I know your laughing, but there isn't that much to hunt around here right now, but we have a bunch of gophers. I thought of this back during bow season when I was watching a green patch and noticed a gopher cleaning out his tunnel--making the mound. I shot at him with my bow, but missed. I was just wondering if anybody ever intentionally hunts gophers? I'm not talking about ground squirrels but those things (like moles) that tunnel in the ground and make the piles of dirt on the surface. See the photos below.






Can they be hunted? How often do they poke their heads out of the ground? Are there any tricks to hunting them?

Absolutely! Any time I can. Very fun shooting with a 22LR out to about 100 yds and with a 17HMR to about 200. Even popped one once with my Colt 22 Buntline Scout at 40 yds. Find a field where they are, bring binos and lots of ammo, and a friend (not absolutely necessary, fun) and let 'er rip...

Sagebrush, I think your talking about a different animal which is also commonly called a "gopher".

I lived a quarter of a century in a farm home located on sandy soil which was heavily infested with pocket gophers. I think during all of that time I might have had a half-dozen shots at them when they emerged ever-so-briefly from their holes as they pushed another load of soil to the surface. It seems they do most of their above ground work at night.

I think I'd rather sit on the banks of Loch Ness from midnight to 6 AM with a .460 Weatherby in my lap hunting monsters than wait for a gopher to surface.

This is what I'm curious about: How often do they push the dirt out. The one I saw bow hunting is the only one that I've ever watched do that, but I really was never trying to watch for them before. I don't want to waist time waiting on something that doesn't occur very often, but if there is a time when they are more apt to surface/more active, that might be a different matter.

Oh, by the way, the gophers I'm talking about are about the size of a gerbil. We used to trap them when I was growing up on the farm. We used to find one of their mounds and dig down into their tunnel and place a trap--looked like a rat trap in a box--there was a hole in one end of the box and we would leave that open above ground. The gopher apparently didn't like the light and came to plug up the hole and would trip the trap. They are considered a big nuisance--causing lots of damage with their tunneling and eating the roots of plants.

Sagebrush, is this the type of animal your talking about? When was the best time to spot them? Any info would be appreciated.

Those little suckers almost never show themselves. They are a real pain, kill trees, wreck garden, etc. I even considered a Gophernator to get rid of them. They are tough little buggers, if cornered they will fight. Wondered if a ferret would dig them out?
C.G.B.

Use a sharp pointed metal probe about 3/8" in diameter to locate the actual gopher tunnels by feel by poking little holes in the ground around the mounds. The tunnel will only be a few inches below the surface and you can feel when you break through its roof. Once a tunnel is located drop a few grains of poisoned corn, wheat, or milo down the hole so that the grains land on the floor of the tunnel. Then brush a little dirt over the hole made by your probe.

My father used this treatment a couple of times and was successful in wiping out a pretty large colony. In a few years they'll come back and you'll have to do it again.

Controlling their population by shooting would be about as successful as "abstenence education" for teenagers.

Took some reading, but I think I finally figured out what you're talking about. Up here in Canada, we call 'em moles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_%28animal%29

We have tons of 'em around my parents place. The neighbour plowed up his alfalfa field next door and they all moved into my parent's yard. The mole traps work, but not on all of 'em. We've had some moles get educated, either they smell human scent, or sense their hole has been buggered with, so they'll fill the box traps full of dirt. Another trick my Dad uses is Lye...he'd use 2, 1 gal ice cream pail lids or margarine container lids...find the hole, remove the dirt, put down the bottom lid with a hole in it the mole can get it's feet through (lid is upside down with the lips up), then cover it with the other lid with no hole (lips down to mate with overturned lid), the trick is to put the lye between the two lids, then mound the dirt back on top. When the mole comes to inspect his tunnel (as they do quite often), because they are practically blind, they feel around with their front paws. They will then get the lye on their paws which burns, then they lick it off their paws, which in turn eventually poisons the rodent...the best trick to get those educated to the common box trap.

ck82

I'm not sure if our "pocket gophers" in Texas and Oklahoma are the same species as your "moles" in Canada, but they are at least very similar.

The most puzzling thing I've heard them called is "salamanders". "What the devil is he talking about?" was my first reaction. Then someone explained to me that "salamander" is a corruption of "soil mounder".

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
I'm not sure if our "pocket gophers" in Texas and Oklahoma are the same species as your "moles" in Canada, but they are at least very similar.

The most puzzling thing I've heard them called is "salamanders". "What the devil is he talking about?" was my first reaction. Then someone explained to me that "salamander" is a corruption of "soil mounder".

Interesting indeed, we have salamanders as well up here in Canada, but they are an amphibian that live in swampy/wet areas on the prairies. They actually range from Southern Canada right on down to Mexico into Central and South America...just goes to show how regional dialects can confuse the heck outta most anyone not from that area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander

I have heard of guys plugging all holes but one and pumping propane into a hole. You wait till the tunnels fill up, then light the vent hole.
You don't even have to bury the little buggers.....

here they are called moles. I have shot a few only by luck. usually walking around a field you will see one pushing dirt up, all you can do is shoot into the ground and then dig him up. I have never seen one come up to the surface

Good Morning, Red C.
Sorry it took so long for me to respond to your question. I have been away for awhile. Yes, I hunt them all of the time. I have shot them with 22LR,.38/357 revolvers,.410 shot gun and 12 gauge. My favorite being .38 shot cartridge in a revolver. My method is as follows:
Identify the last mound and carefully dig down until you expose the open tunnel; slope the whole back at a 45 degree angle from the tunnel opening to allow for a direct shot; I place a 6-8 inche small twig with twigglets coming off at various angles into the tunnel(this will alert you to the presence of the gopher); select a comfortable chair,umbrella (if needed) and appropriate drink; wait time varies...shortest for me being 5 minutes to an hour plus. Patience is needed. Note: the twig will disappear & gopher will appear shortly..do not shoot immediately..he gopher will pop his head out & imdiately go back in the hole several times -checking for predators. Be patient until he presents a good target (the head & neck will only be visible). Any questions, just ask.
Dane, Florida

quote:

Originally posted by CoyoteKiller82:
Took some reading, but I think I finally figured out what you're talking about. Up here in Canada, we call 'em moles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_%28animal%29

We have tons of 'em around my parents place. The neighbour plowed up his alfalfa field next door and they all moved into my parent's yard. The mole traps work, but not on all of 'em. We've had some moles get educated, either they smell human scent, or sense their hole has been buggered with, so they'll fill the box traps full of dirt. Another trick my Dad uses is Lye...he'd use 2, 1 gal ice cream pail lids or margarine container lids...find the hole, remove the dirt, put down the bottom lid with a hole in it the mole can get it's feet through (lid is upside down with the lips up), then cover it with the other lid with no hole (lips down to mate with overturned lid), the trick is to put the lye between the two lids, then mound the dirt back on top. When the mole comes to inspect his tunnel (as they do quite often), because they are practically blind, they feel around with their front paws. They will then get the lye on their paws which burns, then they lick it off their paws, which in turn eventually poisons the rodent...the best trick to get those educated to the common box trap.

ck82

Not the same critter, not even the same family. Pocket gophers are NOT moles.

wiki pocket gophers

Unless you want to go to all the trouble described by lyndane above, hunting them is basically a waste of time. My cat kills them quite regularly, but she is a lot more patient (and probably a better hunter) than I am. Like Stonecreek, I've shot a few over the years, but that was strictly luck when I was walking around or hunting something else. Be careful, they charge when wounded......

There are traps for them which work quite well. You'll need a pair, at least, and you will need to wire, or light chain them to some kind of stake to avoid having coyotes or dogs drag them off when you've caught one. Here's one source for them.....Woodstream traps

My family and I have been trapping them for over 50 years. They play hell with newly planted pine trees which is what got us started. For a house or yard, one set of traps is plenty. If you're trying to remove them from a pasture or larger area, 3 sets work well and won't work you to death, checking and resetting them once a day. Poisoning works well too but for whatever reasons, we get better "wipeouts" with traps. Once you get rid of them, if you keep an eye out you can catch new ones pretty quickly before they add a family to your pasture.

Right on, Gatogordo...

As you know, the main dietary sustenance for moles is ANIMAL PROTEIN & FATS. They mainly eat earthworms, insect grubs, that sort of thing. Biologists generally believe that any vegetation eaten by moles is purely accidental, just like us conservatives and other pure carnivores.

Gophers, on the other hand, are primarily vegetarians, preferring forbes and that ilk. Of course when forbes are in short supply (or take too much work to find), they will eat whatever other veggies they can get hold of, but won't kill any animate object even to save their own lives...just like liberals....

Last year in the Missouri, we were set upon by a rather large following of "pocket golfers" they seldom come topside. It is very hard to hunt them from above with anything.

Now if you bait the area with grain, they will come out as the sun is half way down. I have caught then eating at night time and gotten a couple of shots off out the bedroom window. However, as soon as the lights turn one that Pocket Golfer heads to his tunnel fast.

It took us most of last summer and fall to rid our place of them but it was no easy task. The poison I use is grain coated with Strictnyne. You can not have any human scent around that hole or the grain you use.

My 85-year old father sits in the backyard on a beachchair near any new hole in his lawn. His equiptment includes a newspaper, cup of coffee and my bull-barrel Ruger Mark II .22