mauser06

today i went to my friends to shoot woodchucks(groundhogs)....he had to help his dad after we sighted in our rifles so i went to a little field back in the woods to wait them out alone....one came out into the field 100yds away....got on him and squeezed one off and watched the 3006 send him flying....picked him up and not 15mins later i look across the field and one was literally running out of the brush at me....whistled and he stood up.....i wanted to decapitate him and thought he was closer so id aim low...held on the neck and squeezed...he flew over but hit the ground running....i knew he had 10yards or so before he was in the woods again so i worked that bolt like a pro and was back on him as he ran straight away....let one fly.....right in the rear....first shot was right in the throat....entrance and exit...didnt hit anything hard so the bullet didnt expand....still dont know how the shock didnt paralyze him or kill him from head shockage....but it didnt.....second shot was right where i was holding...left and low of the tail.....came out the right shoulder(facing away still) and blew all his insides out the exit.....that 3006 is impressive...sends them flying and leaves a big ole hole....the 3rd one i was sitting at another field after my friend was done....i looked up at a path on a hill and he was 3/4 of the way up there(wouldnt shot any higher then him) got on him then he laid down and i couldnt see him..then he just..popped right back up!! put the hairs on his head and squeezed one off....and seen him fly....hit him just below his neck right in the chest.....he was about 300yards away!! thats my farthest kill shot on anything....farthest shot ive ever shot at anything.....im impressed with myself....that one was a pup too!!!!! my friends jaw dropped...he shot at that one for a week now....never killed him.....we did find where he did hit him in the foot...all swollen and still looking bad bad.....i love shooting them things....its so fun.....and a good way to pratice shooting my deer rifle.....i dont have anything smaller except a 22lr....so i take that.....it works....only thing is its hard on the ears.....anyone else shoot them things?? any tips or anything? this is my first year.....im just waiting for them to come into the field and shooting them....will a silent dog whistle make them stand up?? i cant whistle very good or loud at all....and its nice to have them stand up....my error is always up and down...standing gives me a few more inches for error....anyone have any tips??

rile1564

30-06 sounds a little big, but I use a .308.. I hand load some 110 grn varmint heads. (I also use CCI velocitor .22 lr's if I'm shooting under 75 yrds.) Those things do a number on groundhogs. I don't know if a dog whistle will work. I just give them a quick "yo" and they stand up. Sitting and waiting is about all that is done for groundhogs. And if I don't see any for a while I get up and move to a different field (if there's one to move to). A good bipod could help you out with your hold, that and a lot of proper practice. I've been shooting 3 and 4 position smallbore rifle competitions for over 15 years, not to mention weekly practice, and I still find it handy to use some shooting sticks for the long shots. It's better to use them and get a good hit. Good luck with your chuck hunting. Have fun!!

Sixgun_Redneck

Ha, a 30-06 is just a little over kill on gophers. I'd like to be the first to call shanagans on your 300 yrd shot. For starters you'd be hard pressed to see one thats 300 yrds away. Secondly you don't strike me as one to be capable of staying steady for a 300 yrd shot, not to mention you would need a pretty high power scope to make the gopher look like a gopher and not just a tiny blob. What scope did you use?

I use a .17HMR on gophers and they'll blow all the guts out of the gophers if using the balistic tips (CCI's .17 ammo licks the left). The farthest i've managed to shoot with the .17 is 140yrds with a 2.5-10x40mm tasco varminter scope. i've decapatated many gophers with the .17HMR. Its cheap to shoot so you can go all day crackn off rounds.

mauser06

ahhhhh you dont even KNOW me and you dont think i can take a 300yard shot??? thats a good one....i use a leupold varix II 3x9x40......im hunting fields that were just cut and bailed and a groundhog walking around is plainly visible.....i took one even farther on tuesday....about 400....ill admit that one took me a few shots to get the bullet where it needed to be...but i did it...i dont care what you think.....you nobody...and that was your first post........congrats.......what a great start.....the 3006 is over kill i admit....but hey....i got it....it kills em......and dont have anything else to reach out there with.....weather you believe me or not i could care less......im upto 10 this year and 3 were atleast 300+most were 150-300...the rest were closer........oh ya...did i mention the one i got at 50 with a flintlock??? dont believe that either do you?

timberlord

I think Six-gun got the critters mixed up . He spoke of gophers....a groundhog is 5 times the size of a gopher....and ah...I turned one into pink mist at around 400yd using the Mklll peep battle sights on my Lee Enfield .303brit. The g'hog was way across the field where I was target shooting . I shoot regularly with this rifle at up to 500 yd with those ol' iron sights and get 8" groups...good shootin' mauser !....lol @ 30-06 on g'hogs!....great practice for deer huntin' fersure

Sixgun_Redneck

i'm gonna throw the bs flag out there on both of you. Your average 9 power scope is good on moose out to 300 yrds. There is no way that the ground hog would be more than a inamimate spec in your optics. I would suggest pacing off your shot rather than estimating them.

Think about it, a moose is hard enough to spot at 300+ yrds. You never been hunting obviously.

deerslayer223

A 3-9x scope is enough 2 pick up a groundhog at 300yds. I have done it on many occasions with my 223 heck ive picked em up with my naked eye that far b4. It isn't that hard yeah they may not be huge in the scope but u can sure see em.

timberlord

Hunting moose in northern Ontario can be hard to spot one of those big critters.... I've seen moose disappear inside 50yds up there.... but how thick is the bush compared to a flat field ? If you hunted much in different terrain you'd know exactly what we're sayin'.... Try this Sixgun....bigbore rifle of your choice and waterballoons laying in the field at 300yd . I bet you'll see that accurately shooting at these distances at a comparitive target size of a g'hog arn't that impossible at all and you'd have a good time doin' it , instead of waving that dang flag...lol .

longrifle1000

Obviously sixgun has no clue about long range shooting. 300 yards isn't that far. Last winter i shot a small coyote at a lasered 327 yards with my 22-250. Nothing difficult about that shot. It would be easier shooting with the 30-06. Heavier slug with less wind deflection. To you mauser06, I say congradulations. To sixgun, before you call someone a liar, educate yourself on the subject. Just my $.02

mauser06

lol thanx for the believers....the non-believers.......oh well.....its a HAY field......the grass is an inch high being it was just cut and bailed.....if theres something dark moving on it your going to see it....i dont use binocs at all...spot them with the eye then scope them and take the shot.......9x is more then enough to shoot them at that range...the one i got the other day that was even farther did look like a spec....all i could see is something black moving now and then but could tell with my eyes it was one....and watched one come out of there earlier so i knew it was one.....took me a few rounds to get the bullet drop accounted for but i got that one too.....