Hunting & Fishing Woodchuck Hunting

#101
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

How do you hunt groundhogs? Do you wait for them to come out of their holes or do they walk around. We only have groundhogs in the western part of our state, so I don't really get to hunt them much. That's why I am asking
 
#103
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

I've killed 6 of them at the local range in the past month; 3 with my .17 HMR and 3 with my 308. Nothing like targets of opportunity...
 
#104
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: kombayotch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've killed 6 of them at the local range in the past month; 3 with my .17 HMR and 3 with my 308. Nothing like targets of opportunity...</div></div>

Kombayotch, are you talking about Youngs? Cause there is a hell of a den out there in the 900 yard burm. Were you there Saturday by chance with a .22 trainer and a matching .308?
 
#105
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

yep, the 3 I took with the 308 were at 300-350 yards along the tree line on the right. I loaded a bunch of 110 VMAX just for that purpose. I took a few pot shots at the ones at 900, but the 110 didn't make it. I'm going to try some 125 TNT.

I took out one at about 125 yards on the right, one at 300 yards on the left (walked to the 100 yard berm) and one near the outhouse with my .17 HMR (the trainer is a Quad that I convert).
 
#106
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: LongRangeNewb</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here is one my brother killed yesterday evening. This is the first of the year, we normally wait until july to start killing them and its not rare to kill 20-50 in a weekend but this dummy was out there for an hour teasing us, and his new AI was handy. Don't they say the 168SMK isn't good for game?

groundhogs002.jpg
</div></div>

Not much left for dinner.

most like meat, not brains.
 
#108
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

Really nice rigs guys, I ust put together a AR Varminter that I need to get scoped up, I have been hunting them for years, I just dumped them back down in there holes and they were almost always gone the next day, yotes/fox/buzzards always got them so they never went to waste.
 
#109
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

Just started chuck hunting this spring. I'm up to 11 confirmed kills ( gutted, skinned, & in the stew pot )

Using a .17 hmr with a centerpoint scope at the moment, but changing over to a Barska target scope as soon as my buddy lets me onto his range.

Short shots compared to a lot of the ones you guys are posting, but a couple at 190 yards. Looking forward to posting some pics.

Best recipe so far has been chuck and barley stew. If anyones got a favorite recipe they'll share, its appreciated.

Happy hunting .....
url]
 
#111
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: tat1987</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've used a range of guns for ghog hunting. The 22-250 is by far my favorite. Explosive, as u can see from the photo. I was aiming for the head by the way.
wink.gif


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</div></div>
Holy shit is that scope issued by NASA. What is that thing?
 
#112
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

I have walked the neighbors 68 acre field 5 times and no groundhogs. I just bought a 40X .220 swift that Ive been dying to put a hog in the scope but nothing so far. So Im walking through the kitchen in my underwear this morning and there he is standing straight up looking at me. I was on the phone with my girlfriend (veggie burger, dont kill anything, anti hunting, nag) and I was like "gotta go...click" Well the 220 was in the safe but my new LTR .223 was handy so I opened the kitchen window and dropped the little hair ball. My first kill in years. Kinda disappointed since there was no impressive gut pile or missing head but dead is still dead!!!
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#113
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MOOSEKNUCKLE</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: tat1987</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've used a range of guns for ghog hunting. The 22-250 is by far my favorite. Explosive, as u can see from the photo. I was aiming for the head by the way.
wink.gif


100_8472.jpg
</div></div>
Holy shit is that scope issued by NASA. What is that thing? </div></div>

It looks to be the old 5-25 nightforce Varminter
 
#116
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

A question, NOT A CRITICISM, as I'm about to start with some ground hog bustin' ventures of my own as soon as the weather warms up just a bit more.

What's up with the big ass calibers for ground hogs?

I've seen 30.06, 300somethingorother, .223.

You can easily kills these things out to 250 or 300 yards with a 17 Remington, and out to 500 or 600 yards with a .204 Ruger or 20 Tac.

I mean if the red mist and exploded guts turns you on, cool, but seriously. WHy the massive calibers. It seems like it's the equivalent of shooting a deer with a bazooka.

Good for the environment? Questionable.

Good for farmers who have either crops or livestock/horses? Absofuckinglutely. Here in the Bluegrass I hear all the time about horses being jacked up because they stepped in a hole, and having to be put down. It is a good service. In KY there are only 3 animals with no season, and ground hog is one of them (coyote and wild hogs are the other). If the state sees them as a pest to be killed whenever, I'll take their word that their numbers are sustainable.
 
#121
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

The scope your trying to identify is a Nightforce precision bencrest. Not a varmiter. They state right in the book that come with it that they are a benchrest scope only. Not a dual purpose or hunting scope. But they do work well if used for that. They are still a nightforce.
 
#122
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

Personally my motorcycle ethics guide me to believe that if you are riding them just for the reactionary behavior in other people then that's just plain gay. What kind of thrill of the ride can a rolling couch or bar-bike possibly give, they are fat and slow and do not corner for shit when the limit is approached. I don't want to hear the excuse that 'loud pipes save lives' either, that's just bullshit. If you ride that kind of bike for the reaction it produces, it's time to join the police force and try to ride an H-D for a purpose to help society or be in a parade or something.

I probably have a point here, do you get it?
 
#123
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Chaoss</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Just started chuck hunting this spring. I'm up to 11 confirmed kills ( gutted, skinned, & in the stew pot )

Using a .17 hmr with a centerpoint scope at the moment, but changing over to a Barska target scope as soon as my buddy lets me onto his range.

Short shots compared to a lot of the ones you guys are posting, but a couple at 190 yards. Looking forward to posting some pics.

Best recipe so far has been chuck and barley stew. If anyones got a favorite recipe they'll share, its appreciated.

Happy hunting .....
url]
</div></div>

Ground Hog BBQ is also pretty good. First you need to boil the meat until it is about 75% cooked. Then pull the meat off the bone, and cook in the crock pot til tender. Then add BBQ sauce and cook some more. It makes a pretty good BBQ sandwich. Just make sure you boil the meat enough to get the natural grease out of the meat before you put it in the crock pot.

And a young ground hog tastes good if you fry it just like you do a squirrel. However that is only a young one. the older ones are tougher, they need to be coooooookkkkkkked awhile.

A lot of people look down on eating ground hogs. But heck most of them live on clover and alfalfa. And that is the same thing we feed our cattle?? Tom.
 
#124
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

HOGGHEAD Ground Hog BBQ is also pretty good. First you need to boil the meat until it is about 75% cooked. Then pull the meat off the bone said:
Absolutely! The deciding factor on frying in flour (like young squirrels/rabbits) is based on how they skin. If I can pop the knife through their back, stick my fingers in and peel him to both ends then he's (tender) a fryer. If I've got to hang him up and skin him like a deer then he's going to the barbecue pot.

Half the fun of groundhog hunting is sighting them and then seeing how close you can crawl before taking the shot. Sometimes you screw up and he runs into a hole and hopefully you learn to be sneakier, or take the shot from a little farther out.

Oh yeah, head shots only. Anything else ruins too much meat. My groundhog rifle is/was a Model 700 Remington varmint special in .223 Rem. with a Bushnell 10X scope on it. I used 45 grain speer or hornady spitzers - liked the thin jacketed stuff, I think Hornady called there's SX, Sierra called 'em Blitz bullets, can't remember what Speer called them. Light bullets, high velocity at the less than 300 yd. ranges I shot and super expansion as these thin bullets are meant for use in the .22 hornet, type cartridges to give expanision comparable to that seen with standard varmint bullets in the .22-250 and .22 Swift. You need a slow rate of twist for these bullets. They tend to fly apart if shot in the mini14.
Click to expand...
 
#127
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AlterEgo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Personally my motorcycle ethics guide me to believe that if you are riding them just for the reactionary behavior in other people then that's just plain gay. What kind of thrill of the ride can a rolling couch or bar-bike possibly give, they are fat and slow and do not corner for shit when the limit is approached. I don't want to hear the excuse that 'loud pipes save lives' either, that's just bullshit. If you ride that kind of bike for the reaction it produces, it's time to join the police force and try to ride an H-D for a purpose to help society or be in a parade or something.

I probably have a point here, do you get it?</div></div>

No. Buzz off, squid.

Here's getting back on topic:
100_3588Large.jpg



100_1583Large.jpg
 
#129
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

I managed one out by the barn Sat. .22 at about 50 yards.
One this afternoon with the .22 again about 20 yards.

I missed one twice this evening with the .308. Couldn't get a decent range on him. Need to work on that.
 
#130
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

Great thread revival.

This is the primary use for my rifle. Man I love hunting hogs. Shot over 100 last summer. Only up to 25ish so far this year. I guess I don't take pictures of the dead ones. But here are a few from some of my spots.
Furthest kill this year is 330yds. Furthest last 400. Looking to break it soon now that I have a decent scope. The suppressor is great too for multiple kills.
P59705218.jpg

P04208800.jpg
 
#131
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dujd09</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Please tell me you got one of those chucks with the bayonet!</div></div>

Not yet..
 
#132
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

I've posted a couple of these before, but not in this thread, which seems to be full of win. I haven't been able to get to my "chuck" spot yet this year, it is still buried under 20 ft of snow. but here are some pics from years past.

bowhunting003.jpg


camping8-8-09014.jpg


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rustycanyon019.jpg


ar15026.jpg


my little bro. 22-250
DSCF4511.jpg


base.jpg


longest shot from last year(a bit of a team effort
grin.gif
)
deadrustydiagram.jpg


Here is where we get em
wink.gif

rustycanyon030jeff.jpg


rustycanyon032jeff.jpg
 
#137
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

Nothing extravagant, but here's my farthest kill of the year...

0418111515-1.jpg


105 Yards with .22 LR. CCI Velocitor.

...and shortest.
downsized_0527111536.jpg

10 yards,.44 Special. Number 15 or something for this season.

Cool thread.

-The Kid.
 
#139
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 713</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do you eat the hogs after shooting them? If you do then don't bother to read here any further. My hunting ethics fall somewhere between Tecumseh and Ted Nugent. If you kill it you must grill it. If you are shooting them just for reactionary targets then thats just plain gay, what kind of thrill of the hunt can a groundhog possibly give, they are fat and slow and do not run off when approached.Kind of the equivalent of trying to fuck really, really fat women in the bar, some cats do it but its just wrong. I pull my bike into my yard that has a 113 inch S&S motor with no mufflers and they don't even flinch. I don't want to hear the excuse you shoot them to protect cattle thats just bullshit. If you shoot them for the red mist they produce its time to join our armed forces and varmint hunt something interesting. </div></div>

I am originally a PA native. I grew up hunting these critters and for many good reasons on our farm. I will give you a few examples.

1. Less whistlepigs, less broken legs on cattle on the farm.
2. Less whistlepigs, less sick cattle on the farm.
3. Less whistlepigs, less chance to spread disease that are human infectious to crops.
4. Control of overpopulation...cause these critters breed like wildfire on the prarie.

Now I live in colorado and would you believe...P-dogs are treated the same. And I am more than happy to help the situation. But beyond all these reasons, who are you to question the ethics of one man's hunt to your own?

nice_big_cup.jpg


 
#140
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 713</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do you eat the hogs after shooting them? If you do then don't bother to read here any further. My hunting ethics fall somewhere between Tecumseh and Ted Nugent. If you kill it you must grill it. If you are shooting them just for reactionary targets then thats just plain gay, what kind of thrill of the hunt can a groundhog possibly give, they are fat and slow and do not run off when approached.Kind of the equivalent of trying to fuck really, really fat women in the bar, some cats do it but its just wrong. I pull my bike into my yard that has a 113 inch S&S motor with no mufflers and they don't even flinch. I don't want to hear the excuse you shoot them to protect cattle thats just bullshit. If you shoot them for the red mist they produce its time to join our armed forces and varmint hunt something interesting. </div></div>

I must be slippin', how did this fuck's post get under the radar.......

Livestock breaking legs ain't a damn bit funny, nor a damn bit healthy for a farmer's income, it's already thin enough as it is. You don't just run a broke leg cow down to the vet to get a cast put on it like you do for Whiskers The Cat, you have to kill 'em, dead, gone, not worth a nickel. Does he have any idea what it costs to replace a good milk cow, or a prime bull?

We don't pasture cattle much at all (TIC) in alfalfa fields here, which is a groundhog's favorite fodder, but we do occasionally drive farm machinery around them to make hay (that's livestock food, in case this city slicker don't get it) for the winter. Has this douchbag ever broke a wheel off the front of a tractor and had to dig deep down in the pocket to fix it RIGHT NOW because you need it RIGHT NOW? Does he think that shit is free or something?

Or....has he ever been thrown off of a moving tractor and nearly killed by the disc mower because he hit a chuck hole you could bury a volkswagen in? You don't run this stuff slow to make for a nice smooth ride, you run as fast as your equipment will work....because good weather doesn't last forever, and time is money.

This isn't the same thing as running over mole holes in the backyard with the Cub Cadet. The grass we mowed this year first cuttin' was as tall as the tractor, seeing chuck holes is basically impossible. Sure, you can remember where they were last year, but the damn things have this funny little quirk, they multiply and dig more damn holes.

The only good chuck is a dead chuck....targets of opportunity. Kill the fuckers cause they simply need killin', the red mist is just a feel good bonus. Worthless animals that cost a man too much time and money that he simply doesn't have.

Wrong my ass, they ain't no better than those damn lamb/calf killin' coyotes.....kill 'em all.

Urbanites that ain't got a clue, do crack me up though........if they only knew where their groceries come from.
 
#142
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

OK, you guys got my blood up. I am going tomorrow to a place near Abert Rim, where the rock chucks are supposed to be thick.
I haven't purposely shot chucks before, but have a 22/250 bench rest by Speedy Gonzales that is begging to be let out of the safe, and a 223 14 inch contender that goes everywhere with me.
As to why anyone would shoot the class of animals known by one and sundry as "varmints" well, no one is paying us to shoot communists anymore, so until they start that up again, it is smart to stay in practice by shooting other rodents.
 
#144
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tripwire</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I must be slippin', how did this fuck's post get under the radar.......
</div></div>
+1 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 713</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do you eat the hogs after shooting them? <span style="color: red"> nope </span>
If you do then don't bother to read here any further. My hunting ethics fall somewhere between Tecumseh and Ted Nugent. <span style="color: red"> good for you </span>
If you kill it you must grill it. If you are shooting them just for reactionary targets then that's just plain gay <span style="color: red"> clearly shooting/hunting aint your thing, that's what it's all about. Shooting, hitting, and the reaction after wards </span>
what kind of thrill of the hunt can a groundhog possibly give, they are fat and slow and do not run off when approached. <span style="color: red"> you must live where there are urban chuck's, who like their human counterparts have forgotten basic survival skills. The chucks we hunt will spot you and run down their holes from 200yds away, fat yes, slow no. </span>
Kind of the equivalent of trying to fuck really, really fat women in the bar, some cats do it but its just wrong. <span style="color: red"> leave Shank alone, who are you to judge? </span>
I pull my bike into my yard that has a 113 inch S&S motor with no mufflers and they don't even flinch. <span style="color: red">
blush.gif
IMPRESSIVE, (Ithink) </span>
I don't want to hear the excuse you shoot them to protect cattle thats just bullshit. <span style="color: red"> you would know wouldn't you? from all your years of vast experience watching cattle casually stroll across a pitted pasture? </span>
If you shoot them for the red mist they produce <span style="color: red"> yes THANK YOU! go shoot your paper targets with drawings on them if thats so exhilarating </span> </div></div>
 
#146
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

Seems like every rockchuck or sage rat shooting thread has pics of people holding them up for the camera, or neatly arranged by the rifle. I'ma post my usual warning: <span style="font-weight: bold">DON'T TOUCH THEM!!! </span> They carry fleas, ticks, mange, and in the case of prairie dogs, bubonic plague. I picked up ONE rockchuck and got mange. Yup, mange, spread by little mites, and annoying as hell. Diagnosed by my vet, incidentally.
And, hell yes, I shoot them for the splat & giggle factor! Air time, sunning their guts, red mist: all good.
Around here, chucks do a lot of damage to orchards. They kill the young trees and break branches off the older ones. Where I murder sage rats, they eat countless tons of alfalfa. In both cases the farmers are glad to have us shoot as many as we can, and HELL YES we enjoy it. I giggle like a little girl sometimes.


1911fan
 
#148
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

Here are a couple I saw the other day while out with the new 243 AI. If you have the proper twist rate for it I would highly recommend the 105 AMAX for groundhogs.

image.jpg

image-2.jpg
 
#149
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

Excellent photo and i just love the eye on the other side about ready to pop out. I am getting ready to put parts together for a build and also want to do a 243 AI. Tell me a little about your rifle if you will. Did you have it comepletely dipped and by who?
 
#150
Re: Woodchuck Hunting

I am missing home so bad right now! Missed the spring and first cut shooting already so with any luck I'll have some trigger time in the fields later this month.

Three weeks of vacation coming up later in the month, can't wait!
 
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