A guy I knew who lived in Columbia Falls, said he used to go east there in Montana, which meant back east of Glacier park and shoot "picket pins". which he said were a type of ground squirrel. Is anyone familiar with this term and what it applies to. also how prolific are they. He indicated if you got into a good area, could literally shoot all day. Thanks for any information on this.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belding's_ground_squirrel

So a Beldings ground squirrel? or just a ground squirrel, as the wiki site was about Belding Mi. will check out the beldings ground squirrl and see what I come up with. Thanks.

Maybe that's a regional term. I've guided my share of varmint hunters and once in a great while I'd get a client who would use that term for ground squirrels. It seems like they were referring to how they would stand on their hind legs when they would shoot at them.

I think it's a Midwest term. We refer to them as digger squirrels.

Here in Nevada, we are usually referring to Richardson's squirrel, but when I was in Washington state and Idaho, we were talking about what I think was the Belden's.
In either case they are smaller than prairie dogs.
We were referring to the way the young would stand around the hole and look like the old fashioned clothes pins that our mom would hold in her hand as she was hanging the laundry on the line. (does that date me?)
Are they prolific? They are the best bullet test material I know of for .22s, both rimfire AND centerfire. Once in a while we would try to see how many we could drop with one bullet! (fwiw, my best was three!) They were out for only a little over a month, but you CAN wear out a Duece barrel, if you try.
They are cannibalistic, so clean up after themselves...what the coyotes don't get.
We have had the farmers pay as much as $.10 a tail to help us pay for ammo. There's no profit, but you could get several bulk-boxes of Speer 52gr Hollowpoints for a day's shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by Nevmavrick:
Here in Nevada, we are usually referring to Richardson's squirrel, but when I was in Washington state and Idaho, we were talking about what I think was the Belden's.
In either case they are smaller than prairie dogs.
We were referring to the way the young would stand around the hole and look like the old fashioned clothes pins that our mom would hold in her hand as she was hanging the laundry on the line. (does that date me?)
Are they prolific? They are the best bullet test material I know of for .22s, both rimfire AND centerfire. Once in a while we would try to see how many we could drop with one bullet! (fwiw, my best was three!) They were out for only a little over a month, but you CAN wear out a Duece barrel, if you try.
They are cannibalistic, so clean up after themselves...what the coyotes don't get.
We have had the farmers pay as much as $.10 a tail to help us pay for ammo. There's no profit, but you could get several bulk-boxes of Speer 52gr Hollowpoints for a day's shooting.

Yeah . . . what you said.

Belding's ground squirrels are anathema to farmers and ranchers: they carry disease, dig through dams, chew on PVC pipes, dig burrows that can lead to injured animals and broken equipment and eat boatloads of alfalfa and other crops. They are prolific and they really are cannibalistic (which is pretty disgusting when you see it . . .).

Last May, my hunting partner and I, in the course of 2 days, shot probably 1000 rounds each, and together accounted for at least 700 squirrels (maybe many more . . . we lost count the first day). We mostly used a .22, but I also shot a .223 Rem, .225 Win and 6 mm Rem. In addition to his .22, my friend shot his .17HMR and a .22-250.

Almost all of the shots were within 100 yards, and some were as close as 5 yards.

The field whose population we reduced looked almost like corn was popping, with constant fits and spurts of movement everywhere. I'd argue that shooting Belding's ground squirrels is the most fun you can have with your cloths on.

We're going again next year. And I have a brand new .17 HMR to try out!

A Richardson's ground squirrel looks like about half sized prairie dog and is larger than the "picket pin" variety of ground squirrel which is about the size of a chipmunk. picket pins are great fun with any rimfire cartridge but, except for the 22 Hornet, center fires are way more than you need. Then again what does need have to do with this?

Here on the "hi-line" which is along hwy 2 thru north-central Montana there are Richardson ground squirrels.The locals call them gophers so you just leave it at that.Along the rocky mtn front range in the foot hills there are Columbian ground squirrels that are longer in body and darker in color.

In the late 1970's we hunted these small ground squirrels called "picket pins" in the old ghost towns high above Nederland, CO. They were smaller than prairie dogs. There were thousands of them in the old mine cuts.
Between my Ruger 77V .220 Swift and my buddy's H&R .17 Remington, we shot a lot of them at long distances out to @ 300 yards with the .17 and much farther with the Swift.
I also had my S&W Model 28 with .38 wadcutters and my buddy had a S&W Model 48 .22 Mag. We would walk along the edges of the eroded draws and "fast draw" them as they ran.
They were tough little buggers. My buddy hit one at about 30 feet with a .22 Mag FMJ. You could see the hole, which was too far back and the little picket pin kept going. I fired the .38 and made a great shot. It looked like a shot from the "Terminator" movie. You could see the hole but still the little imp kept on going. Tough little dudes.

I've heard them called picket-pins too.
Pot-guts, We call them pot-guts.
Obviously its a local term too. Ha
Zeke

One day I was at my cousin's squirrel-farm, when we spotted one running, but in a funny, low manner.
My cousin was laughing himself sick because the little b---- was hurt (but recovered) and was getting payback for all the hard work they caused by by draining their allotment of water, then eating the alfalfa that was finally grown.
At some earlier time...prolly the previous year, he had been hit by a .22lr, but too far back, and the spine had been cut. He was running on his front legs only.
I mentioned to my cousin that he ate just as much alfalfa as he ever had.
As many do, when he got to the hole, he stopped before entering. My Duece made sure that he'd eat NO MORE alfalfa. THAT part was even funnier!!
Have fun,
Gene

Four years in a row in the Gallitin Valley I shot these little guy s with a 22rf. It was the mid'90's. We would buy a 4000 round box of Federal Amrrican Eagle HP's and then go through it in about twelve hours of shooting. The cost then was $89 a case!

Best afternoon ever was in April, snow still on the ground near Pony, MT. Killed thousands that day and the snow was turned red with blood in a 160 acre pasture.

This is a tough topic for December. It's making me wish it was April. I am getting too old to hunt big game much, but shooting these little buggers makes up for it. Some places in the desert of south west Utah you pull up to a field and it looks like the ground moves. That is the beginning of a very good day.

quote:

Originally posted by dwheels:
This is a tough topic for December. It's making me wish it was April. I am getting too old to hunt big game much, but shooting these little buggers makes up for it. Some places in the desert of south west Utah you pull up to a field and it looks like the ground moves. That is the beginning of a very good day.

Yeah - my hunting buddy and I are awaiting April with bated breath. We're literally counting down the days and hours until then.

And I know exactly what you mean about the ground moving.

here in Alberta we have Richardson ground squirrels on the prairies, Columbian ground squirrels at higher elevations and Three line ground squirrels in the Rockies.

As stated, in Montana they're "gophers" but they're really ground squirrels. Montana has six different species: http://fieldguide.mt.gov/displ...spx?family=Sciuridae

I spend way too much time and money shooting them around the Gallatin Valley. The greatest goal a hunter could achieve in his lifetime wouldn't be Sheep Grand Slam or a 100 lb elephant or seven point bull elk on public land. Rather it would be a Montana Gopher Slam: all six species of ground squirrel, and have life size mounts of each and perhaps a lovely "gopher coat" for his wife that included hides of each species. However, I'd challenge any biologist to tell the difference among the Wyoming, Unita and Richardson gophers.

The biggest concern from a gopher shooter's point of view isn't meth or the degradation of society's morals. Rather, it's the shortage of .22LR ammo.

A funny thing about gophers is that they hibernate much earlier than you'd expect and come out as early as late January. First one I saw this year was January 12th, when my trigger finger started involuntarily twitching. Only when gophers are hibernating do we head east and shoot prairie dogs. They're fun to shoot in snowy conditions.

Is it too obvious that I have an obsession? Time for a few more hours with a counselor to deal with my addiction.

I like your goals: all six species, life-size mounts of each, and a fur coat for one's wife.

My daughter, who has never seen what a .17HMR, a .223 or a .225 does to a ground squirrel, thought it would be nice if I brought some back for her to cook up.

I half considered of bringing her some parts back after our April hunt in KF, but thought the better of it.

Once you've had a day's of ground squirrel shooting in a field that seems to be moving because of all the animals, you're never quite the same.

Okay, I've shot ground squirrels (picket pins, pop guts) in Wyoming. Up here in Idaho clear cuts there's a squirrel that's a little bigger, bout the size of an eastern grey squirrel with a shorter tail. They have a red scalp or face and some of the locals call them red heads. Lot tougher to hunt, Burrow under old stumps. A good morning shoot would be 25 or 30 step on body count.

That does it. I'm going this weekend. I'll be in South West Ut by 8:00. after a 3 hour drive. 2 rimfire 22's 3 Centerfire 2's. If I can't find anyone to go I'll go by myself and get my wife's cousin to meet me there.

Jeez, took you long enough to make up your mind..ten months?? Hope you get your barrel nice and hot!

Southern Idaho and Nevada, we call them Pin Heads. Can shoot a 1000 a day on some ranches. Not my cup of tea. Its just not hunting IMO..but to each his own..

Id rather stroll down a draw and shoot half a dozen rock cucks off hand as they scurry for their holes, better yet shoot half a dozen running jack rabbits going up a hill 100 or 200 yards away..same with coyotes..My kill count goes down in a hurry, but the challenge is sure there for the taking, and will make one a better shot for the up coming big game season.

Les, with the orange nose, that's probably a Columbian ground squirrel. They're the most common "gopher" here in the Bitterroot.

Mark

Mark, many thanks for the clarification. This has got to be one of the slowest, drawn out conversations ever. Just saw the topic and forgot I was just even involved!

My grandfather called them picket pens, he was a rancher/cowboy type guy in Wyoming.

Most people I knew in Western Montana in the late 1990's called them gophers.

When I lived in California's central valley, most folks called them ground squirrels.

Richardson GS are uniform in color. Lt. Tan. Uinta GS's look like overgrown chipmunks. Not sure i know about the Wy GS. I dont recall memorizing the genus and species of that. My favorite is Spermophilis tridecem linneatus. Sp? Thirteen lined gs. They are the smallest. I think these all get lumped into the picket pen and chiseler vernacular.

Gophers. If they would keep their mouth shut and go nocturnal, they could rule the world. But,no. They have to yip at us and give a fine vertical target designed to compensate for bullet drop!