love a bit of spring groundhog hunting! need to get back into it but finding places for tunnel piggies is a struggle :|

 

Marlin 57m, have shot a lot of ground hogs with this set up

 

I never hunted till after Memorial Day. You might be shooting your future targets!

 

It's not a sport with me. It's business. I figure I lost at least 10 acres of beans to them last year. If you figure a marginal yield at 35 bushel per acre times 10 times 15 bucks a bushel, it starts to add up. Figure 50 bushel per acre and you really cry.

 

Guy I know has a groundhog cookout every year, anybody tried them ???

 

I was fixing to skin that one last night but it appeared to have an infection. Decided to pass.

 

Moo, If you're gonna eat one, wait until the first cutting of hay is down and snipe a young one.

 

Pan fried young of the year woodchuck. MMMM!

 

When I was working at Goodyear, a guy in our powerhouse would cook up a big pot of barbecued, “pulled“, “whistle pig” each year in the Spring, bring a huge bowl of coleslaw, and a case of buns. Tasted like the best “barbecued beef” I ever ate! 👍
Trivia: Groundhogs are herbivores but have been known to eat baby birds!
They(@ qup to 15 pounds) are members of the “squirrel” family, as are prairie dogs! They are most at home in/on the ground but can easily climb trees!

 

One less for you to worry about. My grandfather used to pay me a buck for everyone I killed. He was always worried about the horses & cows getting hurt. That was early seventies. Felt like I hit the lotto with 3-4 bucks in my pocket.

 

When I was a kid we always went gmas back in the WV hills for a week. My uncle had a farm with a huge alfalfa field with a barn in the middle. I would sit in the loft with both doors open and plink ghogs with my 22Hornet. Neignbor down the road gave me 50 cents apiece and fed them to his **** dogs.Probably coulda got more but he bought my ammo.

 

We don’t have very many ground hogs around anymore. I might see one every year or two. I used to love hunting them.

 

I’ve been seeing more this year than the past few years. Fingers crossed!

 

Used to have several farms to hunt back in the early 90’s and would kill 60-75 a year. All the farms are now developed and have house allotments or stores and cannot shoot a rifle. Used to shoot 150-300 yds with my .22-250. Sure do miss those days. Hard to find hay fields to hunt unless you travel down south (1-2 hrs away).

 

I saw this girl this morning as I looked out from the barn. Nephew took care of her with his 243.

 

I'm up to two but didn't want to walk that far to take pictures 🙁

 

The youngest doubled up yesterday with the Henry. Got one on the run.

 

Moo-is that a 9422 Winchester .22 or a Henry?

 

Henry.

 

I know some guys don't like Henry's but that little gun has done nothing but impress me. It's light, fast and accurate. It's got an impressive harvest of varmints and squirrels in is resume including a coyote.

 

I don’t own one but heard they are shooters.

 

My beagle was looking out the back door guarding his yard when he spotted this one. I grabbed my 223 and hustled out the front door and around the back and picked him off.

 

Nice! Looks like you do a little night hunting.

 

One more down

 

When I was a kid we always went gmas back in the WV hills for a week. My uncle had a farm with a huge alfalfa field with a barn in the middle. I would sit in the loft with both doors open and plink ghogs with my 22Hornet. Neignbor down the road gave me 50 cents apiece and fed them to his **** dogs.Probably coulda got more but he bought my ammo.

My buddy shot g'hogs off the neighboring farm that was bordered on the other side by a pay to fish lake. One day an old black man who was fishing saw him with a couple of hogs and asked if he could buy them from him. My buddy's old man was a bit stingy with the ammo, so he said if he bought him a box of .22LR's he would give him every hog he shot! So a deal was made. When my buddy's Dad got suspicious about where all this ammo was coming from, and then found out, he blew a gasket! He was a pretty racist individual.

I was given an old "gallery gun" by my Step-Dad. A Winchester Model 61 pump action that takes .22S, L, or LR ammo. I thought it was a piece of crap until I started looking into it. The serial # says it was made in the late 1940's, and some websites say it could be pretty valuable. The bore was, and remains, mirror bright. It has a side plate on the receiver to hold a small scope. Amazingly enough the thing is phenomenally accurate.

Unfortunately I can't use it to whack critters in my yard because I live in the city, so no firearms unless you're engaged in robbery! So far this summer I have live trapped 1 raccoon, 1 g'hog, and 2 of the biggest possums I have ever seen! I know there's another hog out there because I saw two of them in my yard at the same time. Tried to get them with the pellet gun but they were super spooky critters! Those little b^^^ards laid waste to my green beans, and I want revenge!

 

I have .22 ammo that is quieter than my air rifle was, so I sold the air rifle.
BUT that ammo lacks power.

 

3rd one this year from under the bird feeder in the backyard. First was with a Springfield 1911 range officer, next was Ruger 10/22 and today got one with the Hellcat. Range from inside the house is approximately 15 yards. Actually remembered this thread today before I took it down to the creek.

 

Number 4 bit the dust this morning.