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Several years ago I was happily mowing the backyard on my riding mower when I hit a gopher mound. The blade of the mower hurled a small rock 25 yards through one of the windows of my sun room. The $600 repair bill caused me to declare war on the evil gopher empire. When I started examining my yard closely (which encompasses several acres) I found dozens of gopher mounds and feed holes.
I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years hunting gophers, testing several techniques and guns, and finally feel like I’m getting a handle on the most effective methods. This article is aimed at providing some tips to new gopher hunters.
I embarked upon a mission to rid my yard of the pesky creatures, which I knew little about. The first task was to identify my foe, which turned out to be a Wester Pocket Gopher (Thomomys mazama). They come in various shades of brown, sometimes with black streaks. Around here they grow to about the size of a hot dog or bratwurst bun. And they dig – a lot. Their mounds are generally small crescent moons about the size of a neck pillow, but can occasionally grow to huge mounds 18 inches tall and four feet across. They also create feed holes that allow air in their tunnels and access to the grass for food. The experts sat they come out at night and frolic in the grass. I’ve never seen one fully out of his hole.
There are many options to get rid of these pests. The Rodenator appears to be the most entertaining way to rid your yard of gophers, however, the $2000 price tag will deter all but the most well heeled gopher fighters. I refuse to use poison, not only because of the slow and painful death it causes the targeted creature, but also the unintended secondary effect it may have upon animals eating the carcass of the deceased gopher. Cats are reputed to be good gopher hunters, but we don’t have any. My dog would catch an occasional gopher, but nowhere near enough to eliminate my infestation. I’ve tried using a hose to flush them out (with the dog standing by for backup) and that seems to work only about 5% of the time. I needed something more reliable. That provided the perfect excuse for me to purchase more guns. 
In my initial zeal to conquer the gophers I spent over $3000 on a state-of-the-art night vision scope, mounting it on a Marlin 717 (.17 Mach 2). The problem I encountered was that the scope sat 3.5” inches above the bore line of the barrel. This would not be an issue if you were targeting terrorists in the sand box at 50 or 100 yards. But when aiming at a gopher ten feet away you have to aim 3” over his head (which is about all you ever see). That turned out to be easier said than done, and I abandoned the NVD after only modest results.
I then turned to my spectacularly accurate and effective ground squirrel gun (a Marlin 917vs in .17 HMR), whose scope only extends 1.5” above the bore line. It should be noted here that gopher hunting is best done from 6 to 15 feet away from your target, otherwise they are largely obscured by vegetation. Occasionally you will get a shot at 20’ or more - my farthest kill was from 40 yards, however, those long shots are very rare. More often than not all you see is some brown hair moving between the blades of grass or, if you’re lucky, the entire head which is the size of a golf ball. In addition to having to aim high, the other problem with using a scope on gophers is that most scopes won’t focus at such close distances.
Eventually, disappointed with the 20% miss ratio with the squirrel gun due to these factors, I purchased a 20 gauge Remington 870 youth model shot gun. No scope. My success rate has now climbed to better than 95% (I missed a couple while getting used to the flat top sight). I feel this is the ultimate gopher gun. It’s light and easy to carry in the field, and it’s forgiving if your aim is slightly off. The 7-1/2 shot Federal Multi-Purpose Load (available at Wal-Mart) does the trick nicely. From 20’ it patterns about 5” across, perfect for our purposes.
Regardless of the species you hunt, the key to success is being in the right place at the right time. This is especially true when hunting gophers, as they will only expose themselves for seconds at a time. It is important to know your environment intimately. During the hour or two before dark, patrol your zone several times. Look for any new mounds or feed holes, or the tell-tale twitching of foliage indicating that a gopher is feeding or digging. It’s important to scan the horizon as well as the ground at your feet to be sure you spot them before they see you approaching. Often you can’t even see a feed hole until you are standing over top of it. Their heads will pop out of a feed hole and rotate like a periscope as they search for food or anything higher on the food chain. I’ve found that they can detect movement unless they are looking directly away from you (it may seem obvious, but their eyes are mounted on the sides of their heads and they have excellent peripheral vision).
Gophers have poor vision, but are extremely sensitive to movement. I’ve had several spot me approaching at over 30 yards. Once they get spooked they will disappear in their holes, usually for about 45 minutes. On the other hand, if you keep still you can get very close. My Rottweiler caught about two gophers a year by standing over their feed holes with her slobbery, breathy mouth just inches from the hole. Once they came out to feed on the grasses around the hole she would snag them.
It is generally easier to detect and shoot a gopher while it is building a mound. When you come across a feed hole, more often than not they are not feeding at that time. Hunting gophers requires patience; sometimes lots of it. Occasionally you will get a serendipity moment when you happen upon a gopher feeding and you can dispatch him immediately. More often though you will have to wait - I’ve waited over an hour for high priority targets. Generally, once they start digging a mound, they will continue until it is finished and plug the hole. That generally takes anywhere from fifteen minutes to two hours. Upon encountering a feed hole, I will wait for about five or ten minutes. If they don’t come out in that time I will scout others and come back to it. Sometimes you can identify several feed holes an hour or so before dusk. Then, when it gets dark enough, they will all come out at the same time and you can go from hole to hole. On several occasions I’ve shot four gophers in twenty minutes using this technique.
Gophers prefer the cover of darkness, but can often be found at dusk and dawn before the sun gets too bright. In winter when the sun is low, they will come out at any time of day. Only rarely will they do that during other seasons. The best time to hunt them is the hour before dark. I’ve kept a log for the last three years in order to try to determine what factors affect gophers more than others. The amount of light seems to be the biggest factor. I suspect that soil temperature and moisture content also play a role, as well as the season of the year.
They don’t seem to be particularly sensitive to stepping around their holes, sound, or the smell of humans (or dog breath for that matter). I nearly always wear camouflage when I hunt gophers, so I don’t know if they are sensitive to color or not. Any muted colors should be fine - I would avoid wearing bright colors.
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of their actual behavior in their rare above ground appearances, and the best techniques for targeting them. Rule number one is never let them see movement! If you are walking up on a gopher, or waiting at a feed hole or mound, you must freeze immediately when they come out. They will only stay above ground for moments. When they go back down in the hole you can advance, take your weapon off safe, and take aim. If they didn’t see movement, they will usually be back seconds or minutes later. Then it’s up to you!
That is a great, informative post. I wouldn't take much to turn it into an article--you might give that some thought.
