Hello all, I am new here although I have been reading the old post I can't find the answer to my question. So here it is What is the life cycle of eastern Ground Hogs? I would like to know when they come out when they breed ect. I live in southern Ohio and started hunting them two years ago mostly after the first hay cut but always read where people hunted them in the spring so whats up.
Another G-Hog ? from a new Ohio shooter.
- Thread starter lowtech
- Start date
They usually bed down around October or so, hibernate until around February. They mate just after emerging from hibernation. So by mid February, if the weather is warm enough, you'll see them sunning themselves outside their dens. They have around 6-8 pups, all a woodchuck/groundhog is is a big ol' squirrel...same family. When is your first hay cut? May?
The ones you catch out early are males. They have already mated and are on to feeding and such. The females give birth and then ween (about 1 month after birth) the youngones before they start coming out of the hole in the spring.
I blast em as soon as the poke their ugly heads out! Most of the ones this year i have shot while it was snowing....
mike
I blast em as soon as the poke their ugly heads out! Most of the ones this year i have shot while it was snowing....
mike
bowhunter57
Well-known member
lowtech,
Groundhogs come out of their dens when it's the warmest, but as the year progresses and it gets hotter, you'll see them first thing in the morning and late in the evening.
It's entirely possible to wipe out a population of groundhogs(in one specific area), if you hunt them early in the spring. Thus, killing out the breeding males. Simular to shooting does ONLY during deer season. However, they seem to migrate from somewhere else and you never get rid of them.
If you start getting low on a g-hog population in your area...write Ohio's DNR and request a restocking program. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Good hunting, Bowhunter57
Groundhogs come out of their dens when it's the warmest, but as the year progresses and it gets hotter, you'll see them first thing in the morning and late in the evening.
It's entirely possible to wipe out a population of groundhogs(in one specific area), if you hunt them early in the spring. Thus, killing out the breeding males. Simular to shooting does ONLY during deer season. However, they seem to migrate from somewhere else and you never get rid of them.
If you start getting low on a g-hog population in your area...write Ohio's DNR and request a restocking program. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Good hunting, Bowhunter57
*Dialing division of wildlife*
Dan: Hello, I am running low on groundhogs and would like to request a restocking program.
Officer: You would like to request a stocking program for groundhogs?
Dan: Yeah, ever since I bought my new varmit rifle the groundhogs are starting to dissapear.
LOL!!!!!!!!! Might give that a try! LOL!!!!!
AlphaDog
Dan: Hello, I am running low on groundhogs and would like to request a restocking program.
Officer: You would like to request a stocking program for groundhogs?
Dan: Yeah, ever since I bought my new varmit rifle the groundhogs are starting to dissapear.
LOL!!!!!!!!! Might give that a try! LOL!!!!!
AlphaDog
G-hog Hunter
New member
I don't start hunting them 'till the last week in May. By then the little ones are on their own. It
just doesn't seem right to shoot a female that is still nursing, besides I want more G-hogs to hunt!
Today is November 27th and we had our first snow fall last night here in PA, and today I saw a G-hog out feeding! I've cleaned the 22-250 and will wait for late May 2003, then G-hogs watch out!
just doesn't seem right to shoot a female that is still nursing, besides I want more G-hogs to hunt!
Today is November 27th and we had our first snow fall last night here in PA, and today I saw a G-hog out feeding! I've cleaned the 22-250 and will wait for late May 2003, then G-hogs watch out!