a couple weeks worth of groundhogs.

[silent sniper]

here are the groundhogs ive killed over the past couple weeks with my 32 custom and papaws 40 cal " miss woodsy".

this sucker i missed last time with miss woodsy and broke her perfect shot/kill streak. well i snuck up on the horse trailer and saw the hog sitting there....this time it wasnt as lucky.

the ball cut its throat

here is a young hog that i spotted across the field and made a 150 yard stalk. i got behind a tree and looked around to where i thought it would be. i saw it moving along the hill. i threw miss woodsy up and it saw the flash of the metal in the sun and ran towards its hole. but it made the mistake of stopping at the entrence of its hole. thats when it got a .375 ball thorugh the chest that stopped it dead.

the shot was 40 yards

here is a very very old groundhog that fell to the 32 custom. the ball struck it right in the side of head and the groundhog just slumped over...no kicking or reflexes at all. it was the cleanest head shot ive seen.it was the biggest muzzleloader groundhog ive shot! it had to go over 13 pounds.

its bald face

a young groundhog that i shot with 32. i pulled my shot and hit it in the side instead of the head. but the 32 did so much damage the hog didnt go anywhere. i am impressed with just wat kind of damage that little pea of a 32 ball can do.

here was the groundhog i got tonight. i was sneeking through a hay field and saw its head stick up out of the hay 15 yards away. i slowly pulled the gun up, aimed at its head and pulled the trigger. i walked up to see no groundhog but a drop hole. i looked down the drop hole and saw it laying there. i hate when groundhogs get in the hole and get away so i was happy i could claim this one.

you can see where the ball entered the cheek

enjoy SS

 

[chance]

Great shooting and hunting. Keep up the good work!!

 

[Trench]

I just wanna make sure...the one with it's guts on the ground was a .32 hit? Did you graze all across his stomach lining to open him up like that?

 

[silent sniper]

yes the 32 ball grazed it all the way down its side

 

[Vaino]

I take it you had some pretty good eating? Roast woodchuck.....yummmy..... :grin:...nice shooting...Fred

 

[boar]

SS Nice shooting and hunting, your ahead of me now. Seen one today at the trailer,but he saw me first, didn't get a shot. Your a dandy. Keep up the good work. PP Dilly

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Several years ago a local radio call-in talk show featured a speaker who was doing a study of marmots. Several people called in with questions which he answered quite capably. When I asked if he had any "marmot recipes" he was flabergasted. :haha:
I do try to shoot one or two a year for stew and to render out the oil which is great as patch lube, leather dressing and even as a finish on wooden knife handles. Waste not want not.

 

[paulvallandigham]

double post.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The meat is sweat tasting, like Pork, for those who don't know. The GroundHOG, or WoodCHUCK get its name because of this similarity. Fine eating. Marmots simply live a high altitudes, making their dens under rocks that hold heat over night to keep them warmer. They eat grasses, as do groundhogs. Where groundhogs are hunted by fox, coyote, feral dogs, and even raccoons ( for the pups), as well as all the cats, both species have to worry about raptors. On the flats, large red tail hawks have been known to kill pups, but rarely will try to take adult groundhogs. In the mountains, the Golden Eagle looks at marmots as regular daily meals, altho it has more success killing other birds, and mice, chipmunks, and prairie dogs.

I love your question to the radio host. you're a man after my own heart, JOE. :hatsoff:

 

[bushytail]

Your doing some nice shooting. :thumbsup: Keep it going.

 

[Deadeye]

Good shooting sniper. I shot a few last year with my .32 but this yr. have gone to my .50 smoothbore flinter. I've got 15 so far, 2 at 98 yds. but most at 50 or 60. The 50 kills them on the spot, no running away. Much more fun than hunting with a centerfire. Here's some pics.

 

[Robbvious]

Too bad 'Chucks are protected here in Wisconsin, I'd really like to whack a few and cook 'em up. Can't figure out why they're protected either, the dang things are everywhere!

 

[R.M.]

Too bad 'Chucks are protected here in Wisconsin........

You got to be kidding.

 

[luieb45]

I heard that around here they used to have a bounty for groundhogs. It was like $5 for every set of ears you bring in.

 

[mazo kid]

Too bad 'Chucks are protected here in Wisconsin, I'd really like to whack a few and cook 'em up. Can't figure out why they're protected either, the dang things are everywhere!

Well, I didn't know that! I did a search and found the following:


"Woodchucks are protected by Wis. law. There are no specified hunting or trapping seasons. However, landowners or their designees may hunt or trap woodchucks at any time on their property. Apparently, the original motivation for protecting was their value in creating cottontail habitat (burrows)."
So, you guys can come up here ( my DESIGNEES!) and continue my war on a particularly troublesome critter who has dug up the gravel floor in one of my sheds. I spent a day moving stuff around, scraping the dirt, spreading gravel and packing it down level. A week or 2 later he had dug up the other end of the shed! I have only seen him a few times and by the time I get a rifle (would like to get him with my 32 flinter) of course he has disappeared. Might use the live trap if I don't have a chance of shooting.

 

[david50]

good shooting!,looks like you've been having a lot of fun.we have plenty of groundhogs here around town but rarely see them in the rural areas,and if so it is usualy along the roadside.

 

[Robbvious]

If you'll PM me an addressand a convenient time, Mazo, I'll fly right up there. My brother lives in Mazo, too, so I'll have a built in excuse!

 

[Nifeman]

Too bad 'Chucks are protected here in Wisconsin, I'd really like to whack a few and cook 'em up. Can't figure out why they're protected either, the dang things are everywhere!

I'd move :hmm: ...

 

[Robbvious]

What, and miss out on sub-arctic winters, swamp hot summers, high taxes and stupid lawmakers? :shocked2:

2 years to retirement, then I'll probably head for greener pastures.

Thread hi-jack complete. :grin: