Too close for a scope!

[N2 Shooter]

So here is the story!

You guys know I have been battling these groundhogs all damn year! And just when I thought I had the rear of the property in check, (using guns, poison gas, etc) they moved to the front. This has cased a huge 12 foot long crack in my basement wall, that looks like it's gonna cost more than the rear foundation repair!

With that I cut up a bunch of fruit and mixed in with apple flavored rat poison, and shoved the whole lot down the new burrows in the front. I did this every day for three days, and when I went to the property on the forth day to check, I saw the bastard peeking out of his burrow, but he quickly ducked back in!

At that point, I figured there was no way he was gonna pop out in the near term, so I pulled my gun case with the Bulldog out and went in the house to my window perch to see if I could snipe one. After a few hours, I had to get back to work, so as I was leaving out the front door, something told me to peek over the railing to see if he was hanging around, and sure enough he was! 

I pulled my Bulldog out of the case and popped on the Ronin suppressor, as its much shorter than the Emperor. I pre-set the ATN rangefinder for as close as it could go, and that was 6yards, but I couldn't get a clear picture through my scope because he was too close and I was like 4 feet from him! So I rested my cheek against the stock and drew an imaginary line from the tip of the barrel to the whistle pig, and let an 81gr Polymag fly. The first one was a good hit, but little to the side, so I racked another round and that did the trick. I gave the bastard one more because of how much money he's costing me.

So since he was too close for scope cam, you get the crime scene photo after the fact.

 

[qball]

I would be awfully upset to have that kind of damage by these groundhogs. However I would be a little worried about that much power that close in case if ricochet. Hope that’s the last one.

 

[N2 Shooter]

I would be awfully upset to have that kind of damage by these groundhogs. However I would be a little worried about that much power that close in case if ricochet. Hope that’s the last one.

In this particular area, the rounds would go nowhere but straight down the burrow. After I killed this one, I filled the hole with gravel. The next day, there was another burrow on the other side. I used two groundhog gassers, and I'm going to keep filling it with poisoned fruit. If the fruit disappears, then I still have a problem. This is groundhog number 20 with a possible 21 in my neighbors house which is an unconfirmed kill. I also post up fruit that is not poisoned at the back of the property so I can possibly snipe some of them. I only put poisoned fruit directly in the burrows, because I don't want other animals to die by mistake.

 

[qball]

Wow that is just crazy ground hog problem, hope you get them and get a break from property damage! 

 

[N2 Shooter]

Wow that is just crazy ground hag problem, hope you get them and get a break from property damage!

I'm trying to have this property ready for rent before December, so I don't have much more time to thin the heard. I have permission from 6 different neighbors to take groundhogs on their property at will. Every female that survives to hibernate will have 4 to 6 by April of next year. So some December, I'll spend another $100 on groundhog flares and wait until it get good and cold, and as many of them are in their burrow until next year, then I'll gas the bitches and hopefully really put a dent in the population next year.

 

[Babaganoush]

I'm a homeowner that is in the same boat dealing with groundhogs. I have had my shed floor and my brick porch stairs collapse from borrows. My garden is always under assault as well. I never knew they could climb, but I have caught them with a mouth full of greens going right over a 4' wire fence. I started out with poison and a .22 and neither where very effective. After my stairs crumbled I had enough and got a .357 Texan. Now any decent center mass shot with the huge hollow point is game over.

I also did some more research and bought some Conibear 220 traps, since the cage traps where mostly avoided.

They work very well set in burrows with the center filled in with some light leaves and grass.

The Conibears get 2-3 groundhogs for every one I shoot.

 

[OldSpook]

I'm a homeowner that is in the same boat dealing with groundhogs. I have had my shed floor and my brick porch stairs collapse from borrows. My garden is always under assault as well. I never knew they could climb, but I have caught them with a mouth full of greens going right over a 4' wire fence. I started out with poison and a .22 and neither where very effective. After my stairs crumbled I had enough and got a .357 Texan. Now any decent center mass shot with the huge hollow point is game over.

I also did some more research and bought some Conibear 220 traps, since the cage traps where mostly avoided.

They work very well set in burrows with the center filled in with some light leaves and grass.

The Conibears get 2-3 groundhogs for every one I shoot.

+1 Those conibears do a fine job. They don't discriminate between pets and ghogs so best to put them down in the hole. FAR BETTER choice than poison. Far more efficient than sitting around for an hour to get a shot and cheaper than the cost of even a cheap PCP.

Sterling Fur Co.

 

[Flintsack]

That is absolutely crazy. I get them out in the country by my office, but nothing like that. Possibly it’s because they haven’t had a chance to get big numbers. I had a mom and two babies here this spring. I’m pretty sure they left for greener pastures.

mike

 

[Queequeg]

+1 Those conibears do a fine job. They don't discriminate between pets and ghogs so best to put them down in the hole. FAR BETTER choice than poison. Far more efficient than sitting around for an hour to get a shot and cheaper than the cost of even a cheap PCP.

Sterling Fur Co.

+2 on trapping efficiency whether for pest control or meat harvesting in a survival situation. My only subterranean nemesis in these parts are gophers. It would be a full time job sitting around waiting for good shots, although I do enjoy getting the occasional unexpected opportunity. 

After spotting a fresh hole, trapping them generally takes less than an hour with only a few minutes setting the trap.

 

[N2 Shooter]

I'm a homeowner that is in the same boat dealing with groundhogs. I have had my shed floor and my brick porch stairs collapse from borrows. My garden is always under assault as well. I never knew they could climb, but I have caught them with a mouth full of greens going right over a 4' wire fence. I started out with poison and a .22 and neither where very effective. After my stairs crumbled I had enough and got a .357 Texan. Now any decent center mass shot with the huge hollow point is game over.

I also did some more research and bought some Conibear 220 traps, since the cage traps where mostly avoided.

They work very well set in burrows with the center filled in with some light leaves and grass.

The Conibears get 2-3 groundhogs for every one I shoot.

Yeah, I've also seen them climb a 4 foot fence and a pile of fallen trees. I even managed to earhole one off the top of my neighbors fence climbing into my yard, but after that they started burrowing under my driveway. For that reason, I have been parking on the street, as the gas bombs had smoke coming up from every driveway crack.  I have also upgraded to the .357 Bulldog (I got two actually) but the airgun gods around here frown on bodyshots that don't drop them in their tracks, so I don't post those shots anymore.

We have way too many pets in my heavily residential area to use those traps, but they look like a real life saver for anyone who can implement them! If you thought it took a bit of convincing to get authorization to pluck of the groundhogs on my neighbors property with my airgun, that would disappear and follow with vengeance if one of their kitties was trapped and killed. I also has a neighbor that has some kinda Terrier dog (sorry, I'm a cat person, don't know too much about dogs) that does its level best to dig up every groundhog around.

Problem is the groundhogs are triple the size of the dog! 

 

[N2 Shooter]

+1 Those conibears do a fine job. They don't discriminate between pets and ghogs so best to put them down in the hole. FAR BETTER choice than poison. Far more efficient than sitting around for an hour to get a shot and cheaper than the cost of even a cheap PCP.

Sterling Fur Co.

I hate using poisons too. I was at my wits end to even consider it.

 

[Cannonball]

I would definitely get several of those Conibear traps and set them up inside the burrows. Make sure you know who to properly and SAFELY set one. You will break fingers if you’re not careful. I have successfully used them for other species causing damage and they are very effective.

 

[Blackpaw]

That is crazy damage as mentioned above. My experience with ground hogs is non-exist, but there cousin "rock chucks" as they are called in the west is similar. Typically though they stay in the rocks, but burrow under ground from there. If the rock pills, naturally formed or not, are near canals and similar and the rock chucks get too close, the canals can burst. As far as I know it isn't a common problem, but can happen. 

Also, I know they cause a lot of damage on the golf courses in my hometown in Idaho.

 

[Queequeg]

I wonder if pumping their holes full of mud would do the trick? Drown them and fill the burrow in one fell swoop if it worked.

 

[N2 Shooter]

I wonder if pumping their holes full of mud would do the trick? Drown them and fill the burrow in one fell swoop if it worked.

They will just dig out on another pathway. If I have to condemn my property, I'll pump the holes full of kerosene and flick a lit cuban stogie their way.

 

[Queequeg]

I wonder if pumping their holes full of mud would do the trick? Drown them and fill the burrow in one fell swoop if it worked.

They will just dig out on another pathway. If I have to condemn my property, I'll pump the holes full of kerosene and flick a lit cuban stogie their way.

They'd have to do it like immediately or drown. So if they did there is your opportunity whack em.

I know you can't drown them with a hose because they have chambers that are above most of the tunnel. But pressurized mud like bentonite clay would fill those as well until it started to seep up through the ground. Trash pumps are cheap to rent.

 

[Calbarry]

There are no ground hogs here in Ca, but I've dealt with ground squirrels. They are a lot smaller than the ground hogs but they do the same type of damage. They burrow next to sheds, homes, etc and can do enough damage to cause the ground to collapse. Over the years, I've helped numerous friends and neighbors get rid of them. I don't use poison or traps, as both are frustrating and aggravating. I use the smoke bombs and the exhaust fumes from any gas engine. When I use the smoke bombs, I light the fuse and stick them in the hole as far as I can. When they start to smoke, I use a leaf blower to force the gas into the burrow. If you don't use the blower, the smoke will just rise out of the hole. The other, more effective way is the attach a hose to the exhaust of a lawn mover, ATV, anything that has a gas engine. Stick the hose into the burrow and run the engine for 10-15 minutes. It will take care of anything in the burrow. This method will not work on a vehicle with dual exhaust. If you use a car or truck, make sure you don't run it for more than 5 minutes at a time. The back pressure that will build up can destroy the O2 sensor in newer cars. While the sensor is not necessary for the car to run, it is very expensive to replace. The hose/exhaust has worked every time I've used it. Cover the hole when you're done so you can make sure the burrow isn't still being used. You can find the clamps and hoses at Home Depot

 

[Babaganoush]

You can use Conibears in areas with high pet traffic if you use exclusion devices. You can dig around the burrow to open it up a bit so you can set the trap down in the borrow and still have room to allow the jaws and spring to function. I would do this a day or two in advance so they get used to the new landscape. Then one night drop the traps in the burrows and cover them with chicken wire, followed by some stakes to secure it. When those buggers try to exit in the morning they will be in for a rude awakening



Side story about entitled irresponsible pet owners that let their animals roam....

My neighborhood is two little cul de sacs that is tucked into the edge of a 7000 acre nature reserve.

That's the source of the never ending migration of woodchuck's onto my property.

It is also a fringe zone to different and numerous predators. Fishers, bobcats, coyotes, hawks, and great horned owls are a pretty common sight.

Every year or so a new family moves into the neighborhood and usually within a few weeks they are handing out flyers "Have you seen Fluffy and Muffy? Call Jimbob or Linda at 1-675-Dip-poop.

When they hand me a flyer and ask my if I have seen their cat I just say "Nope" 

I don't bother to tell them that if they hike that trail over there that coyotes like to travel they will probably find a shredded fur pile that was once their cat.

So...ya...I don't have to worry about small pets getting into my traps, they don't last long enough versus the local gang.

 

[Healthservices]

close and I was like 4 feet from him! So I rested my cheek against the stock and drew an imaginary line from the tip of the barrel to the whistle pig, and let an 81gr Polymag fly. The first one was a good hit, but little to the side, so I racked another round and that did the trick. I gave the bastard one more because of how much money he's costing me.

Because evil can never be dead enough....

 

[N2 Shooter]

close and I was like 4 feet from him! So I rested my cheek against the stock and drew an imaginary line from the tip of the barrel to the whistle pig, and let an 81gr Polymag fly. The first one was a good hit, but little to the side, so I racked another round and that did the trick. I gave the bastard one more because of how much money he's costing me.

Because evil can never be dead enough....

Exactly.