How to deal with burrows in field

[johntab]

I was out cutting one of my fields and noticed that there are lots of burrows scattered about. I was thinking of tilling the area on and around them. I'd like to turn the field into a pasture and am concerned about livestock stepping into the holes and breaking a leg. I'm not a good shot, explosives are out and I don't want to be like Bill Murray in Caddyshack. Any other suggestions?

 

[DieselPower]

Bowling balls. Personally I'm one who likes the copper coated lead injection system. It's quick and permanently removes the cause of the holes.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Tilling is worth a try, but I suspect it will only work for a few days at a time.

If you don't want to shoot them personally, and you're in a rural area, I would try to find some varmint hunters who will do the job for you. They are usually looking for places to hunt. A couple boxes of .223 or 22-250 will probably do the job much better than days of tilling. I would call local sportsmen's clubs or post an ad at a local sporting goods store that has a good gun selection.

 

[zzvyb6]

A Remington 700 in .223 cal heavy barrel with a 12 power scope is all you need. Shoot 1/4 in groups at 100 yards with a bipod. Cabelas has the whole package. The 22-250 is a bit loud but can reach out further. I'm axious to try out my Barrett M99 on them too, but that piece will go right down into the burrow without taking any shortcuts. Probably not enough left for a dinner for 4 either, now that I think of it....

 

[dknarnd]

There is some good eating there, some people don't like them though.

 

[boatermark]

"Keep your eyes on the fruit..."

 

[Egon]

Others have gopher problems too!

Gopher invasion hurting Prairie farmers

 

[daTeacha]

A properly bred and trained Dachshund might be your answer. Those things were originally bred to go down the hole after badgers and come out with a carcass, so groundhogs shouldn't be much of a problem. Just don't go to a pet store and get a show dog by mistake.

Personally, a .22 LR, 22-250, 6 mm Rem., .22 Hornet, or .357 Mag works just fine. My bragging shot is one taken at a measured 135 yards with the .357 Trooper Mk III with a 6 inch barrel and a 1.3X Bushnell, using a 125g jhp over about 7 grains of Red Dot.

I watched a guy shoot one with a 45-70 from about 50 yards once. Frontal shot to the chest pretty much gutted the critter.

 

[AndyMA]

This morning on TV I saw a news article that someone is vacuming them out of fields and sending Gophers alive to Japan for pets???
Looked real to me.

Andy

 

[chrisjbell]

Poison is another route you can go. Bait stations would probably be your least un-safe choice. The problem, of course, is that poison is not descriminatory and may kill things you don't want dead.