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Gophers popping up in MT!
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<X-Ring>
posted
Saw some gophers today Geuss what I'm going to do Saturday?
X-Ring

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Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition!

If your living like there is no HELL, you better be right!

 
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Probably the same as I'll be doin! I shot the heck out of the Pd's lst Saturday.

'GET TO THE HILL"

Dog

have a great shoot!!!

 
Posts: 879 | Location: Bozeman,Montana USA | Registered: 31 October 2001Reply With Quote
<X-Ring>
posted
Mark what the heck is up with our weather this year? Ive been riding the HD all week. it's 60 degrees in Ft. Benton today, and I want to go shoot gophers tommorow. Now they say it will be only 15 degrees I wouldn't care if it would just snow.
X-Ring

------------------
Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition!

If your living like there is no HELL, you better be right!

 
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Hey!

I have a rental on rock creek - outside of philipsburg. I tried finding the little critters last fall, but was told they were underground already. What is the normal date range they are out? I was really surprised to see that they had been out already. I will be heading up there sometime next week. would really like to get some. Thanks for the info.

 
Posts: 67 | Location: Boise, ID USA | Registered: 09 January 2002Reply With Quote
<ultramag>
posted
I bet your gophers are un-popped now!!!
 
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<X-Ring>
posted
Mad that post on a Thursday or Friday. And it's been below freezing ever sence. But it's been snowing to and we really need the moisture so I ain't bitchen.
X-Ring

Wyo. The normaly dis apear around the first few week of August around here. I don't think they klike real hot weather any more than thy like cold. So they hybernate for a long period.
X-Ring

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Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition!

If your living like there is no HELL, you better be right!

 
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X-Ring,

Thanksfor the info. It will be fun to get a chance at some of those. I have a Ruger 223 that has been frothing at the bit for some use. It shames me every time i look at it.

Dale

 
Posts: 67 | Location: Boise, ID USA | Registered: 09 January 2002Reply With Quote
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I saw about 2 dozen out today in about 10-12 inches of snow and the temp was about 12 or 14 degrees.They were in an area that had full sun about 1:30.Usually you dont see them in great numbers until the middle of March.
 
Posts: 610 | Location: MT | Registered: 01 December 2001Reply With Quote
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Where does on go to shoot gophers?

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Howard
Moses Lake WA
hhomes@homesley.com

 
Posts: 2341 | Location: Moses Lake WA | Registered: 17 October 2000Reply With Quote
<X-Ring>
posted
We have tons of them here in centeral MT. I have heard of people finding alot of them on the western side of the state to. I think Centeral or Eastern is best. IMO Anywhere you find grazing, and hay ground you stand a good chance of finding gophers 'Richardson's ground squirles" also known as: Whistle pigs, ferts, gophies, and poppers. I like to just call them targets. If you start asking farmers you won't be long finding someone who would be more than happy to let you shoot goph's on his land, and will tell you where to go to find the most shooting on his/her land.
I would think you could find plenty of them right there in Centeral Washington state to. talk about grazing and hay ground! You should be in the thick of them. unless the farmers have piosend them out in that area. Which them very well may have done.
X-Ring

------------------
Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition!

If your living like there is no HELL, you better be right!

[This message has been edited by X-Ring (edited 03-02-2002).]

 
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Not sure why but the fact is I have yet to see or even hear of any ground squirrels in Washington state. A few rock chucks around but those are scattered widely about.

On second thought I have heard of some type of ground squirrel in the orchards around Yakima but know nothing about them.

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Howard
Moses Lake WA
hhomes@homesley.com

[This message has been edited by Howard (edited 03-03-2002).]

 
Posts: 2341 | Location: Moses Lake WA | Registered: 17 October 2000Reply With Quote
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X-Ring - Mark,

Have you seen any gophers lately? I am back in Philipsburg for the spring/summer and am anxious to give my 223 some fun. I haven't seen any out here.

 
Posts: 67 | Location: Boise, ID USA | Registered: 09 January 2002Reply With Quote
<dmallard>
posted
quote:
Originally posted by WyoMan:
X-Ring - Mark,

Have you seen any gophers lately? I am back in Philipsburg for the spring/summer and am anxious to give my 223 some fun. I haven't seen any out here.


I do a fair amount of gopher shooting around P-Burg. Doubt you will see many critters until mid to late April.. Best shooting is in May and early June once the young'ns come out.

Dmallards

 
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dmallard,

are you one of the men who shoots for the rancher on rock creek?

 
Posts: 67 | Location: Boise, ID USA | Registered: 09 January 2002Reply With Quote
<X-Ring>
posted
It's been cold and snowy sence I made that post, but it's said to be warming up by next weekend so heres hoping for dead gophies come Saturday.
X-Ring
 
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We have some groundsquirrel shooting around here but not like it used to be. They are my main excuse for keeping 2 17Rems.
Because the numbers are dropping I am going to hold off shooting them untill the babys come up in May. Pete
 
Posts: 382 | Location: Lewiston, Idaho--USA | Registered: 11 February 2002Reply With Quote
<dmallard>
posted
Wyoman,

I am aligned with a couple of guys along Rock Creek, and start shoooting there in earnest come mid-May through June.

I do the vast majority of my shooting to the east. The gophers are smaller, Richerdsons' ground squirrels as opposed to the Colombians (I think). The Richardsons' tend to have much higher population densities and are not nearly as wiley as the gophs around P-burg.

I took today off from work to shoot gophers (Richardson's) went thruogh 350 centerfire and about 300 rimfire. Not bad concering it is early April and only about 40 degrees F....

dmallards

 
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<David Boren>
posted
Ft. Benton? Dont have a map right on hand, but I reckon thats somewhere over near Fort Peck Reservor. And hell, the gophers aint up over here. I live in Troy (dont laugh). And there aint no gophers up yet.
 
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<X-Ring>
posted
We are about 36 miles north east of Great Falls on US Highway 87, and I haven't seem to many gophers sense I started this thread over a month ago. As you know winter accualy showed up this year right after I started this thread.
I'm sure it won't be long now before the shooting starts
X-Ring

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<Dan in Wa>
posted
Howard,
Hey ... there is supposed a ton of ground squirrels down in the Goldendale area, locally called grey diggers. A friend of mine grew up there and said people came from all over the state to shoot them, there were zillions of them back in the 70's. Also heard from a guy from Ephrata that you had some kind of varmit like ground squirrels right out side of Moses Lake. Whats that road that crosses the freeway by the state patrol office? He said they were on a farm past the golf course several miles on the left. Said there were rodents everywhere. If you find it let me know. I put together a 10/22 just for this purpose several years ago. My HB 26" Winchester in .223 is neglected way too much. Best to you Dan
 
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<SkiBumplus3>
posted
Guys,

I only mention this because I couldn't possibly shoot them all.

There are a zillion gophers around Shelby and Cutbank. I went last weekend. We stopped in a farm house in the morning to ask permission and the farmer said we could hunt on one condition. We are required to bring 4 guys next time instead of 2!!! No kidding. These guys were tickled to see someone with a rifle. The dogs are eating them out of house and home.
We drove around for 5 hours and fired about 800 rounds of .22 long rifle ammo. I'm off again in the morning!

Ski+3

 
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Good to hear! There just coming out here in eternally-groovy Missoula. I'm headed toward the Big Hole next weekend for a casual, lawn-chair and umbrella safari. No heavy lifting, either ;-)

Now if we could only have a year-round hippie season.....

Redial

 
Posts: 1121 | Location: Florence, MT USA | Registered: 30 April 2002Reply With Quote
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just came from helena yesterday and from gold creek to rock creek there were a million gophers out. stopped and got permission to shoot went thru 2 bricks of 22s
 
Posts: 61 | Location: Missoula,Mt | Registered: 14 March 2002Reply With Quote
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Tried something new this weekend - timber gophers!

The pending blizzard skeerd me out of driving down to the Big Hole, so I was out scouting around the burned areas in the southern Bitterroot. I normally hunt the timber in the fall, so I was out familiarizing myself with the zillions of intertwined logging roads when I noticed gophers scurrying around the burned stumps. Woo-hoo! Not many of them, and each required a ten-minute stalk thru the snags and blowdown. Big fun! Listen for a squeek, stalk, listen, glass... Shooting ranges varied only a little, 20 - 50 yards. Got a half dozen or so in a couple hours.

Maybe they've been there all along, I dunno since I'm usually only up there in the fall.
BTW, yes it snowed all day there too.

Redial

 
Posts: 1121 | Location: Florence, MT USA | Registered: 30 April 2002Reply With Quote
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Did anybody go over to Ringling last weekend for their gopher get-together? Alas, I had honey-do's which are certainly FAR more important than shooting gophers, in the estimation of the lovely missus.

Anybody? Aside from that one, how's the shooting elsewhere?
 
Posts: 1121 | Location: Florence, MT USA | Registered: 30 April 2002Reply With Quote
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