Ammo recommendations for a MK II 22lr on groundhogs past 100 yards.

[RLC]

Ive shot em a 100 yds. with tricked out 10-22s and like one of the other guys said it depends on what the the gun likes to eat. One of mine will shoot the Cci stingers very accurately while the other likes more lead & less velocity. PMCs.. But to make it easy I bring a 17 HMR now!!!!! Love that round

 

[Steve B]

I prefer my 17 REM. It kills them instantly and doesn't damage the meat. I don't eat them. I have friends and relatives that do though.

 

[jwh20]

What's a groundhog? The damn coyotes have nearly eliminated them in my neck of the woods, I don't think I've seen a whistle pig in a couple years near my house.

I live near Noblesville and same story here. I used to see groundhogs all over my property and they were convenient targets for sighting-in a rifle. But now I see coyotes almost every day but they are never not on the move. So unless I have my rifle already aimed, they are gone by the time I could retrieve it.

But I'm not missing the huge holes the groundhogs dig that I was forever tripping over.

They don't seem to like possum and there are still plenty of those nasty critters around.

 

[LarryC]

For a humane kill,your target would have to be the brain.How far away can you CONSISTANTLY hit a golf ball ?

I have not and would NEVER take any shot at any living thing that I did or would not believe would KILL the animal quickly. I hunted many years, let many animals go free when I was not certain I would kill and not just wound the animal. I also never left any animal wounded on the rare occasions that they did not die instantly. I have actually cut a tree down to dispatch a wounded squirrel that entered a hollow tree.

I don't hunt any more as SWMBO does not eat wild game often, and I don't kill what I don't eat. I don't disagree with hunting vermin like Groundhogs, Coyotes etc., just not my bag. I don't need to prove my marksmanship. If someone need demonstrations we can go to the range. When dispatching an animal, I will use what is needed - not an underpowered firearm.

 

[tdkahn]

interesting video showing "lethality of 22lr"


[ame]http://youtu.be/xAkOzr6cDx0[/ame]

 

[ephamafluff]

I was just ready to post this same video…you beat me to it. This is a good demonstration of the lethality of the lowly .22lr…especially if you’re a rump roast and maybe a groundhog too.

 

[teddy12b]

As luck would have it, this groundhog is just sitting out there laughing at me. The way the property is lined up he sits just off the edge of my place on my neighbors land. My neighbor would love for me to shoot it, but from where I could take a shot, if I missed and the bullet skipped just right it could hit a house behind the land. It's a slim chance anything like that could happen, but there's enough of a chance for me to wait for the right shot, and so far the little bugger hasn't presented me with the right "opportunity". If I do get a chance to take the shot I'll update with results.

 

[2in1evtime]

I would have to go with the 22 mag myself, not sure on 22 long rifle. also young ground hogs are great to put on the table,pretty tasty

 

[45fan]

The last ground hog Ive shot with a 22 was with a pistol, and from the results, I will be stepping up to a rifle, or at least a heavier handgun. At 10 yards, maybe just a few feet less, it was a clean head shot, actually flipped the critter off his feet. By the time I went out the front door, walked around the house to verify it was dead, the animal had disappeared. It was a clean head shot, but the rounded lead bullet apparently didnt penetrate, as there wasnt so much as a drop of blood in the grass where he went down, or in the surrounding area. The next time I think I will go with a .38 Special, to make sure when he goes down, he stays down.

 

[RedThunder]

What ever you choose, I just wanted to let you know I thinks it's awesome that you have ground markers in your back yard! I'm going to do that all around my house with red flagged sticks and orange label cards....
Sticks will read: "guttin knife range" ".380 Range" ".45 Range" "12 ga Range" "308..."

I have a feeling my HOA may have concerns...but will never bother me again.

 

[RedThunder]

As luck would have it, this groundhog is just sitting out there laughing at me. The way the property is lined up he sits just off the edge of my place on my neighbors land. My neighbor would love for me to shoot it, but from where I could take a shot, if I missed and the bullet skipped just right it could hit a house behind the land. It's a slim chance anything like that could happen, but there's enough of a chance for me to wait for the right shot, and so far the little bugger hasn't presented me with the right "opportunity". If I do get a chance to take the shot I'll update with results.

Another thought...go buy a couple cheap steel traps (placed out of your shooting range) and bait them. .22 for close in work, traps if hes a wuss and is laughin at you. Done deal!!

 

[Fredo]

I don't know. i am using a .20 cal air rifle on crows that are raiding my blueberries. It seems to be enough for them. The last i remembered Groundhogs aren't that difficult to kill. of course, the last one I shot was 20 feet away and 3 feet up on the side of a tree. Oh yeah, I almost forgot i was squirrel hunting and I used a 16GA 2-3/4 #5 1-1/8 high brass shell on him. i think I got a 5.00 bounty for him.

 

[rhino]

Any news on the outlaw woodchuck?

I've only got one grounhog kill, but it was with a 5.56x45 mm M193 round when I was zeroing my EOTech at 50 yards years ago. Stupid whistle pig decided to waddle across the base of the backstop while I was shooting.

 

[teddy12b]

No real news to report. I keep seeing the little pest but he tends to stay on the line of my neighbors property and mine and the only problem with that is the very nice and very large house directly behind where the groundhog likes to hang out. He did give me permission to shoot it on his property and was trying to encourage me to do so, but the shot still has to be right in order for that to work out. I may end up going to a bigger rifle and going onto his property to change the angle to where I know it'd be a nice safe easy shot with a 223.

 

[rhino]

When faced with a similarly wiley adversary, the military sends a sniper and a spotter to handle the situation. Should I get my ghillie suit ready and come over?

 

[Oldbird13]

For a humane kill,your target would have to be the brain.How far away can you CONSISTANTLY hit a golf ball ?

I do not hunt, probably due to severe muscular/skeletal issues however I love watching all sorts of outdoor TV. All this discussion about humane kills is a little hypocritical to me. Hundreds of filmed deer, elk, coyote, bear hunts clearly show animals running off to go die a pretty good distance away or a decent amount of time later. Very few kill shots drop an animal in its tracks, dead before it hits the ground. I understand not wanting to put a bullet in a leg or other non-fatal area so the animal doesn't die for days, weeks or never but you rarely see that on TV although I am sure there are many instances where poor shots are taken and animals do suffer for a prolonged period of time. I wonder if it is some sort of guilt that brings up the " must have a humane kill" issue. Rarely will any hunter kill an animal immediately so maybe they feel better telling themselves they did the right thing. Oh well, time to turn on the Outdoor Channel to see what is on.

 

[teddy12b]

Well.... he got close. He stepped into my backyard at the 100 yard mark on the edge of some weeds. I grabbed the savage loaded federal bulk ammo and used the 100 yard hold on the vortex crossfire at 6x. Took a fast shot as he was getting deeper into weeds and out of view. I heard the shot hit meat but he went in the weeds immediately. I didnt think he went down for the count so I fired a couple more shots into the likely areas be may have been. Walked out there and looked into the weeds and didn't find anything. Didn't have shoes on and a friend of the wife's was leaving so I went back in but something didnt feel right with hearing the shot hit meat and not finding a body. After the friend left I grabbed shoes and the 10-22 and went back to look again. I found him a few feet farther into the weeds. He was still and quiet which was really weird, but finished off quickly there after. The groundhog problem is gone for now.

 

[teddy12b]

Update.... The one this morning was a diversion. The big boy is back out in the field at a lasered 198 yards. I thought I got him earlier but it must have been one of his friends instead. The quest for the long range groundhog continues.

 

[rhino]

Wiley bastard! He sacrificed the Kid to draw you out!

 

[1forguns]

I have the same rifle and I put the hurt on rabbits @ 135-150 all the time with CCI subsonic 1050fps. Very accurate and reliable.