Hunting groundhogs with a .22 LR is an art form
It is almost time for hay to be taken. I have seen a couple of local farmers making hay but most have yet to get started. With it being so very wet this spring it is hardly feasible but as soon as the weather dries up a bit, I am sure they are going to get busy. I can scarcely remember a year where the hay was so high at the end of May. Seeing the hay equipment moving about the fields is cause for excitement because that means groundhog hunting is just around the corner.
This year, I am attempting a new brand of groundhog hunting. Rather than the .22-250 or the .22 Hornet at distance, I am going to take up my trusty Ruger 10/22 for groundhog chores. I might even pull the old Remington 541 bolt action out of the safe just for fun. Either way, it will be spot and stalk hunting on some days rather than bagging up on one hillside and shooting a high-powered rifle to the next.
On other days, with my newly developed riflery interests cultivated via the Appleseed Project, I am going to attempt to take woodchucks at distance with a rimfire rifle. Hunting woodchucks in this manner can require getting close, remaining quiet as well as motionless and incorporating a sling to solidify one’s platform. Also, a bit of experimentation enters the picture when it comes to improvising positions so that the target remains visible while proning out in fields of varying heights of grass. Standing, kneeling, sitting and prone are all called upon for this type of work where distance and position change the shot makeup each and every time the trigger is pressed.
The other way to hunt is to remain in place and dial one’s scope accordingly to distance. Incorporating the use of a range finder becomes necessary at this juncture. Learning the ballistics of a .22 LR, especially at 100 yards out to 200 is all brand new content to this writer. One of the Appleseed courses that I am planning to attend this summer is the Rimfire Known Distance event where they teach such skills. The same principles apply as are needed for shooting a high-powered rifle at longer distances but at a fraction of the cost and without getting beat up by recoil. I can’t wait to attend and take the next step. Truly it has made shooting the .22 LR platform interesting and fun once more. I would be less than forthright if I did not admit to having my doubts about my ability to hit a groundhog-sized target at better than 100 yards.
While thinning out the woodchuck population is an ongoing chore, if scythes and mowers are to be protected, this is probably not the most effective manner in which to go about the rodent harvest. I find that learning the drop of the miniscule .22 LR bullet is rather an art form. Keeping shots inside of 100 yards would aid in alleviating misses but the possibilities of reaching out to 200 yards, effectively, with intent, remains fascinating to me as a shooter. In reviewing several ballistic charts for the .22 LR there are any number of factors that can affect bullet drop and by margins of varying degrees. Barrel length, bullet weight, projectile speed and bullet shape all weigh in. With many of the popular offerings of .22 LR ammunition traveling at speeds close to 1,250 feet per second the ballistic arc is formidable. While most sighting in for hunting purposes is done at 50 yards with the .22 LR platform, a 40-grain bullet drops nearly 2-3 inches at 75 yards. At 100 yards the drop is closer to 7-8 or more. Beyond these distances things get really interesting. At 150 yards the bullet drops between 22 and 30 inches and out at 200 yards, the drop is even more significant (45-55) in elevation.
With all this information, it would seem that the science that goes along with these shooting skills is a near impossibility at such vast distances, yet I hear guys in such shooting circles discussing hits of this nature as very makeable if not “routine.” Personally, I find such craft to be anything but routine. While I am most excited to learn these secrets of the gun, I have an awful lot of work to do if I am going to reach out with such a small caliber. Getting to know my rifle more intimately will hopefully pay some dividends in my hunting and shooting future. And hopefully, we’ll make hay while the sun shines.
Dave Bates writes a weekly outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter. He can be reached at alphaomegashootingsolutions@gmail.com