theres a place in MT where u can shoot thousands of gophers and catch hundreds of fish. it is by far the best gopher place i have been too. but i wanna know the most gophers or whatever u have shot in a day??

MThunter15: I have personally "shot at" 800 Gophers in one day. I kept track that day and was so sated that I couldn't shoot any more! I had taken and gone clean through two of the Federal red carton 22 LR Hollowpoints that come 400 to the carton. Thus the easy recollection. There was very little wind that day and I am sure I shot 75% solid hits - so my guesstimation best figure would be 600 harvested that day. And that day was only about 7 hours worth of shooting time. A person will have very sore fingers and thumbs from loading 10/22 clips by the way, after loading them 80 times!
If a person had perfect weather and it stayed low wind all day and a person got started at sunup and shot til the Gophers went down and did not go to town for lunch but stayed at it all day in a good area and the pups were up - I am sure that one could easily fire in excess of 1,000 rounds at live targets in that day.
Almost to much! But the ranchers would sure love ya!
How about you MThunter15 whats your best days total kills while Gopher Hunting?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

well since i cant legally drive yet i have to go with family so i am not the only one with a gun so i cant shoot every gopher i see. but i would have to say the most i have shot in one day is probably around 400 or 500. i shoot an open sight ruger 10/22 and oh yes the thumb and fingers are a little sore. but i think a scope would help a little but i enjoy the open sight a lot more.

The most I've ben involved in was 477 in about 5 hours or thereabouts.

We use a clicker to count, otherewise the counts always get way inflated. And of course only confirmed kills are counted.

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dog

Well geez, Mark! There ya go introducing verifiable data and likely some sort of clinical analysis to the whole affair! Now how are my fish tales gonna withstand such unbiased scrutiny?

Not being one to let an opportunity pass, I like to "relive" the experience later in the presence of malt beverages, and if someone whips out a umpire's clicker, well, I'd feel diminished somehow.

I think you oughta use a more subjective method of scoring - something like "most dramatic expiring" or "most flips by a headshot gopher".

Cheers lad!

Redial

Dont shoot gophers, but a big chuck hunter. Most shot was 400 over a 2 1/2 day trip only 1 missed hog, longest shot 832 yds, average shot 300yds.

220 Jaybird: That is some quality shooting you did that trip! Were those Wood Chucks or Rock Chucks out west? That Hunt would have been worth the price of admission for sure!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

The most gophers in one day?

Growing up in southern Saskatchewan, there are years when we would have gopher population explosions. The gopher population would peak. During those peak times you could shoot and shoot stopping only to reload. We would shoot from the truck. On one beautiful, calm, sunny day, A friend and I had two bricks of 500 each.(22LR.) We tried to keep count but it was not possible. We went with a percentage. We figured it to be 80%. Many times we would shoot gophers sitting side by side, killing two with one shot. We ran out of ammo before the day was out. That year was one of the best. I recall driving into the pasture and it was like the ground was moving, there were so many gophers. Never seen quite that many before or since. The next year, there was hardly any.
In Saskatchewan, they had a gopher derby last year. The winner had killed over 7,000 gophers in 2 months.

Daryl

All I have to say is, HOLY SH#@! Being an eastern boy, I have never done that much shootin' in a day. At anything! What an opportunity you guys have out there. I have never been varmint hunting out west, but boy I've been gettin' the itch to go and experience it, especially after seeing posts like this. I know you guys have your favorite spots, just like the fishing gurus, but can you give some general direction/recommendations on how I can get out there for my first hunt? Hell, if I can get just a quarter of the shooting you guys get, I'll be happy. Here are some of the questions I have:
- Can you get that kind of hunting on state land or is most of this on private?
- What are some of the state lands that are good to visit?
- What type of license would I need?
- Should I get a guide or can I do just as well on my own?
I'll understand if you guys don't answer, but without going through a guide I don't know where to start to get out there for my first time. I don't really know anyone that's been there or has contacts there for varmint hunting.

just got back from eastern montana. what a trip a rancher freind put me on a place that hadent been shot at in 12 years boy were the p-dogs dumb i shot 487 p-dogs with out even moving my bench. this was just the first day of shooting . my friend showed up the next morning and told me that i was in the wrong field should of been a few miles east he took me there and showed me a section with more dogs than ive ever seen . well two days later and 3500 rounds. i was out of ammo. istill didnt dent the population. now to reload the brass. three sizes 223 22-250 and 243 will be busy for a while

Jethro: I can answer a couple of your questions. In Montana you do not need a license to Hunt Varmints. Varmints are Coyotes, Fox, Badger, Rock Chucks, Prairie Dogs, all types of Rabbits, Ground Squirrels, Tree Squirrels, Skunks, Rattle Snakes and a whole bunch more. You as a non-resident though are not allowed to Hunt the Furbearer classified Bobcats.
It depemds on what you wish to Hunt but coming from the east and saving you 600 more miles of driving to get to the best Ground Squirrel Hunting in western Montana - I suggest you Hunt Prairie Dogs in eastern Montana. While there you can also Hunt Coyotes, Fox, Badger, Porcupine, flying Varmints and the Rabbits were just thick over there last year. Watch out for wet roads that turn impassable and Rattlesnakes and nose around for some great spots. Don't be shocked if a rancher asks you to shoot some Turtles out of his stock ponds (they somehow eat the young trout!).
Yeah nose around for PD's and shoot all the Coyotes you can find!
Private lands (leased and deeded) seems to have the best PD shooting but seldom am I turned down when I ask to Hunt on private land.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Time was I shot 2000 rounds a week, best was 1570 for 2000. Kept track with a 3 bag bird carrier.
one for loaded rounds, one for misses, one for hits. Count when the time permits...
Shootin a 223, had 1.5 inches of freebore when I was done..didn't clean much , when it got hot, had to shoot within 10 sec of chambering the round or would blow a primer. Any longer and I would extract the round, get another one and not close the action till ready to shoot.
Good ole days.
Never ate a prairie dog , but heard they taste like spotted owl.
All the best.
broj

Over a 1000. my trigger finger was actually sore the next day. It was in Montana, outside the Bozeman area.
Dr. Michael

I don't hunt gophers, but do hunt woodchuck. The most I've ever got in one day was 8, with 10 shots. My buddy and I have long range rifles and scopes and don't even shoot at anything closer than about 200yds. Woodchuck aren't as plentiful as gophers, and it is possible to hunt them out in an area. We're always mindful of that. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

This is an older post. Gophers being close to Ground Squirrels in Central Oregon/ NE Calif.

In May of 2003 went over to Lakeview Oregon, and found a piece of property and asked to be able to shoot ground squirrels. An older lady told me that some people had just left, who had been camped out for a week shooting them. It had been raining all day and had finally started to clear.

Actually I had gone over to scout out a few spots to take a handicapped friend over and another buddy and his 10 yr old son shooting, so all I had thrown in the truck was my CZ 22 with a 2 x7 Weaver on it and a box of Federal 22's from Walmart, 550 to a box for $8.96.

This rifle is very accurate with that ammo, but only has a 5 round clip. Walking the fence line and the irrigation wheel lines, I walked a 400 acre alfalfa pasture. My hits were 80% plus.
In 2.5 hours I was out of ammo!

With a solid rest on a irrigation wheel or a fence post, I was hitting them to 100yds pretty consistently. It was the CZs maiden voyage for shooting ground squirrels, and she did good!

Went out the following weekend with the group and brought my 223's also. However, went walking with the CZ again and shot 2 more boxes of Federal Walmart 22s. ( 1100 rounds). I quit because I had such a headache because of squinting thru the scope so long.

From where I had been it was amazing how many Crows and SeaGulls were out there eating the remains of all the ground squirrels I shot.
There were several hundred birds out there it seemed.

Walking across the field tho, I saw some holes with 5 or 6 dead ground squirrels around the entrance. I felt sorry for them, until I noticed ground squirrels eating the remains of the other dead ground squirrels. Little buggers are cannabals and I have no problem or guilt shooting a cannabal.