A ground hog and an AK

LongRifle

LongRifle

Joined
Apr 5, 2000
Messages
2,018
I've been using my 18" AK and have been having a great time with it. I've been climbing up into trees and lopping out 6" branches with ease. The tree was in the front yard so I climbed it and the neighbors watched. The AK came out completly un-scathed.

We have gound hogs here the size of wolves. I didn't behead the gound hogs if that's what you're thinking. I did however use the AK to chop up some logs that I lodged in their burrow. I should add that I threw a few gas bombs in before the logs. The AK did great once again. It was just as sharp when it came out as it was when it went in, it got a little dirty though-but who cares?

I used the AK again when I was putting in a flag stone walk way. A BIG root was right in the way of the path and was making a level walk way impossible. The AK took care of that with only one problem-I hit a stone on one of the swings. To remove some of the root I pushed on the knife with all my weight(at this point I should say Sher made my knife and it's 11/16 of an inch thick and I only weigh 160 lbs-there isn't a chance of me breaking that knife). When I was done I just cleaned the knife off and started working on the ding. The ding was right at the tip of the knife but it came right out with a *little* work with a kitchen knife sharpener.

To digress slightly I saw the damned ground hog yesterday. He had thrown the logs out of his burrow and had strewn them about the back yard. The ground hogs are a problem one because they eat everything in the garden-I usually say share and share alike but they eat everything but the zuchinnis (sp?) and leave half eaten tomatoes in the lawn so I can step on them in my bare feet, two because his burrow is on our hill and it is begining to erode. To add insult to injury I saw him when I came home from work-he just stared at me-I think he's mocking me. At this point I'm begining to rethink beheading the ground hog with the AK.
Maybe TNT?
Matthew



[This message has been edited by LongRifle (edited 06-16-2000).]
 
I had a skunk who tormented me like that. I put up with him for a long time but finally had to take him out. I still regret it but it was one of those "him or me" situations.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
Ever see the movie "Caddyshack" ?
Bill Murray vs. Gopher...
Hysterical
smile.gif


Tom
 
I beheaded a groundhog once with my 15" AK. He thought my basement would make a nice home.

 
Just remember, Groundhog stew is mighty good eating! Let me know if you want more details(pun). It's kinda like eating giant squirrels.
Dan
 
Might I suggest 12ga deer slugs as admirably effective anti-groundhog weapons?

And a shovel to clean up.

biggrin.gif


Mike

PS 'Overkill' is an oxymoron.

PPS yes, I am the guy who used a 12ga OO buck 3" magnum on a rabbit. Same general effect.
*BOOM-SPLUUUUTTTT*

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"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -Robert Heinlein
 
Mike, I would use a gun but I live within city limits so I can't legally shoot it. Besides I think I would probably shoot myslef in the foot.
Matthew
 
Hmmm...just set a snare for him, baited with a tomato or two and then you'll get a chance at ground hog stew.....

Yummy!

Harry
 
Humm, it sounds like the groundhogs around my new place. We moved to 90 acres in the country in December. Coyotes are the real problem but the ground hogs are a pain too since they dig giant tunnels everywhere. Dad and I dug up some of their tunnels in the barn in December. We unearthed a monster female who was still sleeping off winter. It took six .45 Long Colts to make her stop moving around. She was huge and old looking. There was a male out there under the barn as well who successfully avoided me for several months. Then one day I was out feeding chickens and he foolishly stuck a head out from one side and froze. He wasn't offering me much of a target from 35-40 yards away but I managed to put a single 115 gr Sierra through his throat from my Glock 17. He just fell over and died. Then last week the dogs started going crazy in the back yard. I went out to see and they had a big female trapped underneath the propane tank. Lots of big shrubs and small trees kind of make a cave around and under it. I went in the house and got a Ruger Mk II target pistol. I wanted a small bullet and I wanted precision! As I aimed at her head just below the propane tank I couldn't help thinking about the Darwin award. I wasn't sure I would qualify anyway since I've already bred successfully. Anyway the single killing shot and two careful "just to be sure" shots went right where they were supposed to. I had to go put on gloves and grab her by the head and wiggle her back and forth to get her out. Another giant. Holding her by the back legs and her nose wants to drag on the ground. Nasty, sparse coat like a dog with mange. Big ugly buck teeth. The dogs got a small one themselves last week so that's four we've taken out. Maybe we've nearly got them licked. Wish I could say the same about the coyotes. I hate losing chickens, geese, and ducks! Here's the last one I got (video capture): http://www.geocities.com/greggg_74021/coyote4.jpg

Gregg
 
Here in Reno where they don't come around I forget about how much misery our furry, feathered and hairy friends can cause us. Especially when they start eating our crops and our animals. Thankfully, I've not had to kill any critters since the skunk faced off with me.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 

The farmers tell me this is how the rid of ground hogs. First thing to do is determine where the holes and ensure that there is nothing that can be damaged around them. Get a propane tank and release the propane into the holes for a few minutes. Start a small fire near the entrance of one of the holes and get away from it. The propane will eventually reach the fire and explode (personally I would light the fire remotely, maybe with canon fuse). Anything inside the ground hog holes should be killed by the concussion. Note, flames have been reported shooting out of the other holes so it is essential you locate all of them.

A relatively high power air rifle (.177 at 800 fps at the muzzle) will kill a ground hog with shot to the head up to about 20 yards. It is quiet.

Will
 
Mano a mano with an overgrown squirrel in the long grass... Hemingway would've approved.

Of course, it doesn't really count unless you kill the gopher with a single khukuri-stroke, cut out its heart, roast it on a spit and eat it. Then the spirit of the gopher passes into you and you become a mighty warrior. Or you start digging holes under the kitchen floor. Something like that, anyhow.

I'm delighted to report that a large colony of Bavarian wild boar have gotten established in southern England; about a hundred of the critters got loose from a farm about 6 years ago, and they've bred like crazy ever since; no natural predators, no hunters, no guns &c. Latest roadkill specimens are running about 400lb, with big, mean tusks. Given the nasty temper these critters have, it won't be long before some fool of a hiker disturbs one, assumes it's cuddly and friendly, and gets slit open like a letter.

Sometimes, natural selection works both ways.

 
Groundhog detonation with propane and a fire. Damn. That's seriously, dementedly funny.

Kinda like my grandfather's version of fishing that he learned in WWII: one placid lake or pond, one hand grenade, and a bunch of hungry GIs with a net.

Short, sweet and to the point.
biggrin.gif


Mike

PS best part is, the groundhog comes pre-cooked
biggrin.gif
I prefer charcoal to propane, but we must make concessions for convenience.

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"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -Robert Heinlein
 
Trust me the first thing I would have done in the battle would be to fire bomb him. I am home from college and unfortunatly have yet to lose my fasination with fire. Plus my mom won't let me. I was going to pour gasoline down the hole and barbaque him but my mom but the kybosh on that. If I could get a hold of some grenades the hell with the hill-that would be a blast (sorry). Even if the first grenade attack was successful I wouldn't be convinced the ground hog threat had been nuetralized so I would need to blast at least once daily. I do have a pellet gun and I have shot the ground hog with it but it doesn't seem to phase him-granted he sure isn't happy after he's just been tagged in the back with a pellet.

The ground hog is driving me crazy, it's coming close to the point where I might start to hear him talk to me. I know for sure he's mocking me when he sticks his head out of the burrow and just stares at me-I swear he can smile.

Matthew
 
Having had to deal with a good many of these critters, there are two things I can tell you.

#1 Patience. It is either you or him, you are the intelligent bi-ped with opposable thumbs. You will figure something out.

2# Did you know that these critters have the the nickname "whistle pigs"? They gat this nickname for a bad habit that they have. If they are unstartled, and you whistle most of the time they will stand up on thier evil fat little haunches, given you the chance to grease the evil little varmit.

Finally one question? have you tried plugging all but one entrance and then flooding the little bugger out, with your common everyday garden hose?

Just a thought.

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Life is short, art endures.
 
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