Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints How do you hunt badgers? And what are whistle pigs?

And stand by with a paper sack to catch them when they come out?

Geno

Get yourself two sticks about 3/4" diameter and 10" long, real smooth ones, but don't go to the lumber store and buy dowels, they don't work. Closet rod material is way too big. Carve them out of some kind of hardwood. I like dried, aged walnut.

Carve 6 or 7 notches in each one about 1/2" wide and 1/8" deep, 5/8" apart, near one end of the sticks. Toward the middle of each stick on the opposite side as the carved notches, screw in a brass hook. You need to go to the hardware store for that! Now you can hold the sticks hooking your index finger in the brass hooks with the notches pointed inwards, towards each other. You can drill a hole in each one and tie them together with a string if you're afraid of losing them. Make the string 18-20" long.

Position yourself about 20' from a badger hole, but not upwind. Badgers have an excellent sense of smell. Slowly rub the sticks together, creating a soft clicking noise. Vary the speed up and down, creating excitement with the tempo as it goes up and down. The idea is to get the badger to think there's a prey species right outside his den. Repeat this for about 20 minutes. You need to stop and rest periodically, allowing the badgers natural curiosity to work on him. If he gets curious enough he will poke his head out to have a look around. When he does, let him have it.

After 20 minutes, if this hasn't worked, don't lose heart, you can still get the badger. At this point just throw the sticks on the ground, they never work anyway. I'd go with a road flare.

Geeze, I hate badgers, but I never shoot them.

They sure kill a lot of other animals that make holes.

Sometimes land owners get touchy about badgers, best to ask if they are okay with you shooting them.

I shot a Badger about 15 years ago and have not seen another since. Kind of regret that now. We just don't have them around anymore.

We hunt badger early in the spring. Hides are best then. Usually we catch them near dog towns.. we have quite a few.. Some ranchers in fact most want them shot year around!

Best way to snag a gopher (sage rat) is to use 10# test on a spinning rig. Put a loop around the hole and when it sticks his head up set the loop and enjoy the afternoon. Even more fun with prairie dogs.

W. Bill

Can use fresh baler twine too.

Badger, 278 yds, .204 Ruger :

Now you have. Always called them whistle pigs, but maybe Meridian is not what you consider "South".

Fugkin awesome!

One question, why are you giving him a bath?

That's the biggest badger I've ever seen! Beauty eh?

You need to find a fresh den and you can call them out. I just use a rabbit in distress call. You have to be close to the den to call them out because they might be 6 feet under the ground. They like to sun themselves also after hibernation. Catching them laying on the den is always a thrill.

Ever been chased by a Badger....?

Them's one mean SOB......they will rip U a new AH.....

Shot this one in self denfense........

Ruger 300 BLK...110 Nozlers......

Please, NO pics of the new AH.....

Or the old AH for that matter!

I think I've only ever seen one badger. We got him to come out by flipping dead picket pins down into the hole he was in.

Tom

I've shot a couple of badgers but only as targets of opportunity. I've trapped a couple dozen over the years but they are not all that common around here.

My mist recent experience with a badger was just before the black bear season. I went to check on one of my bait pits and noticed one had the lid tilted but not pulled off as a bear will. That usually indicated a group of raccoons worked over the corner and got inside. I pulled that part of the lid off and immediately noticed a set of badger fangs headed my way.

I jumped back and started running through the brush backwards. I was just able to stay ahead of the whirlwind of fury which kept me in one piece. It was close enough deal that if I would have turned around or tried to draw my pistol and shoot, that badger would have had me for sure. It was a young badger and he didn't carry the pursuit very far before he turned and took off into the brush. I was very cautious lifting the pit lids not only the rest of that season but for the next couple of seasons too.

I have always believed "whistle pigs" were a marmot or maybe a pika. Woodchucks are pretty much called that and ground squirrels are usually, but wrongly, called gophers.

1st Engineer Battalion tunnel rats?

I served under one of them, Jerry Sinn, who went from E-1 to O-9.

Craigster:

I'd never mess with anyone tough enough to bathe a badger. I understand they exclusively favor Dawn dish detergent.

Local rancher kid scored a tiny pup once when mom was hit by a rig as she crossed the road moving the youngster to a new den. Aside from tearing the hell out of the lawn, they said it was a wonderful house pet taking almost exclusively to one of their sons.

Lost it to a visiting gang of cow dogs during a branding session at about 9 months.

Shot a big old badger yesterday.. He was digging in my pal's hay field.. No pics.. Got a new computer and it won't transfer to homephoto bucket😝 Got him w/ my rebarreled .300 Sav. & a 110 gr Speer over 3031.

I was wondering the same thing.