Have a ghog under my porch...

[ranchibi]

Bruce, I am thinking you will eliminate said ghog soon! Looking forward to that pic and story!

[WobblyHand]

Well, my 1/2 degree wedge was too high as well!  Got it sighted in at about 21 feet, with no wedges, so all in the 9's and 10's.  I was using the ring graticule on the Holosun, but it was hard to judge center, so switched it to just a dot.  That seemed to slightly change the zero.  Hoping this is good enough for a short range 20-25 foot shot.  Not the best shooting, I'm afraid, but the Caldwell is hard to dial in, it wants to shift.  So I get it close and tweak the grip and my shoulder to center it up.  Probably messes with the shot, I need to work on that.

Hmm, I need to do some more casting.  As it is a beautiful day, I will set it up and try to crank out some more slugs.  Fortunately they are pretty easy to cast and have pretty good yield.  A squirrel came by in the back, and was in range.  Less than 25 feet.  It was hard not to pop him.  But the gun wasn't sighted in at the time  He got a pass.

Oh the ding dong went off near noon, but I didn't see anything.

[WobblyHand]

Been casting.  Takes a while to build up a stash, slowly getting there.  Casting 28.4 grain, give or take, 0.22 cal slugs, also known as Bob's Boat Tails.  Got to get back to it - times a wasting.  Threw a bunch of sprues in the pot and am waiting for it to come to temperature again.

[WobblyHand]

Here's a few slugs I cast today.  Need to sort through them now.  Probably some light one's in there, have to cull them. 

Had a minor accident while casting, but it's a reminder to be really careful.  Had a lead splash, due to some inattention of mine.  It landed on the crotch of my shorts!  Synthetic fabric, the shorts are ruined, as the lead melted the fabric.  Body parts are safe, but that was too close.  Reminder to self - only cast lead wearing cotton...

[JuryRigger]

Here's a few slugs I cast today.  Need to sort through them now.  Probably some light one's in there, have to cull them. 

Had a minor accident while casting, but it's a reminder to be really careful.  Had a lead splash, due to some inattention of mine.  It landed on the crotch of my shorts!  Synthetic fabric, the shorts are ruined, as the lead melted the fabric.  Body parts are safe, but that was too close.  Reminder to self - only cast lead wearing cotton...

Heavy denim work apron might not be such a bad idea, and can be had for cheap if you look around... 
Jesse

[ranchibi]

Nice cast bullets! That was a CLOSE CALL on the inadvertent splash...YIKES...😂👍! Glad nothing was burnt on you! Those look like ghog seeking slugs 👍

[WobblyHand]

Here's a few slugs I cast today.  Need to sort through them now.  Probably some light one's in there, have to cull them. 

Had a minor accident while casting, but it's a reminder to be really careful.  Had a lead splash, due to some inattention of mine.  It landed on the crotch of my shorts!  Synthetic fabric, the shorts are ruined, as the lead melted the fabric.  Body parts are safe, but that was too close.  Reminder to self - only cast lead wearing cotton...

Heavy denim work apron might not be such a bad idea, and can be had for cheap if you look around... 
Jesse

Had I thought about it, I could have worn my treated cotton welding jacket, would have been fine for this.  Brain wasn't fully engaged today while casting, had a lot on my mind, it wasn't just a ground hog.  Going to have to toss these shorts today, not going to put the lead laden shorts in the wash.

Anyways, netted a few hundred or so slugs.  (Didn't count this time, just sorted them by weight.)  I kept the ones between 28.25 and 28.55 grains, binned at 28.3, 28.4 and 28.5 grains.  Anything below or above that will go back into the pot.  More than ready to stalk this ground hog, umm, maybe.  We shall see what tomorrow brings.  If I don't get a good view of it tomorrow morning, I will make up some sort of ghog baiting thing, ala what Tom described.  I ran out of chicken wire a few months ago, otherwise I would have made the feed station today.

[WobblyHand]

Nice cast bullets! That was a CLOSE CALL on the inadvertent splash...YIKES...😂👍! Glad nothing was burnt on you! Those look like ghog seeking slugs 👍

Thanks.  They are ok, not great.  But they will be good enough, now that I culled out the highs (not many) and lows.  I'm keeping the ones 28.4 +/- 0.1 grains.

Yeah, a lot closer call than I would have liked.  Lesson learned, had to sacrifice a pair of decent shorts.  Dang, they were new looking too!

Hope these slugs are ghog seeking like you said    Maybe tomorrow.  With that moderator, the loudest noise in the back yard was the slugs slapping the cardboard box full of rubber mulch.  Next door neighbors didn't seem to mind the sound.  Tonight, I saw that the ghog had dug another opening under the lattice, today, because I keep on blocking up the holes.  Persistent critter. 

[only1harry]

Bruce, your intruder is a 4-month old juvenile born in the spring.  If you can't set up out in the middle of your lawn or garden before Noon (or before 6am) 20-21 feet away, then you definitely need to create a controlled environment so that you can position the Ghog where you want him, and shoot from a good vantage point when he freezes with his head up (to scan the area). 

Ghogs like leafy greens like romaine lettuce for example and I have read that cucumber also works if some of the other suggested food doesn't work.  They love flowers though!  Many Ghogs have decimated my wife's zinnias, carnations, and many other flowers but they all paid with their life, so I think that was a fair trade    If it wasn't for them eating all her flowers every year, I don't think she would have let me shoot over 300 Ghogs on our property the past 24 years.

BTW, it's not an issue sitting in a chair with a bipod or tripd or a table 20 feet away from its burrow entrance or the bait site, as long as you don't move (much) but make very slow movements.  I 've had Ghogs come within 6-7 feet and walking straight at me because I was frozen like a statue   They only take off when they see movement nearby or hear a loud or unnatural sound/noise.  One summer in '96 or '97 I looked at the window and saw an adult Ghog with 2 little ones feeding 3-4 feet away from my wife and 2-3yr old son who had fallen asleep on a blanket on the lawn.  Even when my wife moved her arm while still sleeping they ran 10 feet and stopped, saw no more movement and started eating the grass again a minute later.  But those Ghogs back then were used to us and I wasn't going after them then, because she had not started planting flowers yet, not for another ~3 years.  They learn not to run or hide with people around a lot after a while as long as they keep a certain distance away that makes them feel they are not threatened.

[WobblyHand]

Bruce, your intruder is a 4-month old juvenile born in the spring.  If you can't set up out in the middle of your lawn or garden before Noon (or before 6am) 20-21 feet away, then you definitely need to create a controlled environment so that you can position the Ghog where you want him, and shoot from a good vantage point when he freezes with his head up (to scan the area). 

Ghogs like leafy greens like romaine lettuce for example and I have read that cucumber also works if some of the other suggested food doesn't work.  They love flowers though!  Many Ghogs have decimated my wife's zinnias, carnations, and many other flowers but they all paid with their life, so I think that was a fair trade    If it wasn't for them eating all her flowers every year, I don't think she would have let me shoot over 300 Ghogs on our property the past 24 years.

BTW, it's not an issue sitting in a chair with a bipod or tripd or a table 20 feet away from its burrow entrance or the bait site, as long as you don't move (much) but make very slow movements.  I 've had Ghogs come within 6-7 feet and walking straight at me because I was frozen like a statue   They only take off when they see movement nearby or hear a loud or unnatural sound/noise.  One summer in '96 or '97 I looked at the window and saw an adult Ghog with 2 little ones feeding 3-4 feet away from my wife and 2-3yr old son who had fallen asleep on a blanket on the lawn.  Even when my wife moved her arm while still sleeping they ran 10 feet and stopped, saw no more movement and started eating the grass again a minute later.  But those Ghogs back then were used to us and I wasn't going after them then, because she had not started planting flowers yet, not for another ~3 years.  They learn not to run or hide with people around a lot after a while as long as they keep a certain distance away that makes them feel they are not threatened.

Thanks for the read on the ground hog.  I thought it was a small one.

It's 21 feet from the edge of the porch roof to where the ghog was feeding, eating our lush grass.  (18 feet away and 10 feet up, the hypoteneuse is 21 feet.) Or it is 10 feet straight down from the roof to the zinnias, and a possible exit under the lattice surrounding the porch.  I feel reasonable comfortable that being low on the roof gives me a rather nice vantage point and a safe back stop, being the ground.  I could be prone on the roof which is a decent shooting position.

There are flowers, bushes and a low tree that block a straight shot at the burrow exit.  It's not visible from that vantage point.  Furthermore, there is a window at the ground level which is obscured by the lattice surrounding the porch, so shooting towards the burrow may bust a window, which would make me unhappy in multiple ways.  I might be able to get a side shot, but I'm not so sure where I'd position myself, think my wife would be unhappy with me lying on top of her plantings.

So tomorrow morning, I will attempt the ghog rooftop position and see how it goes.  I have a door which opens up to the rubber covered roof.  I often have to shovel snow off the roof in the winter.  At least this time of year there won't be ice!  Necessity is the mother of invention, so I'll try this stupid idea first, and come up with a better stupid idea when or if it doesn't work!

[Back_Roads]

 I rolled up on a G-hog about the same size behind the barn at work tonight, I set a trap. Did not have the GK1 along and there were too many witnesses

[WobblyHand]

Ding dong woke me up at 5am.  Got dressed and peered out the window and saw a shadowy figure in the dark, which seemed big.  Turns out it was a skunk, I think, at least from the way it moved.  It was quite wary.  Got on the roof and waited, and waited, and waited.  640am, no sign of the ghog.  Think I was skunked, by a skunk today. 

A bit nippy out there, laying still and prone on the roof.  Tomorrow I will wear a coat.  It was a great vantage point on the roof, had a great view.  Unfortunately, as of this post, no ground hog showed up for the party!

[WobblyHand]

Joker came out at 8:44am   Once again, only a rump view and further away.  Got on the roof barely and he wandered off out of view.  Crept along the roof but he was gone.  Kind of busy outside now.  The waiting game continues.

Oh yeah, that big skunk really tore up the lawn last night, ripped up a bunch of turf.

[WobblyHand]

He's in my neighbor's yard at the moment.  Unfortunately I can't get a shot over there.  Seems to be chowing down on grass.  Too bad, I've seen quite a few decent head shots.  I'm only 30 feet away right now.  He saw me, but I was still and he just went on his business.

[ranchibi]

LOL Bruce! He is almost right there...LOL! You will inject it SOON! That's why switched over from a ding donger to a wireless doorcam, you can see what ii is! Anyway, ding dongers work and you will bag that ghog!

[WobblyHand]

Waking up early and staying up late are not good for me.  Dragging now, and it's only 4pm. 

Dang, the skunk was big.  And it really tore up the lawn.  But it was far too dark to see well, and I truly don't want to stink up my trash can for a whole year.

But I did discover, some huge pile of dirt behind our garden shed.  Something big is there, or they sure excavated a whole lot of soil.  Might be another ground hog . The mound of dirt is just over two feet high.  What a pain in the neck.  Hope that isn't skunks - doesn't smell like it.  I wouldn't have thought these critters would have moved here, this isn't a quiet nature preserve.  It's a lot noisier than I would like.  Hope the next place is going to be a lot more rural. 

But yea, he is almost right there - so, so close.

[Back_Roads]

 From the sounds of it the large amount of dirt moved in short order, good chance its a G-Hog or a Badger 

[ER00z]

Seen this, thought of everyone that's ever had a ghog problem...

[WobblyHand]

Too funny.  Bet that guy had some explaining to do! 

In my impetuous youth, I may or may not have done something less dramatic than that.  Somehow a huge ant nest vanished in under 1 second.  Column of dirt went up oh 10 feet in the air.  No damage like that guy.  Done remotely, so no playing with matches or body parts close to the area.  Funny thing is, my father showed me how to do it.  Learned a whole lot of interesting science along the way, and a lot about safety.  Chemical synthesis, electrical engineering and stuff like that.  That was over 50 years ago now...  I still have the contraption I built back then, a total kludge of scrounged parts, that was used to set things off.  Last time I checked (4 years ago) it still could do it's thing.  What was it's thing?  It charged up a high voltage capacitor.  I made a flat transmission line out of plastic sheet and aluminum foil.  (Combined craft work and math!) At the end of the transmission line was a tiny wire.  When the plunger was pressed, the energy stored in the capacitor was transferred via the transmission line to that tiny wire.  All of the energy was dumped into the wire, so the wire not only melted, but it turned into plasma and created a shock wave.  That shock wave was sufficient to set other nameless materials off.  As I said, I learned a lot, plenty of math involved, but it sure was fun...  But that was far from a house, and not under my porch! 

Ghog got a pass last night, turned off the ding dong.  Needed the sleep.  Have to go at it again...

[Madd Hatter]

Seen this, thought of everyone that's ever had a ghog problem...

Hey honey, I can put in that root cellar you've always wanted now.😂🤣😂🤣 I bet the ghog got a real bang out of it and the guy got a vist from his local PD.