How to hunt groundhogs
- Thread starter Aaron1
- Start date
Cal Sibley
New member
Hello Aaron,
I think you might be in trouble unless you can keep from being seen and get close enough for a shot with that 22lr.
Try to get in an area that's lightly wooded and allows you vision of an adjoining field as you walk through. That or if it's rolling country, stay low as you walk and come up only when you approach the fields where you can get a good field of view. You know the area you're hunting so size it up and use what works to your advantage. You'll gradually learn to use the terrain to your advantage. Hunting with a 22lr can be great sport, more challenging that using a long range .22centerfire. Best wishes.
Cal - Montreal
I think you might be in trouble unless you can keep from being seen and get close enough for a shot with that 22lr.
Try to get in an area that's lightly wooded and allows you vision of an adjoining field as you walk through. That or if it's rolling country, stay low as you walk and come up only when you approach the fields where you can get a good field of view. You know the area you're hunting so size it up and use what works to your advantage. You'll gradually learn to use the terrain to your advantage. Hunting with a 22lr can be great sport, more challenging that using a long range .22centerfire. Best wishes.
Cal - Montreal
texasbushninja
New member
This reminded me of one time I was invited to Ohio (Middlefield) and had the pleasure to hunt chuck's with a friend who had been hunting them all his life. I was very new to the game and just learning how to make my shots count. He had let me in on a little secret that he had learned over the years and had held him in good stead when other techniques had failed.
He had anticipated (correctly) that my "varmint eye" had yet to develop and my reactionary skills were less than timely so he endowed me with this "pearl of wisdom".
We were walking a country road on our way to a field that was well known to harbor said Varmint when to his surprise as we turned into the field it had been freshly cut that same day. There in the middle of the field was a rather large, well fed "chuck"...He looked at us, we looked at him ...(remember my reactionary skills) and he takes off running for the hole (about 25 yrds away). He gets about halfway there when Brian (my friend) yells "RUN"!!!. Remembering his instructions I take off and haul @#% straight for the hole (chuck's clean gone now) and pass the hole about 10 yards and fall flat in the grass facing the hole and I waite (quitely)....10...15.....25 seconds go by when who should appear (apparently wondering where I went).
He came up right in the crosshairs and took one (stinger)right in the left nostril.
Admittedly this was the only time I have utilized this strategy, but it was the first kill as well of the trip and worked like a charm. I know this does'nt work on prairie dogs but apparently chuck's have a stronger (terminal) sense of curiosity. Ahhhh...the memories.
nuff said,
ninjaDave
He had anticipated (correctly) that my "varmint eye" had yet to develop and my reactionary skills were less than timely so he endowed me with this "pearl of wisdom".
We were walking a country road on our way to a field that was well known to harbor said Varmint when to his surprise as we turned into the field it had been freshly cut that same day. There in the middle of the field was a rather large, well fed "chuck"...He looked at us, we looked at him ...(remember my reactionary skills) and he takes off running for the hole (about 25 yrds away). He gets about halfway there when Brian (my friend) yells "RUN"!!!. Remembering his instructions I take off and haul @#% straight for the hole (chuck's clean gone now) and pass the hole about 10 yards and fall flat in the grass facing the hole and I waite (quitely)....10...15.....25 seconds go by when who should appear (apparently wondering where I went).
He came up right in the crosshairs and took one (stinger)right in the left nostril.
Admittedly this was the only time I have utilized this strategy, but it was the first kill as well of the trip and worked like a charm. I know this does'nt work on prairie dogs but apparently chuck's have a stronger (terminal) sense of curiosity. Ahhhh...the memories.
nuff said,
ninjaDave
Victor Varminter
New member
The answer to that question is as varied as how do ya make a pizza. It could be as basic as something w/ a trigger, ammo, & time. Are you looking to get another gun? I've gotten g'hogs w/ hammers, cresent wrenches, pistols, shotguns (slug & shot), test driving a 4x4 pickup, my cross-sticks, & a varity of rifles. I'm not crazy about using a 22lr on g'hogs, they're pretty tough characters. Never had much luck w/ buckshot, but #5 shot or a deer slug really slams 'em.
One thing I love about g'hoggen is you can always shoot one more. (No bag limits) If you shoot one, wait. They'll be back out, & if not go around the hill & there will be more.
So let know what you're wanting to do.
One thing I love about g'hoggen is you can always shoot one more. (No bag limits) If you shoot one, wait. They'll be back out, & if not go around the hill & there will be more.
So let know what you're wanting to do.
Tim Williams
New member
Aaron,
I couldn't even tell you how many woodchucks fell to my Ruger 10/22. I've had it since the early '70s and killed them from 10-100 yards. With a good rest you sould be able to drop them easily out to 70 yards. The shotgun is just not fun. Practice with the .22 and shoot for the head. Best way is to sit in the evening and wait for them to come out.
I couldn't even tell you how many woodchucks fell to my Ruger 10/22. I've had it since the early '70s and killed them from 10-100 yards. With a good rest you sould be able to drop them easily out to 70 yards. The shotgun is just not fun. Practice with the .22 and shoot for the head. Best way is to sit in the evening and wait for them to come out.
me
New member
I, too, have taken many groundhogs with a 10/22.....
Back in the mid-80's, I got a call from my next door neighbor. "Are you still into shooting defenseless animals?" He asked. "Ye-e-es-s-s," I answered tentatively.....
We lived in west St. Louis County (Missouri). He worked for a non-denominational retreat house at I-270 and Ladue Roads - one of the wealthiest areas in town. They had 37 acres; about 2/3 of it fields. It was overrun with groundhogs. They destroyed the plantings and the lawn tractor had broken an axle in one of their holes. The Board Of Directors had decided to hire an exterminator; Dave told them he knew of someone who would do it for free!
I sat out on their back patio many evenings that summer plinking away to my heart's content!
A .22 LR HP will easily take a groundhog at 75 yards!
me!
Back in the mid-80's, I got a call from my next door neighbor. "Are you still into shooting defenseless animals?" He asked. "Ye-e-es-s-s," I answered tentatively.....
We lived in west St. Louis County (Missouri). He worked for a non-denominational retreat house at I-270 and Ladue Roads - one of the wealthiest areas in town. They had 37 acres; about 2/3 of it fields. It was overrun with groundhogs. They destroyed the plantings and the lawn tractor had broken an axle in one of their holes. The Board Of Directors had decided to hire an exterminator; Dave told them he knew of someone who would do it for free!
I sat out on their back patio many evenings that summer plinking away to my heart's content!
A .22 LR HP will easily take a groundhog at 75 yards!
me!
hunterintheshadows
New member
i use velocitors and stingers but as said earlier shoot for the head! chucks are TOUGH!! i use a 22lr sometimes, but mostly i sit at a high vantage point and smack em as far away as i can with buch of different calibers. good luck!
hunterintheshadows
New member
i use velocitors and stingers but as said earlier shoot for the head! chucks are TOUGH!! i use a 22lr sometimes, but mostly i sit at a high vantage point and smack em as far away as i can with bunch of different calibers. good luck!
Justin M
New member
In the situation you are in, here is your best bet. I do this with my centerfires too, cause i dont like sitting still. Get your .22 or even the 12 gauge if you are real stealthy. Slowly walk along the fields watching in the fencerows. More often than not, you will catch many many chucks sunning themselves on logs or other items in the rows. If you do it right ( move when the chuck looks away and freeze when they look in your direction) you should be about to slip to within 30 yards for a good shot. Get a set of shooting sticks, theyll make a world of dirrerence. I once stalked a groundhog from 400 yards to 10 yards and shotgunned him in an open corn field (cut) by just using the stop and go system. try it, youll like it
Nightfisher
New member
Aaron1
This is what has always worked best for me. Scout the area that you plan to hunt. Find their holes. They like to put them in steep banks, the back end of draws or low sections of a field and along tree lines and fence rows. I usually check for signs (tracks or scratch marks on the mounds) to see if the holes have been active. Find a good comfortable location to set and conceal yourself. Preferably wind in your face and the sun at your back. It helps to have a good light weight cushion to carry and set on. Make sure that a shot can be made safely. No houses or people in the background or cattle. They will come out of their holes any time during the day but early morning and late afternoon is the best time. The smaller younger hogs are not as cautious. The older and bigger ones are a different story sometime. You can be watching a hole and see a black spot (nose) appear on one edge of the hole and then it may take five minutes for him to get his head completely out so you can pop him. If they get out of the hole and in tall grass whistle and they will stand up for a look see. Most of all be patient. I have set more than an hour on a hole before they would appear.
Don’t worry about using the 22. Just make sure you get within a comfortable range that would be comfortable for you that you know you would be accurate. Shoot for the head. I know a man that said he grew up poor on a farm and his daddy took from work at 3:00 PM each Thursday and went hunting for groundhogs with a 22. Always came home with a groundhog and always had ground hog to eat. He hates them because he had to eat them so much growing up.
Be safe, have fun and good hunting.
This is what has always worked best for me. Scout the area that you plan to hunt. Find their holes. They like to put them in steep banks, the back end of draws or low sections of a field and along tree lines and fence rows. I usually check for signs (tracks or scratch marks on the mounds) to see if the holes have been active. Find a good comfortable location to set and conceal yourself. Preferably wind in your face and the sun at your back. It helps to have a good light weight cushion to carry and set on. Make sure that a shot can be made safely. No houses or people in the background or cattle. They will come out of their holes any time during the day but early morning and late afternoon is the best time. The smaller younger hogs are not as cautious. The older and bigger ones are a different story sometime. You can be watching a hole and see a black spot (nose) appear on one edge of the hole and then it may take five minutes for him to get his head completely out so you can pop him. If they get out of the hole and in tall grass whistle and they will stand up for a look see. Most of all be patient. I have set more than an hour on a hole before they would appear.
Don’t worry about using the 22. Just make sure you get within a comfortable range that would be comfortable for you that you know you would be accurate. Shoot for the head. I know a man that said he grew up poor on a farm and his daddy took from work at 3:00 PM each Thursday and went hunting for groundhogs with a 22. Always came home with a groundhog and always had ground hog to eat. He hates them because he had to eat them so much growing up.
Be safe, have fun and good hunting.
My favorite time of year to hunt groundhogs in Va is mid summer, right after the farmers have mown their hay. The hay rolls are lying in the fields and make perfect cover for a shooter. Also they're the perfect height, for me, to make a first class rifle rest.
G'hogs like to dig their burrows along ditch banks and fence lines, but they'll locate right in the middle of a standing hay field too. When the hay gets cut they're sitting ducks. I'll scope a field from a distance to get an idea of their location, but even if I don't see many hogs while scoping, if I see lots of burrows I know I'm in business. Quite often when I walk out into a field to the nearest hayroll I'll see 2 or 3 pop up for a curiousity peek, if so I'll relocate to a roll with a better vantage point. I don't worry about them disappearing as I walk into the field. They'll pop back up in a few minutes. When one rares up for a looksee and I take a shot I always do a quick scan of the field, because usually a couple more will pop up as a result of my shot, curiousity does them in. I pick another active hole and start watching, relocating a little if necessary. I've moved around in a single pasture for a couple hours doing this, shooting maybe once every 10 min. Sometimes even getting a curiousity shot at a gawker within seconds of the previous shot.
I hunt both early mornings and the last couple hours of the afternoon, although you can get some mid day shots if you're patient and willing to sit in the mid day heat. I'm patient enough, but don't like sitting in a field in mid july at noon.
I use my .204 for g'hogs, so I often pass on the close shots and try to wait for 200 yd+ shots. 395 is my best so far with the .204. I grew up hunting them with a single shot .22 though and that was just as much fun. Needless to say, as a 12 yr old kid, the closer the better, LOL. I remember ambushing them at 50 ft by waiting near a known active hole.
I consider groundhog hunting to be one of my favorite shooting activities.
G'hogs like to dig their burrows along ditch banks and fence lines, but they'll locate right in the middle of a standing hay field too. When the hay gets cut they're sitting ducks. I'll scope a field from a distance to get an idea of their location, but even if I don't see many hogs while scoping, if I see lots of burrows I know I'm in business. Quite often when I walk out into a field to the nearest hayroll I'll see 2 or 3 pop up for a curiousity peek, if so I'll relocate to a roll with a better vantage point. I don't worry about them disappearing as I walk into the field. They'll pop back up in a few minutes. When one rares up for a looksee and I take a shot I always do a quick scan of the field, because usually a couple more will pop up as a result of my shot, curiousity does them in. I pick another active hole and start watching, relocating a little if necessary. I've moved around in a single pasture for a couple hours doing this, shooting maybe once every 10 min. Sometimes even getting a curiousity shot at a gawker within seconds of the previous shot.
I hunt both early mornings and the last couple hours of the afternoon, although you can get some mid day shots if you're patient and willing to sit in the mid day heat. I'm patient enough, but don't like sitting in a field in mid july at noon.
I use my .204 for g'hogs, so I often pass on the close shots and try to wait for 200 yd+ shots. 395 is my best so far with the .204. I grew up hunting them with a single shot .22 though and that was just as much fun. Needless to say, as a 12 yr old kid, the closer the better, LOL. I remember ambushing them at 50 ft by waiting near a known active hole.
I consider groundhog hunting to be one of my favorite shooting activities.