Want tips for Groundhogs
- Thread starter Longshot4
- Start date
Don't need to hunt them as they will find you !!
Groundhogs like to den up in a particular environment. That translates into; You will find them just about anywhere. In particular along the edge of wood lots. The momma will raise her young till they get too big and then she kicks them out, so they can make their own dens. They will eat just about anything like nuts and your garden produce. They like to dig dens under rock and woods piles. as well as sheds, garages and even your house. I average about four per year, in my neighborhood. ....
One interesting point that I learned just last year, is if they are spooked, they will climb trees and for some strange reason, they hang up there for a long time. I can only guess that they really don't like coming out of the tree. They also have a strange bark, if you want to call it that as it sounds more like a sharp whistle. .....
Good Luck and;
Be Safe !!!
Groundhogs like to den up in a particular environment. That translates into; You will find them just about anywhere. In particular along the edge of wood lots. The momma will raise her young till they get too big and then she kicks them out, so they can make their own dens. They will eat just about anything like nuts and your garden produce. They like to dig dens under rock and woods piles. as well as sheds, garages and even your house. I average about four per year, in my neighborhood. ....
One interesting point that I learned just last year, is if they are spooked, they will climb trees and for some strange reason, they hang up there for a long time. I can only guess that they really don't like coming out of the tree. They also have a strange bark, if you want to call it that as it sounds more like a sharp whistle. .....
Good Luck and;
Be Safe !!!
kilotanker22
New member
+1 to the last statement also when you find an area with ground hogs set up on them and just wait them out. they are very keen to picking up movement.
that 222 will be a fine instrument of death as long as you do your part
that 222 will be a fine instrument of death as long as you do your part
Be very still and quite. It may seem odd advice since they are just groundhogs, but in my experience, they pick up movement and sound as well as a coyote.
Granted I am not an avid groundhog hunter, but I have done it a dozen or so times. The first two or three times out, I was amazed at how easily they spooked.
Granted I am not an avid groundhog hunter, but I have done it a dozen or so times. The first two or three times out, I was amazed at how easily they spooked.
I used to watch bean fields with a 25 06 Ruger M77 and shoot them long range . I learned that if they are down eating you can stalk towards them and then they will raise up on watch you freez , wait then they go back to eating and you move closer each time . I did this for about 10 miniutes one time till I got close enough and shot him with a .44 mag Black Hawk .
2damnold4this
New member
As a teenager, I once spent a day hunting groundhogs with a .22 at a nearby farm that had a problem with them. Having no luck, I walked back to my parents' farm where I discovered that our dog had cornered a groundhog in the garden and my mother had killed it with a tomato stake.
Groundhogs (most people call them woodchucks these days) like well-drained soils that will hold up when they dig a den. They also love grass and clover and veggies, especially bean leaves, as we discovered in our garden.
Due to the number of folks hunting them with varmint rifles, and the prevalence of coyotes, foxes, and flying predators, woodchucks have made their homes inside of woodlines, along controlled-access highways, parks, and other places where we can't hunt/shoot.
Here in Maine, we used to hunt them in rolling terrain, using hunting rifles, for practice if we ever got to shoot at a scarce whitetail (back in the early sixties). I used a Savage 110, 30-06 with a 2.5x scope and managed to score out to 500 yards once, but averaged over 200 yards with that rig. It was a sporter and that's what we liked to carry on the several miles we walked per day.
Shooting woodchucks here isn't like prairie dogs out west. They're few and far between, since dedicated varmint rifles made it so easy to shoot them. The best way to find out where chucks may be a problem is to talk with game wardens and farmers in the area...mostly farmers.
Due to the number of folks hunting them with varmint rifles, and the prevalence of coyotes, foxes, and flying predators, woodchucks have made their homes inside of woodlines, along controlled-access highways, parks, and other places where we can't hunt/shoot.
Here in Maine, we used to hunt them in rolling terrain, using hunting rifles, for practice if we ever got to shoot at a scarce whitetail (back in the early sixties). I used a Savage 110, 30-06 with a 2.5x scope and managed to score out to 500 yards once, but averaged over 200 yards with that rig. It was a sporter and that's what we liked to carry on the several miles we walked per day.
Shooting woodchucks here isn't like prairie dogs out west. They're few and far between, since dedicated varmint rifles made it so easy to shoot them. The best way to find out where chucks may be a problem is to talk with game wardens and farmers in the area...mostly farmers.
I know a farmer that saw one in his field. All he had on him at the time was a claw hammer. He threw the hammer at the woodchuck, hit it in the head and killed it.
Doesn't take a lot to kill a groundhog a hammer or a .222 will do the job, just find where they are and wait patiently with that .222.
Doesn't take a lot to kill a groundhog a hammer or a .222 will do the job, just find where they are and wait patiently with that .222.
kilimanjaro
New member
Dress them out, wrap in foil with salt, pepper, garlic, and onions, roast in Dutch oven under hot coals for 40 minutes, or 350 degree oven for 60 minutes.
It's all protien !!!
Be Safe !!! protein
That sounds great and was wondering if we would see a reply like this. I have eaten Beaver and Muskrat and don't see why you couldn't eat a Groundhog seeing that they are mostly herbivores. Problem is that I'd have to cook it as my wife wouldn't have anything to do with it ....
Be Safe !!! protein
Thanks for the tips. So far I have gone looking twice. Seen them on the highway and in the burbs. I will have to check out some of the hilly farm areas. I have the triple Duce tuned for 250 Yds. Mid range trajectory. I have heard that the young hogs are the ones for the pot. That's kind of like porcupine roast. Thanks again.
ammo.crafter
New member
222
If you reload, try IMR 4198 @ 19.0 grains under a 52 grain bullet with a small rifle mag primer. Good luck.
If you reload, try IMR 4198 @ 19.0 grains under a 52 grain bullet with a small rifle mag primer. Good luck.