Calling Rock Chucks??

C

coyote.243

New member
Has anyone ever tried to call rock chucks with any success? I have a friend that is having trouble with them in his water mellons? He said they are getting gun shy.
 
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He said they are getting gun shy.




"Gun shy"? How can a dead one be gun shy. Unless, of course, they are only being shot "at". Tell your friend to leave them alone for 2 weeks and spend that time at the range learning to shoot that rifle!

Or, he could invite a few rat shooters from here on PM to come out and show him how it's done. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Good camo helps and a ghillie suit is even better. Set up downwind and if you sneak in before daylight it helps. Once set up careful and quite is the watchword. Then start calling "here rockchuck, here rockchuck, here rockchuck."

All kidding aside these grass foragers aren't callable as far as I can tell. He might try baiting them with some vegetables such as lettuce, but they can't be called.
 
I used to use a Silent Dog whistle to make them come out and stick their heads up. I wore it around my neck, when one ducked, I'd blow the whistle.

Often times, 3 or 4 in a den would come out. Watch carefully which way they are looking, shoot the furtherest one away from the way they are all looking. Try to take off just the top of the head, and often you may just kill them all. Keep blowing the whistle as you are shooting to keep their attention focused on you instead of the one that is flopp'en. If one looks at the one flopp'en, shoot him next.
 
It's not really "calling," but if one ducks into the hole you can make it pop back up. The dog whistle is a good idea and I'll try that too. What has worked for me is a squirrel call. It's a wood squeeker with rubber bellows on one end. Hit it real sharply and it'll make a rockchuck-like bark. Not exactly the same sound to my ears, but close enough to where it fools a rockchuck. They get curious about what danger has another chuck worried. But you need to be far enough away from the hole that it won't feel threatened by whatever's causing that other chuck (you) to sound the alarm. This has worked for me on several occasions.
 
They prefer to be called 'Charles' instead of 'Chuck'. More proper....... What the heck is your friend doing raising melons up in the rocks, anyway?.......
 
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What the heck is your friend doing raising melons up in the rocks, anyway?




That was my original thought, too. I concluded that the poster was probably inexperienced and confused ground squirrels with marmots. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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"... If one looks at the one flopp'en, shoot him next.



You're a ruthless killer /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I have heard (but not tried) that a bird call works... the thinking is that if the birds are chirping, then it is safe to come out of the hole.

Anyone try that?


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I have an Audubon bird call that works on coyotes, sometimes. If they hang up in cover, the "cheerful chirping" of birds sometimes relaxes them enough to step out of cover. Usually that's all it takes. Haven't tried it on rodents, though.
 
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I have an Audubon bird call that works on coyotes, sometimes. If they hang up in cover, the "cheerful chirping" of birds sometimes relaxes them enough to step out of cover. Usually that's all it takes. Haven't tried it on rodents, though.



Is it the pewter and hardwood call that you twist? I've got a couple of them and thought it was my own personal secret weapon.
 
I bet that the Bird Call would be a heck of a call! No telling what else you may call in! I have a virgin Bird call, just waiting to try it on squirrels! Have you ever thought about trying the bird call on calling ground squirrels out of their holes? All you need is half a head to suck them out of a hole!
 
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Is it the pewter and hardwood call that you twist?



You got it, birch and zinc. It cost $1.25 in 1967. Now they go for about $6.00
 
I have a couple of different kinds, but the Audubon is the best. There is a good range of sounds you can make with it. It's a great coaxer, IMHO.
 
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DECOY!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif




Hey, if it works on their PD cousins, why not? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif
 


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