I was sorely tempted to grab the Bushmaster and send the whistlepig to his maker, but managed to restrain myself from putting any additional holes in the varmint. I didn't stop shooting when he wandered across the berm, though; if a stray .22LR or two happened to ricochet off the packed dirt and perforated his ass, tough rocks. Out of curiosity, I looked up what the MA laws were on the removal of groundhogs from one's property, and came across this tidbit:
Shooting: Shooting is quick, simple, and effective in rural areas where firearms discharge is safe and lawful. A .22 caliber centerfire rifle is commonly used for this purpose. At close ranges (less than 25 yards), a 12-gauge shotgun with #4-6 shot may be effective. This method will be most useful when targeting a few persistent animals. But, again, during population peaks, or when foods are particularly attractive, new woodchucks will quickly move in to replace those that have been removed.(found here)
Yes, the state of Massachusetts - that liberal fortress, bluest of the blue states, bastion of the progressives - advocates shooting groundhogs with a 12 gauge shotgun. Heh.
That is all.
12 comments:
Actually, I don't find the woodchuck's behavior at all surprising.
Think about it: He's in an environment with virtually no predators. He's already figured out you won't shoot him (well, unless he makes a nuisance of himself). The sound of gunfire is now filtered out in his brain - but I'll bet he still pays attention to rustling grass that could be a fox.
When I was shooting skeet in the evenings (back before kids), we regularly saw multiple deer on the edge of the range. Shotgun fire didn't bother them in the least; they knew exactly where to hang out.
OK, I'll bite: what's "A .22 caliber centerfire rifle"?
Apparently they encourage the use of .22-250...
"Apparently they encourage the use of .22-250"
I learn something new every day - thank you.
Yet another caliber I have no budget for. But "commonly used"? ...
I wonder exactly how old that law is
Starik,
The fastest (commercial) cartridge available is a .22 centerfire called the .220 swift. Muzzle velocity has been clocked at more than FOUR THOUSAND feet per second. And don't forget a very popular 'varmint' round called the .22 hornet -- he sits neatly between .22 rimfire magnum and .223
KW - vegnappi: become a vegetable if you're caught napping?
- Brad
Curious what they define as a "Rural" area? Was not the concept of "the Common" (as in Boston) originally meant to apply to an area for all the people in a community to use for agricultural purposes, such as cattle grazing? So would not that give one the right to hunt on the Common for "pest control"? Might have a loophole here.
Dug out the ol' Speer #10 from 1979, and here is what was listed for .22 Centerfire 30 years ago: 22 Hornet, 222 Remington, 223 Remington, 222 Remington Magnum, 22PPC, 225 Winchester, 22-250, and 220 Swift. Wonder what the Mass. Game Wardens would do if someone showed up with one rifle in each caliber and said "Where can I shoot Woodchucks around here"?
Just to be on the safe side:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_Eargesplitten_Loudenboomer
would avoid any concerns about using an underpowered caliber.
I'll second Phil's statement. We're not allowed to shoot any animals on our gun club property. The wildlife is so used to hearing gunfire that I have pictures of a jake turkey that walked out onto the 200 yd range in the middle of a rifle match. The shots were all going well over his head but the R.O. was screaming cease fire as soon as he saw him and we had to wait until he crossed the range. He came back going the other direction about 1/2 hour later.
The .220 Swift is one of the older .22 centerfires. It was released as a commercially loaded cartridge in 1935. I have a Ruger M77 Varmint model chambered in it that shoots dime size groups at 200 yds and it would definitely be overkill for woodchuck.
it's it even more allowed to shoot the wood chuck with your 12ga if you have a bayonet on the front end?
LOL
I enjoyed this post. I only recently came across your BLOG. Good stuff. Apparently the safest place for random wildlife is at the gun range.
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