Woodchuck shooting

[bigbore442001]

As a teenager I used to hunt woodchucks on the many dairy farms of Massachusetts and Connecticut. We would have a lot of fun and have a great day of shooting. Well, the suburban migration and cost of farming has reduced the number of farms and it seems that something has wiped out the chucks on the remaining few farms.

So, anyone else hunt 'chucks? I read that Pennsylvania and Ohio are supposed to have a lot of them. Any suggestions?

[Will]

I like to hunt em', but I always called them ground hogs.  Like you, I've seen a decline in their numbers, but I still usually shoot five to ten of them a year.  I've killed three so far this spring.  My favorite groundhog gun is my Ruger 77/22 Hornet with a Remington 45 grain hollowpoint.  It's quiet, so it doesn't cause a disturbance amongst the neighbors, and it anchors them solidly.  I've used a .22 long rifle, it's just too light, they always get away unless hit in the head, a .22 Magnum, which is pretty good out to 50 yards or so, then you have to hit them in the head, .223, kills em' right there, no questions asked but loud, and a .357 magnum (same story as the .223.)  Seems like I shot one one time with a .30-06 too, but the .22 hornet and .22 magnum are my main guns, and the .357 revolver every now and then.

[Ron T.]

I live in south-western Ohio, about 10 miles north of Dayton... and I've definitely noticed a great reduction in the number of woodchucks (groundhogs) in this area.

While "cleaner" farming has undoubtedly eliminated a lot of places the woodchucks use to live, I believe the greatest cause of woodchuck decline is due to the tremendous increase in the coyote population.  They've not only cleaned out the woodchucks, they've also eliminated the feral cat problem we use to have in this area.

It seems that coyotes apparently look upon "cats" as a self-propelled, four-legged gourmet treat and eat them at every opportunity.  I know that we have noticeably more rabbits and birds surviving in and around the yard now that the feral cat population has all but eliminated.  ("Thank You", Mr. & Mrs. Coyote)

We use to have two woodchucks on my 1.1 acre property... one in a small clump of woods next to my driveway and one 80 yards north of the first one on the edge of the woods and fields that border my property on the north-east.  Neither of the 'chucks were harassed, nothing was built near their holes and there wasn't any farming going on... but there WERE coyotes running through the property from time to time.

Notice I wrote "use to have two woodchucks"... 'cause they aren't there anymore.  I have to conclude that it was the coyotes who got the 'chucks since the 'chucks lived here for several years prior to the "coming-of-the-coyotes".

Coyotes have been growning in numbers all over the U.S.A., but their range has increased most dramatically in the eastern United States during the past 10-20 years.  We didn't have ANY coyotes around here 20 years ago.  Now it is not at all "unusual" to see them running through my yard or crossing roads in the rural and the "rural/urban" areas near my home.

The same thing is true of whitetail deer.  I never saw them around the property 20 years ago... or even 10 years ago, but now... they've become pests... over-populating and then starving & eating our landscaping (bushes and shrubs) after they've eaten up all of their natural food in the surrounding fields and woodlots.

I tried switching to hunting coyotes rather than woodchucks, but coyotes are much more clever than 'chucks... and, as a result, they're considerably more difficult to get a shot at for the "once-in-a-while" varmint hunters like me.

[coltfan]

Here in Southeast PA. the ground hog population appears to be holding steady. In fact they appear as adaptable to suburban sprawl as the deer. This isn’t as bad a problem as it might sound since it allows me extra archery practice. Most suburbanites are happy to have an archer come in and quickly and quietly dispatch them, especially as someone noted previously, when they are chewing up your shrubs. I’ve been chomping at the bit to get out and hunt them, but the weather just isn’t cooperating. I use groundhogs as a kind of a tune up for my deer hunting shooting skills (both archery and gun). Just got a new 7-30 Waters barrel for my Contender a few weeks back, and have been trying to get to the range on a weekly basis despite the weather. Had to finish up some spring yard work yesterday, so I hope to get to the range today for some extra practice. Temperature is expected to be in the low 70’s tomorrow, so I fully expect to be chasing ground hogs tomorrow.

[bobg]

There doesn't seem to be a decline in the chuck population in my area. I have at least 2 in my yard. One lives in the mound of dirt  behind my target frame. Lots of them in most of the places i hunt.
 
                 bobg :-D

[Ron T.]

I got too old to crawl around on my belly in the brush trying to get into position to shoot 'chucks, but I remember when we did a lot of "varmint hunting" which was really "woodchuck/groundhog" hunting around here (Southern Ohio).

ONE THING we NEVER did was to hunt 'chucks BEFORE the young of the year were weaned and out on their own.  This meant waiting to varmint hunt until possibly mid-July or later.  Yes, it's a "sacrifice", but if you shoot the female woodchucks before their young are grown up enough to "make it on their own"... you've killed not only HER, but all of her young of the year as well.

If you want a decent woodchuck population for NEXT YEAR'S varmint hunting, you'd be wise to wait until the young-of-the-year are mature enough to survive without their mothers.

Naturally, this does NOT apply to "pest" woodchucks that are eating expensive shrubbery around people's homes.  I'm talking about the 'chucks out in the fields.

Good Hunting!!!

Strength & Honor,

Ron T.