[Larry in SD]

Just as I was getting ready for work this evening the phone wrang. It was a guy that lives buy the Implement Dealer in town. Kieth told me there was a couple Woodchucks running around in the vacant lot behind the Implement. I told Kieth that I was getting ready for work, and would be over there in a few minutes.

I grabbed up the Custom 6mm T/CU Contender loaded with 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips and headed for the vacant lot behind the Implement Building. I set up so I was shooting out of town. As I was looking over the situation I quickly questioned my choice of weapon. I had thought the range would be longer thus the choice I made.

Well when Mr. Woodchuck showed himself he was about 70 yards away. I was lining up the crosshairs and the dad blasted gun went off. Yep a club fingered idiot with a finely tuned trigger doesn't work all the time. At the shot, it was so dad blasted LOUD it scared me. Oppps, wrong gun, and Mr. Woodchuck was gone.

I went back home and grabbed up the Super 14 Match Grade .22 LR, and a handfull of Remington BULK Hollow Point ammo. I went back to the same spot, but all I saw was Cottontail Rabbits. But wait a minute, that's a funny looking rabbit. The reason was it was a curled up Woodchuck. I set the bypod on a Combine Header and lined up the crosshairs (this time I left the club fingers at home), and at the shot Mr. Woodchuck collapsed. I thought to myself, that is the way it should have worked the FIRST TIME.

I sat a few more minutes, and was just ready to leave when Mrs. Woodchuck showed up. This time I set the bypod on the hood of the Ford Explorer, lined up the crosshairs and touched the 1 1/2 pound trigger and Mrs. Woodchuck was collected.

After all of this I figured I had better get back to work, or at least real work that is. It is days like this that I really do love my job. Now it is back to reality.

Now if I could just get those sneaky Coyotes that slipping into the City Park in the wee hours of the morning.

Larry

 

[Alaska Mike]

Hey thanks Larry, that was a good story!

 

[Plinker]

Good story Larry.

Glad to see you back again and post'in
those good hunt'in storys.

Lots of good chuck hunt'in in small
places,you just have to look for 'em.

What ya need is a 17HMR on one of
you contenders.Works for the long shots as well as the close in ones. Don't make
a lot of racket either.

 

[Larry in SD]

Plinker, Funny you should mention the .17 HMR

That is exactly what was going through my mind when I was sitting there waiting for Woodchuck #2. When that 6mm went off it was so loud it all but scared the $%#@ out of me. I can only imagine what everyone else that heard it thought.

The Remington Hollow Points did their job, but like you said, the .17 HMR would have done it better, and with STYLE.

After I sat down and thought about what had transpired I had to laugh about it, and thought you guys would get a laugh also.

Larry

 

[Plinker]

For me the 17HMR really fills a nitch

when hunt'in "in close" to where there
are a lot of houses and people.

I have even asked people that were
out in there gardens or set'in on there
pourches about the noise level of the shots on a farm next to them.

No problem for them,one lady even ask,
" what shots" and she wasn't deaf either.

So the 17 does'nt 'get there attention' like the big guns.
Which is fine with me.

These days a lot of people think
'L O U D' is dangerous.

 

[groundhogsniper]

Larry do you have a lot of ground hogs ( A.K.A. wood chucks in SD? ) Does anyone know their range? I'm in western NC and we have a good population of them here and some very large specimens. I think this is pretty close to the southern most limit of their range. I travel a lot and have never seen any south of Atlanta but have seen lots just north of there. By the way I liked your story. The same thing happened to me last fall as I was easing my 22-250 out the truck window to blast a big chuck grazing in a collard green field. Scared me much more than the ground hog which just stood up to see what was going on. His mistake lol.

 

[Larry in SD]

groundhogsniper

We do not have a huge abundance of Woodchucks around here. I probably shoot a couple every other year or so, and that is about it. Not many people talk about them, so either they are not seeing them, or they are not looking.

However about a half a days drive west of me is some great Prairie Dog Shooting. I generally try to get out around the Mobridge South Dakota area a couple times a year to shoot Prairie Dogs. However I have not managed to get out there for the past couple years, and it doesn't look like I am going to get there this year either. Just too many things going on lately it seems.

Thanks

Larry

 

[River19]

Darn Chucks

Every year we have a chuck issue with our gardens. I took one the other day with the only gun that was sighted in for target ammo (.22 std velocity......not too loud and does the job) my Winchester Model 69 Target.......hell at least I know where the bullet is heading with that gun.

Took the chuck with a head shot from 20 yds with the peep sights. Bullet went right through him. Went out with the RWS pellet gun to give him a poke (neighbors don't freak out with the pellet gun), he was nice and dead.

A lot of people claim the .22 is underpowered for chucks but fron 50yds in it is fine from what I've seen. The hotter Mini-Mags et al can more than handle a chuck at 50yds as long as it isn't a stomach shot.......he'll take off on you but will eventually die.

R

 

[W191]

Larry in SD

Neat story. I also hunt groundhogs and I could picture exactly what you described. For some reason though, I don't seem to see as many this year. Of course here in Ohio it seems we only have two seasons, winter then summer. So far we've had a lot of rain and cool tempertures. Everything is growing fast in the fields and the hogs have plenty of cover. There time is coming this summer. Lock and Load...BANG!

 

[Larry in SD]

W191

In all honesty Woodchucks (groundhogs) are not all that plentiful around here either. I guess maybe that is why I made the original post. I have been back to the same spot a couple of times since, but have not seen any more. However like you say, there time is comin.

Larry

 

[Larry in SD]

I remembered this evening that I hadn't been back over to the Implement Lot to check on the status of the Woodchucks. The people that live beside this vacant lot have been telling me they are still seeing Woodchucks there. So this evening about 8:10PM I went back over there and sat and watched to see what I could see. Sure enough after I had been there about 15 minutes I spotted another Woodchuck. This one was about 75 yards away. I got the Super 14 Match Grade .22 LR Contender rested on the bypod, centered the scope on the Woodchuck and touched the trigger. I was rewarded by hearing the distinctive WHUMP of a solid hit. The Remington BULK Hollow Point had done it's job again. After the shot I waited and watched for another 15 minutes or so, but no-one else showed up.

That is 3 that I have shot in this same lot now this spring / summer. I am sure there are more around also, it is just a matter of time.

Larry

 

[2047]

I suggest that you try a 22mag with the Federal 50 grain gold dot ammo. You should get more penetration on a wood check with this round.