Groundhogs are here again

[bang_bang]

On the drive home from town the other day, I noticed a couple run over. As soon as I got home, I looked out the window and immediately spotted one that escaped me last year, perched on his hole in the side of a creek bank on my neighbor's property (they gave me the responsibility to rid their land of groundhogs for the safety of their sheep and ponies).

I love to hunt these critters. Anyone else been seeing a head or two pop out of a hole?

 

[.45Guy]

The one that has taken up residence under the old outhouse made his first appearance yesterday. I'm definately going out when I get home from work today.

 

[Savage99]

Woodchuck hunting used to be the greatest rifle sport for us here in CT. Some of us drove to the border with NY to hunt on the dairy farms there.

Since then the coyote has come here and the woodchucks are gone.

 

[OHBR4356]

Funny story actually. I went back to my grandparents' property yesterday morning, they've been underneath a shed way out in between the creek and the field, about a half mile from the house. Been "feeding" them lettuce for a few weeks by now. So I went and sat down against my tree... and TOOK A NAP. Must of been an hour or so. When I woke up, the sun was directly over the shed, and amazingly, there sat the groundhog. Of course I missed and he scurried off. About a half hour later he came out again, and this time I got him (head shot with the .17 hmr, approx. 65 yards). Twas a good day.

While they are a nuisance, a part of me hopes there's more back there (I'm guessing there is, must be 5 holes under one shed). Fishing is great, but groundhogs are the only hunting around here until fall. The coyotes are around, but pretty elusive, I don't think there so thick around here as in other parts. I wonder how southern Ohio is for coyotes... anyone from the area, let me know.

 

[sharkhunter2018]

I've taken a couple here in the last two years. There is one down by my range in the bottom that I've been after since October last year. He managed to shack up for the winter before I could get to him. His den is in a tree line off from my range at the 50 yard line. I had another last year that I took three shots at from my Garand at about 50 yards. First shot came up just short and the last two I was shooting at him on the run. He became extremely skittish after that day . I got him two weeks later though.

I actually had one (there were two of them in roughly the area of an acre) that dug a den IN my backstop! There were three entrances, one of which me and a couple of friends discovered while checking targets when shooting one day. A week later I found two extra hole while adding to the backstop. He was actually home when I was running up n down the berm on the tractor. I saw him dart out of one of the holes and gave chase with my Makarov. I missed, but he also hasnt been back since.

I've definitely been watching out recently with the weather warming up some.

 

[bang_bang]

Well, I just ventured out to see if I could get a shot on the one that avoided me so much last year, and guess what, he done it again. While watching his holes, I glanced over into another section of the field about 200 yards away and spotted a larger one. He also got away, spotted me moving about 10 yards from the spot I had picked to shoot him from.

 

[308win]

OHBR4356 - The coyotes are abundant in Union, Delaware, and western Licking counties. Less so in south eastern Licking. I have heard that they are plentiful in Muskingum and up around the Mansfield area.

I haven't seen any groundhogs out yet but have seen one road kill already. They will be out this week as things are really starting to green up around Columbus.

 

[Geno]

Here's my trick, and it has worked every time. I set steel target between the sun and the woodchuck's most recently dug hole. Have the target about 50 feet from the hole.

I zero the rifle for about 175 yards, then commence to plink that steel target with the .22LR. As soon as the woodchuck pops out to take a peek, I pop the thing. Don't know why they are so curious about steel pingings, but they sure are.

By doc2005, shot with hp photosmart 733 at 2009-03-22

 

[bang_bang]

What else is there better to do on such a lovely day like today in the mountains of Virginia.





Finally got my revenge on these critters. They outsmarted me, stayed visible just outside of my comfort shooting range with the 22 Mag. This time I stayed back a bit further, and took my Stevens 300 Win Mag loaded with 110 gr HP. Took the first on of the 2 at around 130-145 yards, and the second probably around 100-115. Neighbor's are tickled pink that I am getting rid of their pests.

 

[308win]

What kind of MV are you geting with the 110gr and 300WinMag? I use 110gr Hornady VMax and the book MV for my load is 3300fps.

They look well filled out for this early. I hope I can get out Sunday.

 

[bang_bang]

Well, I don't have a crony to test for sure, but I'm around the starting load from Hodgdon's resources. I'm loading the Seirra 110 HP with around 76.3 grains of H4831sc with CCI Magnum rifle primers.

According to Hodgdon's website, using 110 grain bullets with 79.0 grain of H4831 (their start load) should get you around 3,355 fps. So my guess would be 3,250 fps range. Max load is 84.0 compressed grains pushing it over 3,500 fps.

Still hurts the shoulder though, even though the bullet is a whole lot smaller than what I am used to shooting. I'm new to reloading too, so I don't want to get up to max loads quite yet.

 

[Sam1911]

Last one I shot was a classic hunt worthy of O'Conner or Capstick, for sure. It was gray and raining when I got home from work that Friday. One of those close and heavy overcast days where the drizzle deadens sounds and the world seems small and hushed. I saw him between the outhouse and the loafing shed but he didn't look up from his meal as I eased out of my car and tiptoed up onto the porch and in the door.

I sprinted upstairs and grabbed my "heavy" gun (Savage Cub-T... in pink) and stalked to a position of concealment where I could find a natural rest (the bumper of my wife's Expedition). I took careful aim and eased out half-a-breath...

....."craaaaaakKK!" Twitching ... then stillness.

A perfect shot across 25 measured paces of my front yard! Ahhh, how the natives toasted me in their village that night!

The mighty hunter, indeed!

Well, it beats the two others I shot in their burrows with a .45...!

Anybody have a good recipe? I didn't get to eat that one as we had to split for dinner that night and I didn't have time to clean it out.

-Sam

 

[308win]

I use a .308Win. Load 110gr VMax over 748 (53gr I think it is; don't have the manual in front of me) for 3300fps at muzzle according to Hornady Manual.

 

[bang_bang]

Sam1911- I would of gave you these to cook up, I don't think I'm hungry enough yet to eat groundhog. They rate right up there with opossum and skunk in my book. I will eat them, but have yet to find the courage to cook them.

Pretty neat that the .308 and 300 Win Mag are getting similar ballistics with that much of a powder difference. Guess I'm just killing my powder jar. Either way, a little bullet (relatively speaking) going that fast has got to hurt.

This was a neat experience, since I popped the first one with very little to shoot at. Not knowing if I hit him or not, I stood up and glanced over to my right where I knew the other one had it's holes in a creek bank. There he was, sitting up looking to find out what the noise was. Big mistake in his part.

 

[Sam1911]

Sam1911- I would of gave you these to cook up, I don't think I'm hungry enough yet to eat groundhog.

Well, I haven't tried it. One of our crew foreman was a fan and had a supposedly awesome barbecue recipe. I never had the pleasure of a taste, being stuck in the office all the time anymore.

Unfortunately (that's ironic) I think I might have eliminated my local population of them. Have to go bug one of the local farmer to let me shoot them, I guess.

-Sam

 

[308win]

I like them (110gr VMax) because I know that I don't have to worry about terminal performance. If I do my job the varmint is DRT. The longest kill I have so far is 450+ yards and the groundhog was laid open from his shoulders to his groin (he was sitting up facing away from me).

 

[bang_bang]

308win- NICE! I'll have to look into getting some of those for next year. These Seirra's put a nice hole, around the same width as a soda can on the exit. Needless to say they didn't suffer.

 

[.45Guy]

They're not all that bad if you crock pot them up. The stench that never seems to wash off from cleaning and prepping them is a drag though.

 

[Savage99]

I would not use a 308 or similar round for woodchucks as the chances of a richocet are too great with the heavier bullets.


We used the 243 50 years ago for that reason and even then kept the bullet weight down and the velocity up. Of course with a good backstop most anything is safe.

However bullets can richocet.

 

[rhino57]

I hunt in Amisville Va. and am going to try and get a couple Chucks with my new 9mm pistol, If that does not work I'll get my 223 out of the truck!

 

[OHBR4356]

Just got another one Monday evening... this time decided to save some meat and give it a whirl. Ate it for dinner about an hour ago. Like 45guy said, the stench is wretched when you clean them, but in my opinion, well worth it. Fried it just like squirrel (like chicken). It was a little tough, but outstanding taste.

To each his own, but I know I won't be wasting any more good groundhog meat hereafter.

 

[dagger dog]

Try butchering then rolling the pieces in your favorite fried chicken flour, fry until brown remove from skillet drench in your favorite BBQ sauce and place on grill to finish. The Colonel should have used whistle pig instead of chicken!


Saw a a large red tail hawk make a dive and connected with a ground hog, had its right foot talons imbedded in the ground hogs head and was being drug toward the burrow. The hawk was doing its best to get airborne, but the hog had the advantage of an extra set of legs and drug the hawk to the burrow entrance, the bird finally had to turn the hog loose or be drug down the burrow.

I have made a promise to myself to carry a digital camera on all my hunting forays, it would have been a classic!

 

[bang_bang]

I have made a promise to myself to carry a digital camera on all my hunting forays, it would have been a classic!

I know what you mean. If I had a camera on some of my trips, I could have had some amazing photographs. Saw a hawk with a snake once, flying over my head. Have had hawks land really close to me while hunting, as well as great-horned owls.

Then again, only hunters get to see these things, and truly appreciate it.

 

[Sunray]

Haven't seen any live ones, but did see a turkey vulture circling on the way in to the work house, then saw a road killed, young chuck. The vulture was low enough to see it's concentration. If it had lips, they'd have been smacking.
"...with my new 9mm pistol..." Get close.
"...don't think I'm hungry enough yet to eat groundhog..." They eat the same thing cows eat and they're cleaner. You hunt and eat squirrels? Just curious. Tree rats are cannibalistic.
"...The stench that never seems to wash off..." Not skinned properly. Musk glands on the inside of the hind legs, as I recall.
"...only hunters get to see these things, and truly appreciate it..." Yep. And not always when hunting.

 

[TimM]

Anybody have a good recipe? I didn't get to eat that one as we had to split for dinner that night and I didn't have time to clean it out.

The biggest trick to cooking groundhog is cleaning it properly. You need to remove the glands, some of which are in the back and in the armpits (this is especially important if the groundhog has a little age on him). Then soak the woodchuck overnight in salt water with a bit of vinegar to remove a lot of the gamey taste.

Prepare the woodchuck just like you would chicken that you are going to fry.

Brown it in hot oil.

Sprinkle a bit of sugar on it.

Reduce the heat, add a little water then cover and simmer for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.

That is how my grandma used to fix it.