Groundhog living under wood pile

[shortys7777]

He already ate my neighbors garden and he runs back under if he hears or sees me. How often do you guys have critters living in your stacks? He almost looks to big to fit in my trap but we'll see. May need to sit out with the air rifle.

 

[peakbagger]

Rarely do you have one groundhog, get rid of it before you have many. We had a cheap 22 for dealing with them.

 

[Lakeside]

Kicked a possum out of a 1/2 cord pile of splits while moving them to a stacking area-- good thing I had my dog back off.

 

[Prof]

You know they are all dark meat and an under-rated meal in my opinion

 

[andym]

You know they are all dark meat and an under-rated meal in my opinion

Actually I didn't know! I've always thought they might be good but haven't tried one yet. They'd have to be better than squirrel, and I've eaten those.

 

[Dataman]

So far I have Nailed 11 with my Ruger 10/22 this year. Few days ago I got 5 in one day. I kill more with my Propane Torch. Light it up and stick in tunnel when they are home. Run 2-5 min. Any smoke out other holes cover up. They all die that way. If you let them they like to build under your foundation. Every year it's same battle. Next door guy don't care and other side 15ac with destroyed mobile home. They have destroyed the drain field there. https://www.harborfreight.com/propa...FS764AO2dau6jesScbV98FLGjQrox3JgaAvhfEALw_wcB

 

[hickoryhoarder]

The more peaceful method is just to show it a better home in the neighbor's yard.

 

[peakbagger]

Growing up we were in the suburbs but in a development (100 by 100 lots). Our lot backed up to large undeveloped 20 acre field. The woodchucks would come out of the field into the garden despite buried fences. We picked up a cheap 22 rifle and used some sort of ammo that would self destruct so we didnt worry about ricochets. (no guns allowed in our city). The woodchucks would graze on our grass for the salad course so we would slowly open a window and shoot the woodchuck from inside the house. it worked pretty well as a silencer. Our neighbor had his parents move in at some point and they were WW2 concentration camp surivivors from New York. They didnt like guns so our neighbor asked us to stop which we did. They then decided a garden was a good thing and planted one. They didnt fence it so the woodchucks went to town on it several times. After a couple of months the neighbor let us know that it was okay with his parents to shoot the woodchucks . We tried road flares and other tricks on the burrows but urban woodchucks will travel quite a distance across paved roads for a good meal.

We sold that house and moved to a new place that also backed up to undeveloped land. My parents were getting old but the neighbor on the other side of the ravine took over controlling the woodchucks. He trapped then with a havahart in case he caught a cat but had a 55 gallon drum full of water to dispatch the woodchucks and occasional possum.

 

[Dataman]

Propane Torch is really proving to be "The Method" to stop them Dead. Glad it's still wet enough. Drys out soon and too dangerous.

 

[shortys7777]

Last thing I need is the pallets my wood is on to catch on fire. Not a bad idea though.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

You can have a garden or you can have a ground hog but you CANT have both,. I use a good scoped pellet rifle with stinger pellets, quiet as a mouse. I wasnt sure how powerful it was until i placed a target on a 3/4 board wooden fence. Every stinger pellet went right through that wood fence. I was stunned. Good thing i didnt hit anything as theres a back street on the other side of the fence

 

[Prof]

You can have a garden or you can have a ground hog but you CANT have both,. I use a good scoped pellet rifle with stinger pellets, quiet as a mouse. I wasnt sure how powerful it was until i placed a target on a 3/4 board wooden fence. Every stinger pellet went right through that wood fence. I was stunned. Good thing i didnt hit anything as theres a back street on the other side of the fence

This is good to know. I'm in the process of researching an upgrade to my old 10-pump. I'll check it out.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

You know they are all dark meat and an under-rated meal in my opinion

To this day I have clear memories of eating the groundhog my mother trapped and shot when I was a little girl. She brined it for twenty-four hours in the fridge and fried it up like chicken. It was really delicious. She said that was because it had feasted for so long on her garden.

 

[shortys7777]

People really eat them by choice? I would but not sure I want to deal with cleaning it. Maybe another time.

 

[John Galt]

Tannerite? At least a couple of pounds. With a turnip taped to the top.

 

[Sawset]

Torch and a dry grass nest - bet that would work, but probably a bad idea under a wood pile. They sure can make a mess of things. They have litters of 5 or more. Midsummer the males migrate or are kicked out, to find a new woodpile to invade. Any gardens nearby are toast. I moved the tasty stuff (broccoli etc) to just in front of the dining room window, so I can play Elmer Fud and slink around the house with a rifle, then slide the windows open for a shot.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

take him with a 20 Gauge.. many have met there demise with the yellow shell..

 

[Dataman]

I have Mossberg Turkey Thug Tactical in 20g for Home Defense and Gopher Defense. Best is Propane Torch, then Ruger 10/22 with 9x Scope. I can hit 2" target at 50ft easily enough. I think I got the one in front yard finally! Like 18ac they can dig holes in available. Can't leave my little front yard alone? Thinking of trapping them too. But they eat grass. Clover is their Fav Snack.

 

[Captainnemo42]

Here's my suggestion.... When i saw a woodchuck go into his hole I took 5 "gopher gasses" I believe they're called, taped them together, lit the fuses, threw it in the hole and covered with dirt. Theyre like giant smoke bombs that TSC sells. Watched to make sure the smoke wasnt coming out of another exit hole. About a week later i was walking around and noticed something big had excavated the hole and there was woodchuck fur everywhere! Worked for me, it might work for you.

 

[TheAardvark]

Put bubble gum by the holes. They will eat it and die.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

I would be skeptical of a pellet rifle's ability to drop a woodchuck. Probably going to need a .22 or 20 gauge as stated above.

 

[Dataman]

Have nailed them with 9mm and had them tumble and then get up and run into hole. Pellet gun is too little for Gopher unless it's head shot. Propane torch works lots better than smoke. Cheaper too. 3 Min of flame in hole and it fills up with carbon monoxide and kill em. Over the hole with dirt (any other entry ways too). Lots more success than smoke from Giant Destroyers.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

It's a shame to waste woodchuck meat. It's a lot like beef. A good pellet rifle (20+ ft lbs) will kill em with a brain shot.
I used to shoot em all the time and just saw one in the shop this week. Not sure why he was in there, but he was. Not sure if I'll use the 22lr, 22-250, or 20 ga. The 22lr is quiet and doesn't hurt my ears like the other two.

like I said, it's a shame to waste the meat. Cook em up and enjoy!

 

[Lakeside]

Cook em up and enjoy!

Pictures & recipe or it did not happen.

 

[brenndatomu]

I've taken 4-5 down this year with my .22 pellet rifle (nitro piston)