill an infestation by (most) any means possible. The order of Rodentia includes include mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, groundhogs, rockchucks, etc.

If one has fun doing it, so be it.

Therefore, now as well as in the past, I try to write, “I’m a prairie dog shooter,” vs “hunter.”

In shooting this way, I have learned many valuable things about ballistics, wind-reading, rangefinding, recoil control, etc in a higher-pressure, faster-paced, and yes, in a more entertaining environment than shooting mere paper or steel.

I admit to occasionally feeling a tad guilty at a wounding or at an especially violent “explosion.”

But the feeling passes momentarily.

So, to me anyway, long-range shooting of rodents is a sport shooting endeavor, like skeet shooting. Any minor hunting aspect of it relates to simply finding an infestation.

In the not-infrequent occasion that I stalk the buggers with a suppressed 22LR, I do consider that hunting, however.

I get that one can quibble with the way scientists classify animals (somewhat arbitrary, changing through the years) and that the fact that, really, in the final analysis, is there any real difference between dispatching any living thing with regards to ethics?

I guess if one is the type to mourn the mosquito he has just obliterated, to pause a moment to honor the ant that he has stepped upon, or to consider the life of a slain bacteria, then yes, what I do is crass, cruel, possibly unethical.

But who proceeds through life in such a hyper-ethical manner? A Shaolin monk, perhaps?

I cannot go through life that way, however much I respect someone who does.

Playing devil’s advocate against myself, I think there is an argument to be made that once you start treating the killing of anything with less than a somber attitude, then it becomes that much easier to kill your fellow man.

My demarcation line of “kill ‘em all and let God sort them out” hovers around the Rodentia order, I guess. It’s just where I’ve decided to put it.

Maybe I placed that line there just because it’s a fun hobby. A fun hobby of killing.

I try to be brutally honest with myself, and see my own set of internal contradictions for what they are.

Apologies if the line of thinking of which I write above is not relevant to the thrust of your argument.

 

[Mr. Z]

Retards, and Shaolin monks.
That’s who worries about such trivial things as these.

Let’s get them on a heavy dose of immunosuppressive drugs and let the little creepy crawlies eat them from the inside if they’re really that upset.

We, and all other living things, are murder machines.

 

[carbonbased]

Retards, and Shaolin monks.
That’s who worries about such trivial things as these.

Just want to make clear, I know not of the exact philosophy of Shaolin beyond the awesome original Kung Fu tv series with David Carradine lol.

The followups sucked azz


Philosophy class dismissed.

Back to the carnage, people!

bro they’re starting to fight back…

 

[Mr. Z]

 

[Jmccracken1214]

View attachment 8443851

Why the huge snow shovel to get up something so tiny.

USE THEM MAN HANDSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

[nagantguy]

Got the two on the wood pile yesterday and the one missing a face I hit in the teeth at about 7 feet .

 

[Mr. Z]

Why the huge snow shovel to get up something so tiny.

USE THEM MAN HANDSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Tell my dog his mouth is too soft or my wife to use her man hands

I just clean up the mess I come home to, shovel and all. It was a big to do text wall today.

 

[Jmccracken1214]

Tell my dog his mouth is too soft or my wife to use her man hands

I just clean up the mess I come home to, shovel and all. It was a big to do text wall today.

View attachment 8443862
View attachment 8443861

I hear ya!

That dog is ready for the prize under the bucket

 

[Mr. Z]

 

[nagantguy]

Another one living in the wood pile . 11 of the little bastards so far

 

[Jmccracken1214]

View attachment 8445106Another one living in the wood pile . 11 of the little bastards so far

I’ve got the same set up but with a can. I’ve used the bx15 mags and cci mini mags and have ambushed some and mowed them babies down with that charger

 

[carbonbased]

View attachment 8445106Another one living in the wood pile . 11 of the little bastards so far

Ha! I though for a millisecond you used a Glock with a bipod lol

Nice!

 

[nagantguy]

 

[nagantguy]

They’ve been thick as flys the last few days

 

[nikonNUT]

Got an itch to patrol the yard tonight (been way too long) and my usual quarry (raccoons) have gotten wise. Noticed a few Christmas lights hoping around soooo...

Told the cats they were worthless and called it a night! Time for bed but I have the fever again!

 

[Ranchhand]

155 yds with my sbr ar15.

 

[Longshot231]

How small do we want to go? I smeared some maple syrup on paper at the 50 yard line hoping to attract some flies to shoot with my Vudoo. All that showed up were some ants. Here are some before and after photos.

 

[Mr. Z]

 

[nagantguy]

 

[nagantguy]

 

[nagantguy]

This wood pile has been a top producer this year - this is number 6

And number 7 got back on the hole but his prognosis isn’t good

 

[carbonbased]

How small do we want to go? I smeared some maple syrup on paper at the 50 yard line hoping to attract some flies to shoot with my Vudoo. All that showed up were some ants. Here are some before and after photos.

View attachment 8457283View attachment 8457284View attachment 8457285View attachment 8457286

Awesome lol!

 

[carbonbased]

So the rain finally stopped long enough for the grass to get hayed. Popped 11 gophers (technically thirteen-lined ground squirrels) today! Couldn’t find some of the bodies. Great fun, but the dew point was ~70°F!

Hard to hit as they are pups. I missed at least 5 more. All done in by the Kidd 10/22 with CCI segmented subsonics at 1050fps from 40 to 111yds.

After all this rain, man it was sure good to get out again!