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Hello,
Ive been using a marlin 22 magnum bolt rifle for woodchucks with some great success but
im wanting to get a Savage.
I don't wanna get too much of a caliber as I basically shoot them on my lawn which is only a couple acres and don't want too much bullet travel.
Should I stick with a 22mag and what savage rifle do you guys recommend?
Thanks in advance.....Philip
Gonna stay with my Marlin for now.
Thanks
Get the stainless barrel B-Mag. The 20 grain flies at 3000 fps.
Never shot a woodchuck, but something in .22 Hornet should fit the bill and it is reloadable.
Depends on the luck you've had with the 22 so far. If you have a bunch of crawl-offs you might want to go to 222 or 223 with a light bullet. Is noise a factor with neighbors?
I've shot a ton of woodchucks. I started off with a .22 mag, but soon graduated to a .223. The .223 will paste them to the ground, and you can make much further shots than you can with .22. Ammo and components are available, unlike some other calibers.
204/223/22-250 are all great but he's only shooting a small lot theres no need for more than a 22 mag.
If you just want something different try a 17HRM. great little problem solver.
ED when I bought my first 17 HRM and was there picking it up, an older gent was standing there and ask what I was going to do with it? I answered hunt and he said he had one and traded it because he was shooting groundhogs and the bullets were bouncing off there heads.Quote:
Originally Posted by EFBell
that would be hard for me to believe unless the round was coming apart in flight which I have never seen, but have heard stories about. That is one quick little round Papa has one that he is constantly shooting Squirrels with and they explode when hit. He head shoots them. Of course he is shooting 17 HMR :cool:
Quote:
Originally Posted by bythebook
People kill coyote with the 17 hmr. Story is BS. Guy couldn't shoot
Quote:
Originally Posted by limige
I agree. I have stoned Coyotes at 100yds with my 17hmr. The 17wsm is even more deadly(now if they would just make some really good ammo for it)
Ha-ha-ha-ha.... What a jackass. I just shot one last night at about 100 yards with a 17 grain hollow point. It dropped where it stood with a shot through the head.Quote:
Originally Posted by bythebook
HMMMMMM Thick skulled groundhogs?????????????????
Must be wearing armor plate these days lol
I think that was the whole story there.Quote:
Originally Posted by limige
If you want some fun take your fishing tackle, remove the hook and make a slip noose in the end of the line. Put the noose around his burrow and when he sticks his head up, rope him and play him like a Bass!!!
I use a . 338 Win Mag because woodchucks and coyotes can be hard to kill.
.308 is my favorite for chuck's
I gather you people don't eat them ? slow roasted and the meat pulled off the bones with a fork and smothered in your favorite BBQ sauce, can hardly tell its not pulled pork you're eating.....
Mmmmm, grass fed...Quote:
Originally Posted by cranebird
168 smk's don't do much damage to chucks shot at 300 yards +. A max, ballistic tips, and lead soft point bullets shreds them up for the stew.
For chucks, I use a custom FN mauser in 220 swift, They look like they were hit whit a Mack.
I have a .243 sporter barrel that I worked up a varmit load for that is a flat shooting laser,, full house of IMR 4006ssc, Fed case, cci# 34 magnum style primer spitting a 58 gr. V Max around 3900 fps, turned a big woodchuck inside out at 330 yard with hardly any holdover with a 100 yard zero.
40mm HEDP
BMAG. The new .17 WSMs in 20 and 25 grain are devastating to the wee critters.:eek:
Well anybody who has ever hunted them enough can relate to times they somehow made it back to their hole
after being gutted by a shot. They arent refered to as (pasture grizzleys) for no reason.
As for eating them, i'll take your word that with enough sweet baby rays they might taste pretty good.
But id also bet it might alter the taste of lots of things.
I dont know yobuck. Aint many many moved far from my 22-250. Even being gut shot. Maybe 2:50 disappeared
Some years back I was granted access to hunt woodchucks on a small property with houses nearby. I look up some light .223 loads from James Calhoun with 40 grain varmint bullets. These loads were quiet but were very accurate and effective. Bullets were probably going 2500 fps.
For the OP, I think you chose well. Stick with the WMR. For a 2.5 acre lot, it's hard to beat, but know that even the WMR will bounce bullets a LONG way on a miss. There are some varmint bullets available in some brands, and would be a good choice for you. Even then, I would take head shots, unless you do not care if the crawl back in. I shoot ground squirrels with the 22 RL and the WMR. Never had one move with the WMR, but once in a while one crawls back in the hole when gut shot from a LR, but as long as they die I don't care, just want them dead.
Ghogs are a whole nuther story, and can be tough critters to anchor. Like I said, head shots do it.
I have killed many many of them with a 22LRHP when I was a kid on the farm. I have even killed them with a cresant wrench thrown from a tractor, a little later I tried my 300 Weath. with 110 Sierra Hp and it did a very respectable job. Just like any other animal it takes a shot in a kill zone to dispatch them with the least amount of pain to them.
I would keep the 22 mag over the 17HMR any day and twice on Sunday. I had marlin twins one a 22 mag that absolutely devastated jack rabbits. The other a 17 that I kept reading about and being told was way better than the 22 mag ever thought of being. Truth be told the jack rabbits were just as dead but not dispatched with near the authority of the 22 mag and 40gr maximag HP's. I had more runners with the 17 than even standard 22s. The only coyote I shot with one was at about 35 yards and it ran off to never be found. I have never been impressed with the 17 with either 17gr bullets or the 20gr offerings. Both rifles shot well under half inch groups at 50 yards with their preffered ammo so I can't even say the 17 was more accurate as others claim as well. This is my experience with both calibers others may have completely different results and opinions.
My Savage 93 22 WMR is accurate and lays swuirrels and rabbits and crows down out to 120 yards. With the 30gr Hornady vmax its on at 50 and 100. Its my golf cart farm gun, and it dispathes beaver and yotes and hogs. I have never seen a woodchuck where I live!
I agree with Stop on the 17 also. My buddy brought one over to show me how much "better" it was than my 22WMR and went home unhappy!