who hunts whistlepigs

[william bradley davis]

wanted to do some groudhog huntin this spring/summer. i have a 54 cal t/c hawken and a 45 cal t/c hawken. shoot prb in both and was wondering which would be best and what type of load. not just for sport also would be eating the whistlepigs and was wondering which loads would be least amount of meat loss. obviously the .45 would be less damage but wandering if anyone has any suggestions for loads. im new here and love the site. thank you in advance for any advice. brad

 

[TrevorAaron]

Try 50 grains Most of my shots when I hunt them are around fifty to 70

 

[boar]

I started out with a .54 TC, it liked 40grs 2ff for RB. Killed one 72yrds, pumped right thou it. Then went to a .45, then to a .36 then to a .32. I used 40grs of 3ff in the .45&.36. >32 I use 20grs 3ff. I have a.40 that I like now for my groundhogs. I use 40grs of 3ff in it. Here's a tip on cooking them. Bring to a boil,I use spice berries to take out wild taste, but you can use a onion&potato,Skim off the foam,only boil for 20 minutes, the rinse. Old ones I pressure cook them for 25 minutes . Then fry. Make sure you get the glands&fat off. Dilly

 

[ny griz]

:thumbsup: Oh' yea groundhog,tastes like beef to me.Love it breaded.I use my 45 hatfield,try for head shots.50 grains is plenty.Griz

 

[zimmerstutzen]

i pop em with my Ruger Old Army. Not good for long shots, but I got 7 last summer.

 

[william bradley davis]

thanks dilly. thats the stuff i was lookin for. thanks for the cookin info also although ive eaten plenty of groundhog just never hunted them with bp. thanks to everyone. brad

 

[Ft. Jefferson]

Sounds like your gettin some good advice here, BD. I also use a 40cal for groundhogs and load my usual deer load for them. Only because i hunt the soybean fields on my brothers farm and can shoot at them as far as i can hope to hit one. 50gr-3f w/395rb. Good eatin to. Buzzard

 

[hoochiepapa]

I thought we were the only ones that called them that! Never heard another person call them whistlepigs. :thumbsup:

 

[buttonbuck]

I hear the hides are thick and in the foxfire books they reccomend them for shoe leather. I have always wanted to cook and eat one. I would have to go out to a local farm that is overrun with them. Maybe make some "ground Hog Sausage"

 

[silent sniper]

i love hunting land beavers ! i was able to take 15 or so groundhogs this last summer with numerous muzzleloaders ranging from 32 cal to 50 cal. My favorite groundhog cal would either be a 32 or 40. I love popping hogs with 32s and I enjoy sneeking up close for the shot. But the 40 is in my opinion the perfect groundhog caliber. It has enough power to drop hogs with body shots but it isnt to destructive. Here are some pictures of groundhogs Ive harvested over the past couple years.
20 yard shot with 32 flinter

35 yard shot with 40 flinter

20 yard shot with 40 cal flinter

giant old hog dropped at 25 yards with 32 flinter

3 yard shot with 40 flinter

81 yard head shot with 45 kentucky rifle

25 yard shot on nice fat fall hog with navy arms 12 guage

50 yard head shot with t/c 50 cal flinter

61 yard shot with 45 kentucky rifle

and here is one of my proudest shots ive taken. 77 yard head shot with cva 32 cal squirrel rifle and 20 grains powder.

I cant wait till the hogs come out again this year. My 2 goals this year are to shoot one over 100 yards and to shoot one with one of my blackpowder pistols. also my sister will be joining me with her new 50cal hatfield rifle. So it should be a very good year of hog hunting . Cheers SS

 

[william bradley davis]

mike thats too funny. ive called them that my whole life.

 

[william bradley davis]

ss you da man or should i say kid. no offense. i only pray my son has the same passion you obviously have. he will be 13 in five days and loves the outdoors. land beavers. thats a new one on me. thanks for sharing your memories. brad

 

[hoochiepapa]

Yeah, that's too funny. I always thought it was a western term. I lived in the east when I was a kid, and they just called them groundhogs. My dad always called them whistlepigs.
Whatever, they are a hoot to hunt! :thumbsup:

 

[goody]

Never heard of anyone ever eating one of these thing.I just shoot them.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The names we call them give you a great hint at what you can expect by way of taste. Whistlepig; Groundhog; Woodchuck.

My wife knew a man who shot 5 ground hogs one June, when the season first began. He boned all the meat, and put it through a grinder, He saved what fat was in the animals, but added some pork fat for binding the ground meat together better. He then made his favorite sausage recipe, and told her it was the best pork sausage he has ever made.

The hides can be dried, fleshed, and used to make good strap leather. Its very strong leather. Soak the hides in water with Lye( Drano works) for a couple of days, until the hair slips off. Then use a dull backside of a knife, or other strip of steel to scrape the fur off. You can tan the leather, or leave it raw. Brains can be bought from your local butcher- hog brains work just fine, or you can use egg whites- its the albumin in the brain that tans the leather, I am told- and eggs whites have lots of albumin.

 

[Skylinewatcher]

How much could a whistlepig whistle, if a whistlepig could whistle? Sorry, I know I'm dumb. :grin:

 

[Skylinewatcher]

Mighty fine shootin there, mighty fine. Your're good with that tube. Teach another fellar to shoot who doesn't know how. If the first wont listen find somebody who will. :grin:

 

[william bradley davis]

dude that was funny. but you do know that they CAN whistle its there alarm like a deer snort. ifn you get one in your sights and hes on his belly munchin clover, whistle real loud and he will stand strand straight up and give you a perfect shot. uh for about 3 seconds and then hes hightailen it for the hole.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I had thought for years that Whistlepig was another name for the Marmots that live mostly above the treelines. However, some 25 years ago, I read an article about groundhog hunters in Pennsylvania, and they also referred to ground hogs as "whistlepigs". The whistle is a warning cry to alert others of danger. It can be a hawk, or golden eagle, or a fox, badger, coyote, feral dog, cat, or any other predator, including humans. Its up to each animal, however, to locate the danger and take action to evade it. That is why you see them heading for their holes if they don't spot the danger within a couple of seconds. Better to be safe than sorry. If they did not spot the source of danger, you will usually find their noses and eyes looking out the den hole as soon as they can turn around. If they spotted the danger, they will often stay down out of sight for half and hour or more.

 

[silent sniper]

A little trick I have learned is if you see a groundhog go into its hole that isnt very spooked you can sneek up to the hole and whistle really high pitched for a few minutes and 9 times out of 10 the hog will stick its head out to look. Thats when you plug it point blank in the hole. Its not the most sporting way but belive me it definetly works. Ive shot alot of groundhogs this way. Sometimes you can even just try a random hole and one will stick its head out. It is a very effective way to get them.