Beaver: Sink or Float?

Dead ones float...live ones swim off.

Check your game laws too. In some states such as MA you can't shoot them at all. Trapping only. Never knew why unless they either sink or the state is afraid of ricochets.

As a youngun, we'de shoot muskrats in the creek and they all floated. Just have to be careful they are where you can get them and be darned sure of the shot to kae sure the shot is a killer.

Andy

They usually sink pretty quick. They'll always float after a day or two and at this point they are really tender.

That has been my experience too. May be a TX beaver thing.
~z

beavers

I used to dove hunt a corn field just north of Charlottesville, Va.that was bordered on 3 sides by the Rivanna river. The deal I had with the owner was that I had to kill any beavers that I saw. I never could recover a beaver, they sink. Nothing I owned, up to and including a 45/70 kept them afloat. Since I couldn't prove I was killing them, even though his corn no longer ended up in the river, he revoked my hunting priviledge. Then he cut down the walnut trees along the river that the doves roosted in. I've often hoped that the beavers returned.

trust me....they sink. and they are TASTEY!!!! actually slap a beaver in a crock pot with taters and carrots and tastes like roast!

Yep, they definitely sink, like a rock.

Killed numerous all sunk quickly just like the rock from other poster .

They sink like a rock!

When they start to decompose (provided other aquatic life doesn't eat them up first)...gas forms in the body cavity and they float to the top.

They sink.

12 posts in and still waiting....

the one I shot floated.... a .22 to the head... and floated... the other one I shot swam away.

I've killed dozens and never had one that didn't sink. I used a grappling hook and rope to retrieve them. Edit to add: they will sometimes spin around before going under,even if head shot.

Savage 65M .22 magnum 40grnHP. I always aim for the back of the head if possible,if not just forward of the ear. Early morning and late afternoon have always been my most productive times.

what if u used a bow rigged for gator hunting/bow fishing? then you could just pull it in by the line no?

do they sink or float?

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Now THAT'S an original Thread question, Dr. Tad! LOL. You should add a poll!

Maybe to claims here, of ones that sank, just swam down and away?
Because there's no reason for them to immediately lose their intrinsic buoyancy.

so you go in after them and recover them from the bottom?

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sorta...we have a little john boat to get to the deeper water areas. otherwise we have a couple of retrieval methods. the first is an extendable golf ball grabber with big catfish hooks wired and taped on the end. will generally get them down to 7 ft or so. the second (and not nearly as successful) method is to take a rope (in this case its actually a pull rope from an old ladder stand) and crimp wheel weights to the end. stick a few hooks on the end and drag the area.

btw...its much easier to sweep the area if you use your golf ball grabber or boat paddle to "push" the rope along.

They sank because they were dead and unable to swim to the surface.

Because there's no reason for them to lose their intrinsic buoyancy.

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pretty sure the swim to maintain buoyancy. maybe a little lung function tossed in there but ive never seen one doing the otter thing.

Guns and eatin' beavers. Don't get no better than that........