Well it finally happened on todays Varmint mini-Safari! I killed a big Badger with the 17 HMR! What started out as a Ground Squirrel fest with my friend from Yelm, Washington turned into a Badger shoot! For the last 3 days my friend and I had been shooting Gophers in a series of cultivated fields. My friend and I had Ruger 10/22's and lots of ammo and we each had our new Ruger 77/17's. Jack's 17 HMR shoots the Hornady best while mine prefers (slightly and in limited range testing) the Remington ammo. We had shot all morning and were on our 5th or 6th stand. I was shooting from the tailgate of the VarmintMobile using the cab high canopy as a shooting platform. I had several Dog-Gone-Good sand bags of differing models for ultra steady shooting! My friend was gleefully using his newly invented (and in production) swiveling shooting stand from the ground level. I had quit with my Lilja barreled 10/22 and was into my 3rd clip full of 17 HMR ammo. The grass crops are getting high in many places completely covering even standing Ground Squirrels. But the shooting was hot enough and very entertaining!
I noticed a white spot in the grass way out there and swiveled the 17 over to it. I was instantly amazed that it was a Badger looking right at me from the mouth of an enlarged Gopher den! I aimed just under the chin of the Badger and had the shot off in less than 2 seconds! I did remember to not jerk on the Volquartsen trigger! The impact was easily observed on the Badger and it made a quarter turn to the right and ceased movement! I then yelled to my friend and told him what I had done! He was ecstatic but had not seen the Badger at all. I unloaded the 17 and left the bolt open and aimed at the exact spot the Badger had been peering from the den. I took my Ruger 10/22 with a fresh clip, the scope turned down to 4 power and ventured forth to my quarry! Jack would peer down the scope if I had trouble locating the right den in the grass.
I was so excited! I did not even try pacing out to the Badger. I had my Leica Laser 800 rangefinder with me to shoot back at the VarmintMobile.
I found the Badger right away and he was nearly bloodless in the enlarged Gopher hole. I pulled him out and noticed it was a large male. I lasered the front of the VarmintMobile that was facing me and it read 173 yards! I was thrilled even more! The shot had entered just below the neck at the chest juncture and was directly centered! I was pleased as punch. Figuring several more feet (6 to 10) back to the tailgate of my extended cab 3/4 ton Dodge from where the Leica ranged the front of the truck I call it a 175 yard one shot kill on a large Badger! I humped the toad back to my truck and retrieved my Nikormat EL camera! Several pictures of the large Varmint and my Ruger 77/17 were taken. I was just getting my last picture framed when my friend Jack touched off a shot with his 17 from the bench. "I got a Badger" he yelled. I could not believe it! he repeated his claim with gusto and I got my binocs and looked in the direction he was pointing. It was right back where I had just walked from 10 minutes earlier with my Badger. I was sure mine was a male and wondered what was going on! We both went out and retrieved his Badger (another large male!) and noted that it was within 15 yards of my bloodied den entrance where he took his. It was lateral from our shooting point so both Badgers taken at 175 yards with one shot apiece! Jacks 77/17V has a Weaver variable 4X16 power and mine has a straight 15X Weaver. I was down to 2 pictures on the roll for Jacks Badger but that would have to do!
Icey cold drinks were retrieved from the cooler and the temperature read 89 degrees at 2:30 PM!
We decided to take Jacks Badger to the local Taxidermist for tanning and rug making ($200.00!).
What a great day afield. Foxes galore were seen but not in the fields I had permission and they were all scruffy coated anyway!
These past few days were Jacks first live Varmint shooting with his 17 HMR and he really got into his stash of Horandy ammo! Jack proved that the little 17 HMR's barrel can get hot! i pleaded with him to let it completely cool in the shade often but he could not resist the hordes of Gophers calling to him!
More shooting tomorrow and maybe we will get another Badger. The ranch hands reported many sightings recently especially in the early evenings!
What an amazing situation! Two Badgers in such close proximity in the heat of the day and such clean kills.
Wish us luck for tomorrow!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Way to go on them badgers, have used my CZ and the cci ammo on a couple of groundhogs, but felt like I may be pushing the little round,most shots around the 85 to 100 yard mark, used to shoot badgers back home in Kansas they can be mean buggers

I have not been to Yelm since a trout fishing trip i the early '60's.

But in Eastern Montana 15 years ago on the gravel back roads between Volberg and Crow Nation I came across a badger. It was big and not afraid of the car 20 feet away.

I understand why you would want to be armed if the one you shot was still alive.

Clark: Where does the I-5 corridor meet the rain forest? I am guessing Olympia, Washington?
I was driving down a ranch road (dirt track) last year here in SW Montana. I spied a very large Badger waddling across the track up ahead of me. When I got to about 60 yards from the Badger and he was 20 yards off the road by then the dang thing lept up in the air from his waddling half run and did a claws out and swiping in the air jump and half spin back in my VarmintMobiles direction! What startled me about this agressive or warning manuever was how incredibly fast it happened and for no reason. I mean was the Badger challenging my truck to a fight! The Badger was fully into the air with all four feet off the ground and then did this vicious claw back swiping at my truck! It sure seemed to me anyway he would not hesitate to fight my truck! I was not in Varmint Hunting mode at the time (no Rifle along!) or I would have bagged him!
Another time I was Antelope Hunting in Eastern Montana. My partner and I had scouted two different good Antelope Bucks but they were about 8 miles apart. I was succesful in the first hour of opening day and my partner was supposed to meet me at noon at a particular spot he had my truck over his way. I was along this dirt road waiting for him for 3 hours. During the time I was waiting for my partner a ferocious wind came up. It was blowing like 40 MPH staedy. In order to get out of the wind I hunkered down in the burrow pit (ditch beside the road) and tried to keep out of the wind as best I could. I had unloaded my 240 Weatherby and laid it on my daypack. I was virtually lying down in the lowest part of the ditch. I look off about 200 yards away and here comes Mr. Badger waddling right down the ditch at me. At 100 yards I thought I wonder if he can see me in my orange vest? At 50 yards I am sure he can see me as I am now sitting up. At 25 yards I stand up thinking surely now the Badger WILL veer away! At 10 yards I begin fumbling for ammunition! At 5 yards I bolt up the high bank an draw my trusty Buck knife! The Badger passes by my former lying down spot and does not even glance at me standing several feet from him! I am now looking for a foaming mouth on the Badger! None noticed and the Badger continued on, never looking back! I finally remember I had relaced all my cartridges in a belt loop holder and put it away in my daypack! I quickly retrieved some ammo and kept the magazine full in my 240 in case Mr. belligerant Badger should decide to return my way again!
I wish we could have stayed at the taxidermy shop and watched the man skin the Badger. I would have done an autopsy on the creature to see what the tiny bullet had done to the Badger's heart lung area. The taxidermist was just starting to skin a Black Bear when we got there. Maybe next time.
Long live the 17 HMR!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy