Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Groundhogs

I was going to say that you can have mine then.
Then I thought, WAIT! I've got a little left in the freezer.
I'm saving it for a special occasion. It's a big female that I recently removed from it's new apartment under my tool shed.

I have to admit that it's Not gamey at all.
In fact, it tastes better than any beef steak I remember ever eating.
Plus, I was feeling sluggish, because I was eating store bought food. Then I made a recipe with the hog and MAN! BOOM! I felt.like a million bucks for the rest of that week or so.
There's something to be said for healthy food.

As for nutria? They're further south. Never had any.
But, if the big croc at St Augustine Florida was any indication of what eating nutria does..... before it died, it was a record holder for size in captivity. All they fed him were nutria and the occasional pesky tourist.


Gomec Feeding on nutria. Why are they called NUTRIA?
Because they're NUTRIcious and Delicious! Just ask Gomec. 😄
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S57vYKhV40A

Gatorland https://www.alligatorfarm.com/our-history/

Gatorade, the refreshing beverage of choice for Florida Gators on a hot summer day!
https://www.amazon.com/Gatorade-Thirst-Quencher-Fruit-Variety/dp/B01KQLV2A4?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1

Back in the 20’s and early 30’s my grandpa and his trusty horse set off every spring and summer morning to collect as many groundhogs as they could. The 1 penny per tail bounty that the farmers paid him was good money for a 8 year old boy. He said that a box of .22 shells were a nickel and a pack of smokes were a nickel (he was 8yrs old 😬) so he stood to make .40 cents per each box of 50 rounds, assuming he didn’t miss. 😁

The good old days......

Good times, and good luck!

Rain is clearing here. Think will take a walk up there and try for a few columbian ground squirrels. Bumper crop this spring, piece where the understory is mostly cleared, a few stumps and blowdowns, lot of grass.

When am “serious” i take the marlin xt22 22wmr tube fed w/ sightron s1 3-9x rimfire. Got it as a truck gun, but damm, it’s a shooter, use it all the time now. No real maintenance, no brass to find....

Hubert , is your Ruger Scoped ? Head shots at 40 0r 50 Yards is quite a feat . A 20 pound Chuck is an enormous Chuck in the North Eastern States . I guess the farher South you go , the easier it is for them to fatten up with more days to munch on greens .The local Sports Store used to have Chuck Contests each Summer and usually anything around 12- 16 Pounds would win a Prize . Whistle Pigs ( and I have seen many stand-up to a Whistle ) were all over the place when I was a kid . Now the Coyote-Hybrids are all over the place and Chucks are rare to see except around small town Borders .

I used to trap them for farmers in exchange for permission to hunt deer in the fall. Only ever had a couple that went back on their word after the fact.

I have the 9.5" and it's dynamite.

No slouch with the 22LR cylinder but the mag cylinder is wicked, wicked, wicked.

I read this & wondered about the weight I stated of the sow that I won money with. I went to Wiky they said a 14 pound average. Hell, my memory could be poor of the numbers, as most know they do tend to grow over time, or the scales could have been off some. But I do know she was a lot bigger than any of the others. My hunting pardner knew before they weighed, for as soon as they announced a prize for the biggest, he headed to the truck. He brought her back, threw her down & while pointing to me he told them to just go on and pay me cause this is the winner. It was.

You guys need to spend a morning shooting p/dogs.......

I promise you you won't doze off between shots........good spot will be 55-60 rds per hr

this location...targets start at 450 yds

pic.....223 AI & 53 V max

Waynesboro 17268 zip

I use the 22LR cylinder, not scoped , I have had it a very long time. If I kill another big one I will weigh it.. the two big ones filled a wall mart bag each. nobody else shoots them where I do , so they grow to super size.. I think that is why they are so big...

Don’t nobody want a ground hog hat! 😀

Here in SE PA i used to kill about 8-15 a year just here on my property, mostly in the several acre "backyard". Last 2 years killed 3 total. Have some yotes and a lot of red foxes around now. In fact killed a red fox that was circling the Chicken coop this morning around 10AM while I was out mowing.About a 30yd shot from the Kubota seat with the 3" SP101 357 with Barnes 140 XPB.

That's a cool story.
I keep wondering if/when another great depression hits....banker/corporate "bailouts" and if the world no longer uses the USD FRN as currency eventually, then we might have to go to the fields because the stores will have Soviet style choices... perhaps.
Just a theory... perhaps a conspiracy theory to most Americans. Hope they're right. If not, you've got a boat for fishing and avoiding cities, and a legacy of your grandfather to carry on. Free range organic, grass fed ...tastes great!

"Plus, I was feeling sluggish, because I was eating store bought food. Then I made a recipe with the hog and MAN! BOOM! I felt.like a million bucks for the rest of that week or so.
There's something to be said for healthy food."

I was thinking about tanning the hide and making a ground hog hat for winter hunting, but by the time l vacuum sealed the meat it seemed like too much trouble. It'd be easier just to buy one.


Ground Hog Hat

I've eaten a good many woodchucks and many other wild animals, birds and fish and never felt any different than if I'd eaten store bought meat.

Sounds fun.

Good shootin'.

The farms I shoot woodchucks on now are infested with them and there is no shortage of coyotes and foxes in the area.

I have no idea what has caused the local decline, other then me shooting the mentioned 8-15 yearly. Others around are saying the same thing about populations. Kinda miss the destructive lil bastids, they are a good warmup for big game and predator hunting!

Groundhogs are more of a target of opportunity for me and don't specifically go after them. The pups are more difficult to hit.



Regarding groundhogs, foxes and coyotes, in my neck of the woods the coyotes have been real hard on the fox population, which may account for groundhog population remaining steady.

Yeah I don't know either. There are areas where I used to shoot chucks 30-40 years ago where they are practically extinct now and other areas are overrun with them. There are coyotes and foxes aplenty in both areas. I can't explain it.