Back in 1964, springtime, the old groundhogs were as thick as fleas on a dogs back. The entire state had a bounty on'm to try and eradicate'm some. They could destroy a farmers profit from a field of soybeans in short order. We tried killin'm with a .22 rifle but it had to be a "head" shot or they would get away. We ended up with bigger and bigger cal. of rifles until it was decided they're wasn't any built just like we wanted one. Old Jeep finally found a custom built rifle that seemed to fit the bill. It was a .244 Rem cal or as some call it--6mm. For those who don't know--about a 26 cal bullet and an 06 case. Flaig barrel, free floating and glassed on a fagen varm't stock with rollover checkrest and flat forarm. Fitted to an old Jap action and a 10X Weaver scope. An old hog out 500 yards was not safe anymore! Any hit anywhere on'm was usually fatal immediately. The bounty was .50 a tail in Richland County while in neighborin Clay County it was the scalp and still another county it was the feet. At .50 each and collectin from 3 or 4 counties a body could actually pay for his expences! I'm sure some will not like hearin about this business/sport but it's essential in the country sometimes to be able to control the pest population. Groundhogs are not nice lookin or anything else as far as I'm concerned. They are destructive rodents that cause untold amounts of loss to man and beast. Their den holes are famous for cattle to step in and break a leg along with horses and even man. Tunneling under buildings and disrupting the foundations of barns and outbuildings are a favorite for'm. Well anyhow, I have my own rifle now that I'm satisfied with and it works great on those critters. It's a 6.5X55 Swedish Mauser and a 3X9 Bushnell scope. About a .26 cal bullet with a huge caseing. It'll reach out and "touch'm" for quite a spell too. Old Jeep traded off that old custom built one years ago and now has a .22 Hornet with a sizable scope. We don't hunt'm much anymore, just on our own farms and not for the bounty. Don't know if there is even a bounty on'm anymmore. The only shells we shoot now are reloads. It's become too expensive to buy factory loads just to pop a few old "hogs". Coyotes, wolves, big cats, deer and even swine, cattle are dispatched quickly with these guns. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), September 18, 2000

Answers

Well,ya sold me. I've been thinking about getting a 6.5 swiss for a while,never heard anything bad about them. My favorite right now is an old .303 Enfield,it'll drive tacks further than these old eyes can see and is bodacious for stout,it's a leetle on the biggish side for most four legged critters tho. Can't afford to shoot the mini-14s much even with surplus ammo they empty a magazine pdq. I'll admit to gettin a bit embarrased hunting season when all my buddies show up with their bright shiney .308s and .270s,but they do seem to have to baby them,and I've never seen them sling them into the back of the truck like I do the Enfield.(doesn't even knock the varnish off)

-- BillyB (bloptoad123@cs.com), September 18, 2000.

Hoot, This one should have been under country kids making money!

This is how I first learn to shoot with my dad. Later, us kids learned combat maneuvers and stealth sneaking up and ambushing these little communities.

We got 25 cents per tail. We skinned them out, salted the pelt and tacked them all over the barn wall. Someday the grown-ups were going to get "careless" and we would get battery acid and tan all those pelts.

One time the boys played a really bad trick on us girls. They gutted out a bunch of little critters and packed the guts into a nice, pretty Christmas cookie tin...Remember the song "Greemy Grimey Gopher Guts?"

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), September 23, 2000.

I've been keepin' track since the first of the year---I've killed 98 so far. Mostly head shots with my .220 Swift or my .222 Remington. I have a 26 mile drive home each evening after work and it's a great way to unwind. Most farmers welcome aGroundhog hunter-- very few turn you down. Personal best shot this year was 517 yards-- the critter had climbed a bush while I was watching him through my binoculars. Isaw the dirt fly from his fur as the 55 grain Hornady V-Max Ballistic tip knocked him out of the bush!

-- WWiley Perry (bogieman@shentel.net), July 09, 2001.