Last week I was able to travel up to WV to do some groundhog hunting. My friend Dewyane and I hunted with Larry Rogers, whom the HHI members will recognize as the WV Hitman. Dewayne does the sit and shoot 'em up thing; Doc Rogers and I hoof our way across the mountains and meadows in search of our prey.

This year I used my .223 Contender and .45 Colt Bisley that was worked over by John Gallagher. I was using the Nosler 50 grain Ballistic Tip ahead of 28.0 grains of WW748. This Contender barrel is wearing a 2.5-7X T/C Recoil-Proof scope of early 90's vintage. I shot cast bullets in the Bisley ahead of 13.0 grains of HS-6. I did not recover either of the groundhogs I shot with the .45 as the bullets were too hard to do a lot of damage.

Our first day of hunting was Wednesday. Doc and I left Dewayne to watch a couple of fields while we made our way further around the side of a mountain.



Doc and I were overlooking a field much like this one when four groundhogs popped up at the same time. The grass was too tall to see them when they dropped down to feed. We have about 15 minutes of waiting to get a shot when a 'hog would stand up to see what happened to a field mate. Dewayne didn't see any 'hogs the first day, but killed an impressive copperhead that he almost stepped on while walking toward one of the fields. After giving the Contender some action, we moved up along a fence row toward a higher field. The revolvers are very handy for this close in shooting. I got a young 'hog that had jumped up on a root to see what was moving past his hole. Groundhogs also live around old barns and houses, we hunt them where they live.

The second day we changed locations and hunted near Harman, WV. Doc and I watched this guy dig on his hole for several minutes before he came out to view his work. A Ballistic Tip from 106 yards made short work of this 'hog.



Doc and I are both members of the Varmint Hunter Association. He has tried for several years to get into the 500 yard Club of the organization. We left Dewayne in the bottom of an area we call the Bowl with a suppressed .223 and the spotting scope. Right at the end of the third day, we found a groundhog that was just over 500 yards from Doc and I. Using our two-way radios, we were all able to view the same 'hog. Doc's first shot cut hair over the 'hogs head. His second shot, at 508 yards, was "dead" on, pun intended. Doc was using his 250 Savage Improved in an XP100 with a Burris 3-12X pistol scope.

I don't believe you were in WV!
Those whistle pigs look like they have two front teeth and the fields don't have any trailers, fridges or or McDonalds wrappers all over it. I don't see a tire pile either!

I've got photos of a couple of abandoned houses back up in the hills. We shot some of them out of the brush piles.

Beautiful looking country.

Sounds like y'all had a good time.

Hitman, looks like a lot of fun. You were about an hour and a half South East of my land in West Virginia.

quote:

Originally posted by bfrshooter:
I don't believe you were in WV!
Those whistle pigs look like they have two front teeth and the fields don't have any trailers, fridges or or McDonalds wrappers all over it. I don't see a tire pile either!

LOL! West-by-God-Virginia!

Good work, Hitman! Since y'all were close, you should have stopped by for a cold one. Congratulations!

We did have a lot of fun, can't say the same for the groundhogs. I got two with my .45, six with my .223 and one with a suppressed .300 Whisper.

You can't see my backpack in the photo, but those make very handy shooting platforms in the field.

BFR, now that's some COLD stuff there. TRUE! but cold, nevertheless.

Loaded my father 50 223 rounds a few years ago and he killed 43 hogs on the farm and surrounding farms in one summer. Furthest shot was less than 200 yds, but he put a hurting on them that year.

I'd post pics, but there is no trailor, refrigerator, or tire pile in them.

Sure like reading the Hitman stories.

Good shooting,nice scenery!!!