I have a 25/06 I want to shoot ground hogs with .What is the best bullet and weight to expload them ? thanks

Ground hogs are large, well-muscled rodents, and will not explode like a crow or prairie dog hen hit with a bullet from a .25-06.

Use a 100gr. or 115gr. Ballistic Tip or V-Max and put a great big crater in them instead.

George

The Hornady 75gr Vmax or the Sierra 90 gr Blitz King should put a world of hurt on a ground hog.

87gr speers work very also.

We don't have any groundhogs here in CA but I do occasionally go up to the high country to shoot yellow bellied marmots. (much the same thing)

The most devastating bullet I have tried in my 25-06 is the 85 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. Nosler changed this bullet a number of years ago and it is VERY fragile. It will come apart on anything and it does an impressive number on marmots even at 400 to 500 yards.

I suggest you not try this bullet on coyotes, though. It sometimes will not even get inside if a dog is shot on the shoulder, simply amazing. The 75 grain Hornady V-Max does much better on coyotes and is also pretty impressive on marmots.

quote:

Originally posted by GeorgeS:
Ground hogs are large, well-muscled rodents, and will not explode like a crow or prairie dog hen hit with a bullet from a .25-06.

George

Buuuutttt...

If you use a 300 WSM:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...youtube_gdata_player

Second the Nosler 85 B-Tip.

quote:

Ground hogs are large, well-muscled rodents, and will not explode like a crow or prairie dog hen hit with a bullet from a .25-06.

Dear George:

I have turned groundhogs literally inside out with a 55 grain Nosler ballistic tip moving at over 4000 fps in a 243 Winchester.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

1. Any bullet from a .25-06 striking a groundhog in the vitals will be almost instantly terminal.

2. The combination of velocity, trajectory, and retained energy make the 85 grain Ballistic Tip a top choice.

3. Regardless of #2 above, the two .25-06's I've loaded for both prefered 75 grain Sierra HP's to the 85 B.Tip, so that's what I've used for varminting. It evaporates prairie dogs, and despite the viewpoint that groundhogs must surely be on mega-sterioids these days, it will dispatch them without hesitation.

The most deadly as well as most accurate in one of my 25-06s was the Speer 100 hollow point.
Didn't blow them up but did put a hole completely thru the critter.
You could look thru the animal.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Yale:

quote:

Ground hogs are large, well-muscled rodents, and will not explode like a crow or prairie dog hen hit with a bullet from a .25-06.

Dear George:

I have turned groundhogs literally inside out with a 55 grain Nosler ballistic tip moving at over 4000 fps in a 243 Winchester.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

Me too, only I was shooting rock chucks.

Turned the rascals into acrobats.