Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game How many days do you hunt a year?

I figure that I start hunting around the end of March/first of April and hunt woodchucks until late October. Sept 1st is dove season and I almost never miss dove season. Then there is small game season and upland bird hunting, followed by elk season and deer season in Dec this year.
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<br>So far this summer we (dave7mm and myself) have killed 96 woodchucks. It is great practice for long range deer hunting. Its a lot easier to hit a deer then a woodchuck - out to 650 yards.
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<br>Then there are the out of state hunts. Last Jan we went hog hunting in Texas booked through Ray Atkinson. Went on a sheep hunt last March/April in Texas. Had a lot of fun with a bunch of people from another hunting site. This Oct I hunt in CO for elk, then there is grouse hunting on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with a long time friend and a guy that writes hunting articles for hunting magazines, and deer hunting in New York with a buddy of mine. Next Jan (2003) we return with 14 friends to hog hunt in Texas - booked through Ray Atkinson.
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<br>WOW, all this hunting is great
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<br>I figure I hunt about 8 months out of the year.
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<br>How often do you get to hunt?
<br>Don
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<br>P.S. I can't wait till I retire so I can hunt more often

Turkeys for the full month of May, Africa Sept, 12-24th followed by white tails Oct. 12 til December 17th if it takes that long to fill my tags. Roughly four months excluding fishing which would add June, July and August to the tally. Just hunting 4-5 mos. Hunting with fishing 7 of 12.

First part of July I went hunting in South Africa. August 10 to December 23 I hunt deer. August 20th the cariobou season opens, and it lasts for a month. September 25 to October 31 it is moose hunting. Since I do not hunt small game, the season for me is a bit shorter, about 4-5 months. Days spent hunting is somewhere between 50 and 100. Season is about 120 days long.

12 days each year. 7 for deer, 5 for elk.

Big game, about twenty days per year. This year I will likely be able to take five or six deer, so maybe another ten on top of that. Small game, perhaps two or three, although I may try some coyote hunts this winter for the fur. Goose/duck hunting, nearly every weekend from late Nov until end of January. Probably forty days total for the year....just a guess though.
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<br>Also trying to restore my Dodge Challenger this winter/spring, so I may have to limit hunting a bit this year, at least the waterfowl anyway.
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<br>Hey Don,
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<br>You guys eat any of them woodchucks? Seems like if you could kill that many, the freezer could be supplemented pretty well. I hear they are ok tablefare if prepared properly. We have Rockchucks(yellow bellied Marmots) out here, but I haven't killed any. They are supposed to be far eating too.

All together about 70-80 a season. Starts with the first day of dove season which this year is 02SEP02. Gun deer starts in my section of NC on 12OCT and continues through 01JAN. That is an 81 day season which I hunt half of. I also hunt squirrel from OCT 14-31JAN about half of that season. I rather hunt squirrel than deer so I'll sometimes skip a deer hunt to go after those squirrels. Throw in an away hunt and I get just about that many.

Larry,
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<br>No thanks, no woodchucks for me. The buzzards eat them up pretty fast.
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<br>After last deer season I had 4 deer in the freezer. No room for woodchucks,,,fortunately
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<br>Don

At least a month spent in the field at camp. 12 - 14 days during General deer season, 7 - 10 days during Late Black powder, 5 days or less for Spring gobbler, 5 - 7 days for Archery/Squirrel hunting in October. I try to get out for a day here and there for any and all seasons, just depends what's on the honey-do list(s)

I'd hunt 365 if I could, and that wouldn't be enough! Realisticly, it's usually 8 to 10 days in rifle season, probably 5 or 6 in ML season, and Lord knows for small game. Counting evenings after work and weekends, holidays and such, 30 would be a very conservative estimate.
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<br>I don't bother with groundhogs anymore, I used to hunt a friends farm alot, but there's always someone else around. Besides, I use my deer rifles, which tends to upset the cows, not to mention the groundhogs.
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<br>I'd like to try eating them sometime, but the only recipe I know calls for cooking them on a pine board, then throwing away the meat and eating the board! Seriously, I'd think they'd be pretty good eating if prepared right. They don't eat anything nasty, just grass and clover and such.
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<br>Larry, what year is that Challenger? I'm a big fan of all things Mopar!
<br>7mm

I deer hunt about 12-14 days and elk 7 days,unless I know somebody with a cow tag,then I'll go along to help spot. Fall bear and cougar season run 5 months,so I go at least 6 days a month.Squirrel season opens the 24,thinking about trying that also,but I'll probably end up POing a bunch of bowhunters as their season opens the same day.Off season I'm in the hills at least every other weekend shooting and spotting.
<br>Jeff

7mm,
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<br>That Challenger is a '73 340 Ralleye. Got all the goodies like PS, PB, 3.55 posi, ralleyes, vynil top, buckets, console, ect. White with blk top and interior. Course now it needs to be restored, but everything is still there.
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<br>My dad bought the car in 1975, used, from a Dodge dealership. I drove it to high school numerous times. Wanted a Challenger myself in the early '80's and my dad finally sold it to me in 1985. I've had it ever since. Kinda attached to it now, we go back a long time.
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<br>Mopar rules!!

Don,
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<br>Here ya go buddy. Found a woodchuck recipie in one of my cookbooks!!! And another book, a fish/game cookbook, lists raccoons and the author lumps chucks in with them and the same recipies apply.
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<br>The fish and game cookbook claims that woodchucks are cleaner than chickens and its a shame to waste them. Folks eat those dirty chickens(and they can be nasty; ever been in a chicken coop?) so why not groundhogs? If we had them in Colorado, I would try cooking one up.
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<br>Hell, you might as well try one. What the heck, if ya don't like it, you can always throw it out.
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<br>Woodchuck Pie
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<br>Like the beaver, woodchuck has dark tender meat, but its flavor is milder. There is a heavy layer of fat on the body just before the animal begins his winter sleep. The excess fat should be removed, but is is not necessary to remove all of it because its flavor is not disagreeable. The meat seems to be improved, however, with the same short parboiling recommended for beaver and coon. This animal also has scent glands that appear as kernels under the forelegs, under the thighs, and between the shoulders, on the back, and along the spine in the small of the back. Care should be used in removing all of these glands for the best flavor in the cooked meat. Woodchuck may be cooked like rabbit or squirrel.
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<br>Woodchuck Pie
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<br>1 Woodchuck, 5 to 7 pounds
<br>2 medium onions
<br>2 cloves
<br>1 tsp whole black peppers
<br>1 stalk celery
<br>1 tbsp salt
<br>2 carrots
<br>2 med potatos
<br>1 cup diced celery
<br>biscuit dough
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<br>Skin and clean the chuck; remove scent glands. Cut the meat into serving pieces like you would a rabbit. Place in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Add 2 tbsp of salt and let stand in refrigerator overnight. Next morning, pour off salt water and rinse meat. Place in a large pot. Add the peeled whole onions stuck with a clove, branch of celery, salt, and peppers. Add water to just cover the contents. Cover pot and heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 to 2 hours. Remove meat and cool. Boil broth down to five cups and strain. Add the peeled and sliced carrots, potatos, and diced celery. Cook until tender.
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<br>While the veggies are cooking, remove meat from bones and dice. Combine with hot vegtable mixture and taste for seasoning. Add more salt or pepper if desired. Turn into a baking dish large enough that the mixture comes within an inch of the top. Cut out biscuits from the dough and place on hot mixture. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 15 min, then reduce to 400 deg and bake until biscuits are done and mixture is bubbling hot. Serves 6 to 8.
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<br>Perhaps someone will give this recipie a try. I would be interested in knowing how it is. This cookbook has lots of recipies for wild game like possum, coon, duck, chuck, squirrel, ect.
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