Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Rock Chuck Hunting

Tell me about rock chuck hunting. I’ve hunted ground hogs in the Eastern US since I was 12, and I’ve seen some videos recently of rock chuck hunting, and I am interested in maybe taking a long road trip to try this out. It looks very similar to ground hog hunting, but instead of farm land, they’re in some really beautiful mountains, and there’s probably more of a chance of longer shots. Are they pretty easily found in public land?


Also, since most of us are rifle loonies- what is your favorite rock chuck rifle? Average shot distance?

JL, you might find some good chuck shooting still available, but in my area they have been hammered very heavily. Gophers, p.dogs, chucks have all taken a beating in the last years since varmint hunting has been written about so much. I really know of no place in our mountains that would provide quality shooting. Plus, here the chucks do very little damage living in the high mountains in rock pile. Unlike the eastern chuck who digs in farmers fields. I have shot a few but left the rest in peace. Some guys shoot as long as they see chucks. Then return next year and find none. I think the better shooting might be in Idaho, Oregon, or Washington. But my contacts there are not recent. It seems in those areas, chucks will live in rock piles and visit nearby green fields and mow down the grass, here they are truly a pest. Good luck in your search.

I think rock chuck rifles start with the hot .22s and go up. Wind here is not like wind in the east it seems like here it is always blowing just some days much harder. The last really serious chuck shooting I had was in the late 90s. A friend bought a ranch and found the old place full of piles of old railroad ties. They in turn were full of chucks. He told me come out and shoot as many as you can, I am burning the piles in the winter.
For that shoot, I used a .257 Wea. and 7mm Wea.

As an aside, I have an old American Rifleman mag. dated in the later 40s. They were shooting chucks up to 800 yards even in those days. As I remember the old 06 was used a .30 Newton, and a wildcat 6.5 on a magnum case. Those days are long gone. Colo. has a season, and limit and I think you have to eat them. Hopefully, others will give you better info, but getting good places to shoot anything is tough, tough , tough.
Best wishes.

That's the story here also, people get greedy and wont' quit shooting til nothings left. Leave no seed seems to be the standard. When I ask them why, there is no answer.
We had to shoot a half dozen this year because they were getting in trucks and shop. I let a younger guy use my gun for the fun.
I only know of a few pockets of them. One guy got kicked off a lease for over shooting them. Can generally shoot as far as any rifle will reach.


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Belding squirels can be found, some here and in OR where up to 1000 shots per day are possible. Could get spendy.

I do a couple trips a year to shoot them. It’s one of my favorite hunts. But it’s hard to find them. Many areas you will not find them again in a subsequent year. I have a buddy that has some areas that produce. So we normally hit it every year. I have an area that offers a half day of hunting. Just nothing that offers 2 days of hunting yet. I will expand and keep looking around that area.

We do try to leave seed because they can be shot out. Rifles. Dang near anything. 17 hummer, 17 fb, 223,22-250, 243 ai, 20 dasher, 6-284,

Rock Chuck hunting is one of my favorites also, I used to have connections in Idaho along the Snake River corridor in potato fields and grain fields.
They are out earlier in the year because of lower elevations. where I hunt them in Utah you could not pay me to give you a hint, it is a highly guarded secret that took many years of scouting to find areas that produce every year. I use everything from 17HMR to 338 Lapua AI for the looooong ones

Interesting- thanks for the info so far, it would be a looong trip for me to shoot varmints, but it’s something that might be worth doing someday for me. Keep the info and stories coming!

I saw one in Yellowstone NP several years ago if that helps. 😁

Shooting Sage Rats (Belding's Ground Squirrel) from one of the many "War Wagons" in Eastern Oregon

Sage rats and prairie dogs might be your best bet for the most action.

Gophers especially.