Any one else shooting groundhogs?

Gotten a few in the last few weeks. There is another in the lower picture that self-buried itself.

Dogs

My old German Sheppard used to deal with them. Tore them to pieces

This nasty bastard came out of from under a pile of old lumber in our barn and tried to attack my brother in law. Luckily he had on some really thick coveralls with jeans underneath and it didn't break skin or he would be getting rabies shots. Carroll county is sending the corpse out to get tested.

steves1911 said:

This nasty bastard came out of from under a pile of old lumber in our barn and tried to attack my brother in law. Luckily he had on some really thick coveralls with jeans underneath and it didn't break skin or he would be getting rabies shots. Carroll county is sending the corpse out to get tested.

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Very odd indeed. Keep us updated!

Glad your brother in law is ok. I'd have never thought that such an encounter could happen in February. Learn something new every day.

Had to be rabid or something to do that. They usually don't come out of hibernation until end of February or early March.

Was a freak occurrence for sure and a reminder as to why we keep firearms handy around the farm. Health dept thinks we should know if it was rabies by monday.

steves1911 said:

Was a freak occurrence for sure and a reminder as to why we keep firearms handy around the farm. Health dept thinks we should know if it was rabies by monday.

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I got into a gun fight with a raccoon in a pole barn once... it died, and my already crappy hearing got worse...

Damn guys. Glad your brother-in-law is okay.

Had to whack a raccoon a couple weeks ago. It managed to pry up the wire on my coop that wasn’t super well secured and dragged one of the ladies out. Then ate the cat food through the back of the trap after digging out the leaves and sticks I piled around and behind it to conceal the trap. Got it the next night by piling logs around the trap that it couldn’t move and secured the can of cat food in with a stick between the bars and the tab on the lid (after cracking it up). Had my game camera setup. It tried for awhile to get the can out from behind and on top before it gave up and went in the front of the trap. She was almost strong enough to pry open the door in the couple hours before dawn she was in there. Big lady. No clue on weight, but 21” snout to butt and about 26” with tail. Measured by big bones Maine Coon cat and she’s 14lbs and 20” snout to but (she has a big Bush tail though that makes her about 32” if you stretch out her tail). Definitely heavier than the cat (I’d guess the raccoon was pushing 20lbs)

Anyway, raccoon won’t be eating any more chicken. Rebuilt the chicken run that she pried her way in to, to get in to the coop. So hopefully it is raccoon proof this time (been here almost 2 years and first time we lost one). Damn rooster didn’t stop the coon.

This morning saw the chickens scattering in the coop and it wasn’t the rooster with a little rape on his mind scattering them. Grabbed my 22 and went out there. Damn squirrel decided it was going in and help itself to their food and chase them around a little when they got close to it. Squirrel is officially fox food when the local vixen swings by later.

Don’t mind when the squirrels are eating the deer feed or what gets scattered outside the coop and run. Don’t need them getting ballsy enough to be literally scaring my chickens though and stealing the food out of their feeders.

Again, damn rooster wouldn’t chase off the squirrel. He was happy enough to come over and try to fight me when I came out. But squirrel chasing his ladies, Nope, F that!

I had a whistle pig attack me once when bow hunting. I was walking the edge of a field and the critter charged me trying to get to its hole. I found out if they are blocked off then they will attack you. I hope the whistle pig has no rabies and glad your brother in law is ok.

Well the health dept called said the test was negative. No idea what that furballs issue was never seen one act like that before.

I'm itching to get back out there this year, if i can find more primers haha! Last year I still managed to get 24 of them last year. I increased the data points I collect when they are shot too. https://benspelledabc.me/groundhog_logbook/charts/by_month/

You guys wanting to hunt ground hogs need to search out the Vegetable farmers. The one up near me is paying $5 to a trapper for each one he catches and kills. Save a farmer money is always a good in. Also ask farmers growing soy beans. Most rotate fields every other year to it. If you're in the air ground a hog hole in soy fields look like a bomb crater as they eat everything around it. Or they eat heavy on the edge of the woods or rock break

Farmers hate them because they destroy beans and even worse on vegetable. If you had a garden you know how they bite one tomato 3 times and grab another one. Every farmer knows stories of someone that either died or got hurt breaking a front tractor wheel in a ground hog hole and rolling or damn near rolling a tractor.

Used to clear my deer hunting grounds of ground hogs on owners request. Had a perfect shooting range, 600yards, with large rise at far end. Would use 22lr inside of 100yrds, my Winchester 70 feather weight 30-06 beyond 100yards. VERY effective on hogs. I also made my mom levitate about 5 ft one time. I had a bench I made to shoot from, was scoping a hog downrange, (06) when it was talking to mom at the same time, when hog gave me a whole body shot, I sent the round, mom shot straight up cussing the entire way up, and down, and after she landed. A sailor would have been embarrassed by her cussing!! Lol. Note to everyone, if someone is scoping,ready to fire, be ready for loud bang at any moment.

Archeryrob said:

You guys wanting to hunt ground hogs need to search out the Vegetable farmers. The one up near me is paying $5 to a trapper for each one he catches and kills. Save a farmer money is always a good in. Also ask farmers growing soy beans. Most rotate fields every other year to it. If you're in the air ground a hog hole in soy fields look like a bomb crater as they eat everything around it. Or they eat heavy on the edge of the woods or rock break

Farmers hate them because they destroy beans and even worse on vegetable. If you had a garden you know how they bite one tomato 3 times and grab another one. Every farmer knows stories of someone that either died or got hurt breaking a front tractor wheel in a ground hog hole and rolling or damn near rolling a tractor.

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I've long known of the danger to livestock that groundhog holes can create. I have never been aware that they can cause real problems for tractors as well.

Another something learned today. Thanks!

Oh they will destroy equipment. Imagine a large harvester running along and the front wheel goes down in a hog crater. The machine takes a beating. The head tends to dive into the dirt on at least the one side, this means that repairs are required. Right in the middle of harvest. If they can't be made quickly, crop may be lost due to inability to harvest.

It's bad news.

4g64loser said:

Oh they will destroy equipment. Imagine a large harvester running along and the front wheel goes down in a hog crater. The machine takes a beating. The head tends to dive into the dirt on at least the one side, this means that repairs are required. Right in the middle of harvest. If they can't be made quickly, crop may be lost due to inability to harvest.

It's bad news.

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Yeah, given the mention, I can see how that could indeed be a problem. Just goes to show my lack of knowledge with regard to farm life and equipment.

Uncle Duke said:

Yeah, given the mention, I can see how that could indeed be a problem. Just goes to show my lack of knowledge with regard to farm life and equipment.

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I'm no farmer but I have seen the damage. Old tricycle tractors were dangerous enough. Toss in a hog pit and they will kill you quick. I won't even drive one for cool factor. Don't trust myself. I have put a drive tire (the big rear ones) into a hole while mowing a pasture in NC for my aunt. It jacked up the bush hog, ruined the pto shaft, and scared the crap out of me. After I bounced off multiple parts of the tractor and it's ROPS. Picture that on an old school tractor.

I got something like 14 last year off the farm, which is high for me since in most cases 95% of them get plugged off my back deck. I let others traipse all over the back acres if they want. All of them with my 6.8mm SPC II AR within about 300 yards max to as close as 35 yards. Some are just too stupid to stay away.

Was told today i have another under the pool shed, guess i better get the rifle back out and ready. I really thought that now that we have a new pup they would stay away but he hasnt been over there on that side of the yard much, I think ill have to take him over there and let his scent be known.