Woodchuck hunting PA. and VA.

[RJS88]

Has anyone in PA and VA noticed a decline in the huntable population of woodchucks (ground hogs) in your state. I live in GA but grew up in the Catskill mountians of NY. During the summer I used to be able to go from farm to farm hunting woodchucks and see numbers of them. Today you may see 5 all year. Possible reasons, coyotes and less working farms.

I would love to take my son hunting for woodchucks next season...please let me know what your area has as an opportunity for a good woodchuck hunt!

Thanks, Bob

 

[bang_bang]

Ummm... I shot 3 for my neighbor this year, the big one outsmarted me.

Seems that the coyotes have moved on elsewhere, groundhogs are plentiful in Grayson County Virginia.

 

[Highland Ranger]

All the NY chucks moved to NJ. Wish I could shoot the little @!#$%&ers under my shed.

 

[bang_bang]

I've heard that the new super fast pellet rifles work fairly well on groundhogs. But some are as loud as .22's, and some shoot as fast if not faster than a normal .22 lr bullet.

You could always use a bow too.

 

[Ty7940]

Yea.... I live in Bedford County VA and I've seen one all year and that was in my neighbors field so I'm assuming there is a burough in there somewhere so I'm gonna stake it out sometime.

 

[bang_bang]

As I said earlier, I shot 3 in my neighbor's feild, which can't be more than 1 1/2 acres.

The Christmas trees where I hunt is loaded with holes, and I had a friend miss one with his bow in October.

Decrease in turkeys this year though, I think the coyotes like them better than a nasty ol' whistle pig.

 

[qajaq59]

I hope you can find a spot so the boy can hunt them. I think I used to enjoy the chucks more then anything else. In MA it was the only long range rifle shooting you were allowed to do. Deer were shotgun only.

 

[Shawnee]

I think the seeming scarcity of woodchucks has mostly to do with changes in farm mangaement.... specifically the removal of a lot of fencerows as fewer and fewer farmers raise livestock. I've read perhaps a dozen different summaries of "what coyotes eat" from different parts of the country and woodchucks haven't scored large percentages anywhere.

A tip-off is that while 'chucks seem scarce - the coyotes are multiplying. If the 'chuck was one of their primary food sources the coyote population would begin to decline soon after the 'chuck population went downhill.

Said another way - look for areas of abundant fencerows and you'll find abundant woodchucks - smaller fields, plenty of livestock.

Local opinion may vary.

 

[RJS88]

Shawnee

I think you hit the nail on the head...in NY where I used to hunt them the working farm poulation has decreased significantly. Thus, a major change in land use. Many fields are not being cultivated any longer. I think the chucks are still there, you just aren't able to see them due to the higher grass. However, that really doesn't explain why on the working farms you aren't seeing them! Thanks, Bob

 

[Shawnee]

Hi Bob...

'Chucks around here have always had their dens in the fencerows and other "edges" next to the grainfields where they ate every day - never right in the cultivated fields.

With the movement away from livestock and the concentration on grains, the fencerows were all pulled out to make those unbroken "far-as-the-eye-can-see" bean and cornfields - and that meant there were no denning sites "for-as-far-as-the-eye-can-see". Thus, many, many fewer 'chucks per acre.

That's my story an' I'm stickin' to it !

 

[bang_bang]

My area is still heavily farmed, most common is Christmas trees. They are fairly easy to pick out, and their holes are scattered all about the fields.

A couple of years ago, the population did decline due to coyotes, but are on the rise again. I used to hunt groundhogs all summer after school let out, but my experience would limit me to only around 5-6 a year.

We also have seen an increase in rabbits, most of which are in the same areas as the groundhogs. But, I like my rabbits and don't plan on killing them.

 

[BADUNAME37]

Back in the 80's I shot 29 one summer in Vermont. I shot about 14 last summer.

 

[bang_bang]

If I actually spent some time and spent more than 15 minutes at a time hunting them last year, I would of taken up to 10 that is nearby the house.

2 different occasions last year, I walked out to my neighbors driveway, spotted one, BANG. The third one I had to sneak up and wait for a few though, he likes to stay in the taller grass, all I could ever see of him was his head from time to time.

 

[BADUNAME37]

I like it just after the fields are hayed (mowed),

when they really stick out like a sore thumb!

That's when a bipod and real accurate 22-250 is fun.

I move when they are down and eating and as soon as they get up to look around, I freeze. It's kind of a game to not let them see you and to get in a perfect position to get a good shot off.

Occasionally, I'll take my Ruger Mark II Target Pistol (that has Volquartsen open sights and 10" heavy barrel) and then I really have to sneak up close.

I have a friend who lives in a small nearby town that was overrun with them summer of 2007. I called the police, and since they are on the edge of town the police said it's fine to go ahead and shoot them. I hid in an upstairs room with my 22 target pistol and was hitting them in the head from about 30 feet, with the pistol comfortably resting on the corner of the window sill and the woodchucks coming out off the riverbank onto the back lawn. The lawn was a good backstop.

It was unbelievable how many there were. Since my friends had a vegetable garden that was getting eaten, they were happy to have me shoot them all. Back when I had my 454 Casull in the 80's there was a huge one eating the same people's garden. The neighbor let me shoot off a back set of steps because the backstop was then the ground of the garden. I blistered that woodchuck with the 454 and the people were amazed at the damage it did to the critter (the gun had a Leupold EER scope on it). I wish I still had that gun, but instead now I have the 500.

 

[bang_bang]

LOL- 454 vs a groundhog, wow.

I too like sneaking up on them, once saw a friend sneak up on one from over 100 yards. The terrain was a little hilly, the groundhog was positioned on top of a hill, with an apple tree and some large rocks covering his hole. My friend circled around behind him, popped over the rock, and put a single .22 Magnum through the back of the groundhog's head.

Pretty classy, would of been even better to of had a mil-surp with a bayonet.

I also enjoy spooking them, sitting behind their hole, and popping them when they come back out to inspect the area.

 

[stonecoldy]

woodchucks disappearing?

see how many that are DOR anymore. At least in my area of southwestern Ohio, they have declined to the point that you notice when you see any, which matches up with the increase of coyotes.
I don't shoot them where I hunt, because I think where you find them, cottontails also seem to be doing OK. I'd much rather get a couple rabbits than one woodchuck.
Fur trapping has declined ALOT in the past twenty years. That seems to be an indicator why the hunting for small game has has taken a nosedive and populations have been so poor.
I'll take a crack at any coyote I see (except for deer season).
Don't leave out the sewer coons either!