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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Aug 8, 2023 19:46:34 GMT -5
I have never killed a groundhog before. Never had any reason to. Any and all groundhogs I've come across to this point have given me a wide berth, happy to scurry off and avoid trouble. Things are different now. I've got a particularly ornery groundhog that's taken up residence near my home. It all started off innocent enough. I noticed some fresh dirt around the old chicken coop. No big deal, nature has nearly retaken the coop anyway. I'm designing this property for the benefit of wildlife, besides, the dogs like to bark at the coop every now and then.  |
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Aug 8, 2023 19:52:32 GMT -5
Well, the entrances dug beneath the sides of the coop apparently weren't adequate. The groundhog tore his way through the floor of the coop, last year sometime. Since I do still use the coop for rough storage, this presents a new hazard to avoid any time I need in or out.  Still, no real harm done. Besides, at this point I've never even seen the groundhog, let alone an opportunity to provide any aversive stimulus. |
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Aug 8, 2023 19:59:20 GMT -5
I mentioned earlier, the dogs like to bark at the coop every now and then. My daughter's beagle/rat mix, a very good dog that sadly passed away this spring due to kidney failure, liked to go right under the coop and bark for hours at a time.
Well, this past winter, the barks were so faint it sounded like she was way down the hole right with the groundhog. Then, about 5 solid seconds of wild caterwauling, then out she came with a bloodied up jowl. My daughter was absolutely furious, and demanded a blood payment right then and there. I calmed her down, pointed out that the groundhog had been provoked, and poor Willow's wounds were purely superficial. My daughter's wrath was soothed, and no punitive actions were taken towards the groundhog.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Aug 8, 2023 20:07:41 GMT -5
This summer, seemingly emboldened by my passivity, the groundhog has increased his aggressions. I actually saw him cross the driveway a couple weeks ago, disappearing quickly into the heavy brush. This was the first physical sighting in the three years since we first bought the place, when I spotted a lone groundhog shuffle through the backyard. We have a neat old shed next to our house. It is made from old ammunition boxes from Crane, and I would guess it's date of construction to have been sometime in the 1940's or 1950's. I was in the shed on a Sunday, everything normal. I went in Tuesday, and found this:  The cats have shown their displeasure by defecating on the fresh dirt mound, but the groundhog is apparently unperturbed. |
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Aug 8, 2023 20:12:53 GMT -5
This shed is only about 15 feet from the house. What will be next? Will the groundhog tunnel up into our crawlspace? Dig under the concrete slab of our new barn?
I cannot abide these latest actions. This aggression will not stand.
I have a three-day weekend coming up, and I'm going on a groundhog hunt.
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Post by greghopper on Aug 8, 2023 20:25:24 GMT -5
Use bait…. And gun!
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Post by marshallco on Aug 8, 2023 20:44:36 GMT -5
I grew up as a son of a soybean (and corn) farmer. My dad would take out a bus load of orphans to drive over a groundhog. Me and a buddy spent hours of time and who knows how many gallons of gas prowling the country side to do a drive by on a groundhog. Hay fields and bean fields were the best. I wish you the best of luck, let us know how it turns out.
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Post by esshup on Aug 8, 2023 21:17:02 GMT -5
Put the cats and dogs in the house. Set a Conibear 220 across the opening at night and you will have it in the morning. Don't expect to be a one and done. I have gotten 13 adults from one hole. Talk to Deadeer about the groundhog den or hole in his mom's back yard.......
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Post by omegahunter on Aug 9, 2023 8:41:00 GMT -5
In younger years living with my parents, we had a neighbor that lived next to a woods that had me sit behind her house and shoot groundhogs. The most action was 3 years in a row of shooting 17, 16, & then 17 again from the same dens. Half-grown groundhogs cook up just as good as any squirrel does!
Groundhogs can do a lot of damage very quickly if left to their own devices.
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Post by bullseye69 on Aug 10, 2023 7:15:48 GMT -5
Groundhogs get no pass from me.
They are always on the hit list.
Usually get one or 2 at my place and aboot 6 at my parents.
Parents place we've shot 4 this year and 2 at my house.
I got one big fat one I've been trying to get for the last couple days. He'll mess up sooner or later.
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Post by jjas on Aug 10, 2023 8:00:29 GMT -5
I'd get rid of the groundhog (or groundhogs) and the shed and be done with it.
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Post by bullseye69 on Aug 10, 2023 9:26:27 GMT -5
This one got it from 10 yards with my 6mm30/30 while I was scouting from my dads blind.  |
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Post by BigJLocke on Aug 10, 2023 10:33:02 GMT -5
When I was a kid, we had a groundhog tunnel under our barn and collapsed it. My dad told me to make sure he didn’t live much longer. Thing was the size of a small bear (I was much smaller then so probably not THAT big haha). So I walk out of the garage and this fatty is at the end of the drive way munching on a corn cob. I took the recurve bow from above the pool table and shot a single blade wooden arrow from a garage sale and let it fly. Stuck him to the ground so good that he never moved. Dad thought I missed until he went down and looked. I swore up and down that I was reincarnated Robin Hood, but I know that was the luckiest shot I’ve ever taken haha
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Aug 10, 2023 14:25:50 GMT -5
I thought about which rifle to use. I considered the 300 Blackout, 22 Magnum, even 30/06. I decided it had to be the old J.C. Higgins .22 LR.  I figure a big boar groundhog might be a pretty tough critter, so I'll be using the stoutest 22 ammunition I have.  It's been a couple years since I've taken this rifle out squirrel hunting, so I wanted to verify zero. This was at a range of 25 yards.  |
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Post by greghopper on Aug 10, 2023 14:27:27 GMT -5
Going to ruin a lot meat with them loads…
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Aug 10, 2023 14:34:40 GMT -5
Going to ruin a lot meat with them loads… I don't intend to eat the heads..  |
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Aug 12, 2023 10:48:45 GMT -5
I've sat out a couple of times now near where I've seen the groundhog(s) entering and exiting the food plot.   The trail cameras tell me he's been here, but he hasn't made an appearance while I've been out there yet.  Maybe this kitty will take care of the problem for me.  |
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Post by esshup on Aug 12, 2023 18:00:17 GMT -5
Conibear 220 works 24/7 even when you aren't there. The kitty needs to hunt in the daytime to catch them.
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Post by bullseye69 on Aug 13, 2023 8:50:47 GMT -5
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Post by bullseye69 on Aug 15, 2023 14:43:46 GMT -5
Groundhogs get no pass from me. They are always on the hit list. Usually get one or 2 at my place and aboot 6 at my parents. Parents place we've shot 4 this year and 2 at my house. I got one big fat one I've been trying to get for the last couple days. He'll mess up sooner or later. Well he messed up yesterday in the rain. Popped him and he flopped and made it to his den where it's probably his grave. |
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