Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Woodchuck shooting in upstate New York

Is there any chuck shooting left upstate? Back in the 60's, I used to hunt a couple of dairy farms in Ulster County, and one secret farm outside Pine Island. I fear that it's all gone away.
Anything left?

I see them dead along the highways around Rochester every visit, can't believe they are hard to find if you get permission to hunt....

Allen

Most of the fields where i use to hunt chucks here in Western NY are all planted to corn now. Had one real hot spot. The farmer left his baler in the field and someone shot holes in it. He told me he knew it wasn't me but no one was allowed to hunt there any more.

When I lived in WNY I would shoot 300-400 charlies every year, could not put a dent in the population. The 60's and 70's were good years in the hay fields for us and chuck huntin...prolly not that good now days I suspect. It has been near 20 years now since I hunted them in those old haunts. Would like to again but think the opportunities are not as good. Still Cattaraugus , Chatauqua counties are good areas full of dairy farms that likly hold good shootin yet

The land and many farms are there. The chucks are gone. The coyotes got them!

I live not far from the NY border with CT, MA and VT. I used to hunt chucks in those states. It was a favorite hunt of mine, an accurate rifle, great scenery and chuck shooting.

Back in the 50's and early 60's I used to drive over to that NY farm area. Recently I went back to a farm there to see if "It was still there."

It was there, sure a house or two had been built however I found a dirt farm road and went way back on the land. As I was coming out of the farm back to the highway a pickup started to follow me. I turned into the farm across the road where I used to go in the 50's. The truck stopped near me so I got out.

I said to the farmer: "This is a nostolgic trip. I used to hunt here in the 50's and I even loaded ammo for (Farmers Name) as we both had new varmint model 70's in 243 that we got then."

He said: "I am that farmer!" We shook hands and I mentioned chucks. He said all the chucks are gone. Coyotes! He said there are more deer now.

I would not travel from VA unless its just a sightseeing vacation. Someone said there is chuck hunting in PA. Another said they went way up north in NY to the lake and got some shooting.

So far I have the time, the gas and the guns and I can't find many chucks in the meadows. Those are gone, the classic shot.

Sure a few are under a shed or dead on the road.

Plenty of chucks around, you just need to do some leg work and get permission. Finding a farm with safe shooting, hay and chucks takes some time. I have a few places that I hit when time permits.

Timing the height of the hay, weather and schedule of play time are the difficult things for me!

One great farm I hunted for years has been corn now for the last 4 years. That suxs!

It has to be "Hot Spots" just like it is for much hunting.

I can tell you that so far I can't find a farm where I mentioned with chucks in view. I went to the same land as before. There are no dens in the meadows like there were back before the coyote.

See this land below? In the high, dry, part of that meadow there would always be a chuck den. There are no chucks at all on this very large farm. There are coyotes, turkeys, deer, crows and myself with my rifles but no chucks.

Might as well carry a drilling to get some shooting!

There are still spots that have chucks in NY but there are lots of others where they're gone. I used to kill tons of them in Chenango, Otsego, Delaware and Schoharie counties back in the 70's but the hay fields are bare in that area now. There are stll huntable numbers in the Cortland/Syracuse area and I've been taking a trip or two there to shoot some chucks for the past few summers. Can't say what the situation is in Western NY.

Used to be a ton of em in WNY but I have been gone from there since 92' so I cant say what they are now.

Oh yeah back in 95' I went back for some chuck hunting and it was good then too.

I live in the north country. Check my zip code. PLENTY of chucks around here. Just ask the farmers. Where we go we get about 10-15 each time out. Now I enjoy watching my 13yr old son bust them crap out of them with my 223.

Your way up there near Canada!

Map of Zip code

As I wrote before someone from CT drove all day to upstate NY and got shooting.

I hope the coyotes don't infest your land.

We take care of them too!

Thanks for all the responses, fellas! Got to go to work now, but will be back with the background to my question.

Thanks again!

A major bout of nostalgia prompted my enquiry, I guess. My folks bought a camp (40 acres and a cabin - no electricity, no running water...) on Wildcat Mountain in Ulster County back in the summer of 1950. There were two small dairy farms on the mountain then, their pastures and a whole expanse of abandoned pasture from farms long gone that the two dairy men kept hayed. Got a Model 43 DeLuxe in 218 Bee for Christmas in 1954, and permission from my Dad to roam. I went on from there. I later hunted Sussex County in New Jersey (ever see a New Jersey Rifle Permit?) and then found a 600+ acre farm in Union, NY to hunt (stopped at the barn at milking time one late afternoon, introduced myself, and got permission to hunt that day. I guess I made a good impression because shortly thereafter Mr Ford told me show up at will, which I did
-for nearly 10 years. Occasionally brought a case of beer for him, soda for the kids, and candy for the Mrs. They were a fine family.) During that time I shot an awful lot of chucks,
but was never in danger of exterminating them. Moved to Massachusetts in the summer of 1970, and my chuck shooting came to an end until I hooked up with Old Sturbridge Village. But that's a whole 'nother story as they say.
Over the course of time I've shot the Bee (the 43 and a Marlin 1894CL), 219 Zipper (a 336), 219 Improved Zipper (Bull barrelled single shot on a 1917 Enfield action), 222 Remington
(four - two 722's a 600, a 788) 223 Remington (TCR 87 heavy barrel - one of the biggest disappointments I ever bought - and Mini-14,) the 225 Winchester ('64 Model 70V - one of the first, and BAD, Savage 340V,) 220 Swift (bull barrelled single shot on a Mauser 98 action) and 243 Winchester (Model 70V that I bought new in '62)

Sorry to be so long winded. Thanks again for the information - and your patience.

Coyotes... I'll be darned! Didn't think they had the sand to take on a chuck!

(P.S. Ma sold the place in 1997. Probably just as well. The farms are LONG gone and they have been parcelled out for "chalets" for the beautiful - and not so - people from the city - only 2-1/2 hours away as the brochures say...)

Mike

Mike,
I grew up on a dairy farm in Sussex NJ and attained my love for woodchuck hunting there. Likely i would know the names of the farms you hunted.
That 600 acre farm. Is that Union Ny or Unionville NY. I know Fords that farm in the latter and it is just over the line from Sussex NJ.
Pine Island was also a old stomping ground.

I live in Chengango county now and do a fair bit of woodchuck hunting still. The ground around here feast or famine as much of the hills are of a hard pan type soil that woodchucks don't care for as to digging/living in. But there is quite a bit of gravely land too that they thrive in.
The coyotes have impacted the numbers as well but they are still to be found.
Best to ya.
Frank

Darn near every hayfield in Southern Chenango county Was full of woodchucks back in the 70's. I could show you fields in the Townships of Afton, Bainbridge, Coventry, Guilford, Oxford and Union Valley where I shot hundreds of them in the 1970's and 80's. There hasn't been a chuck in those fields for at least 15 years now. Same thing in Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie counties. I've watched the woodchuck population in those counties go from plentiful to almost nothing over the past 30 years. They're not completely extinct in these area's mind you. There are a few living in hedgerows and small meadows that are somewhat sheltered from predation by development, roadside ditches and under peoples sheds in town but seeing one out in a hayfield these days is about as rare as seeing a winged pegasus fly over. It ain't because of the soil.

My experience up here is that fox, coyote, and ever increasing bobcat sightings are far more common than chucks on the lands I hunt. I usually whack a few early on but it gets tough after that. It is the same for a lot of small game up in these parts.

I live on the north shore of Lake Ontario and the woodchucks have been gone from here for years. Have heard various theories about what happened to them but don't know which are true.

I can tell you something curious about them though. On two different occasions I have seen woodchucks in north-western Ontario while on fly in moose hunting trips. These locations were 30 to 45 minutes flying time back in the bush from points 150 miles north of Lake Superior! I always assumed that woodchucks were animals of farm lands only. Not true!

I spoke to our outfitter about it one time and this is what he told me. He said he tore down an old, dilapidated cabin and built a new one. Upon completion he cleaned out brush around the cabin and scattered grass seed to see if it would take. It did and then at some time in the future he said his fishing and hunting customers started telling him about seeing woodchucks. They had to have been living out in the woods somewhere and were attracted to the fresh grass when it became available.

Jim

Frank, thanks for jogging my memory! It's been more than 40 years since I've been in UnionVILLE. I used to drive out from Rutherford, NJ, out 3, 46, and 23 to Sussex and then head up to Unionville (on 94 maybe?) I recall there was a general store there. I saw my first copy of Shooting Times on sale at that store; it was in a tabloid newspaper format when the publication first started out. Is that farm still in the Ford family do you know?

And to all, again thanks for your responses. Doubt whether I'll ever get to go chuck hunting again, but it's good to know that
there's still some available. Enjoy the sport!

You made a right onto 284. I've been in that General store many times and had some close friends that lived in Unionville.
The Fords are still farming in a pretty big way and acquired more farms over the years.