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Groundhog Population?

BowhunterXC

BowhunterXC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2021
Messages
821
Location
N.W. Ohio
As of this morning, I have shot groundhog #22. (y) I've not shot 22 g-hogs in the last 20 years. It would appear that the population has increased in recent years. o_O

Most of them have been with my Savage 22-250, using 55 gr. Hornady V-Max bullets at 3700 fps. The suppressor makes it much easier to hear the bullet smack them. I've been wanting to take my Savage 17HMR, for the closer shots....inside 100 yards. I don't like letting them get away and that's the reason for my hesitation of taking it. Well, this morning I figured I'd give it a go. As it turns out, this cartridge has restored my confidence in its' killing power. :) I shot this male at 90 yards and he dropped on the spot with the evidence in his mouth. :cool: (Hornady ammo with 20 gr. bullets.)
G-Hog Savage 17.jpg
 
I saw the first groundhog I have ever seen here in Mississippi a few days ago. My mother told me she saw one and I was a bit skeptical but from her description It sounded right. She said at first she though it was either a squirrel or an otter. The squirrel did not make sense to me due to size, and the otter due to location. Well, sure enough I actually saw it and it was a groundhog.
 
BowhunterXC said:
As of this morning, I have shot groundhog #22. (y) I've not shot 22 g-hogs in the last 20 years. It would appear that the population has increased in recent years. o_O

Most of them have been with my Savage 22-250, using 55 gr. Hornady V-Max bullets at 3700 fps. The suppressor makes it much easier to hear the bullet smack them. I've been wanting to take my Savage 17HMR, for the closer shots....inside 100 yards. I don't like letting them get away and that's the reason for my hesitation of taking it. Well, this morning I figured I'd give it a go. As it turns out, this cartridge has restored my confidence in its' killing power. :) I shot this male at 90 yards and he dropped on the spot with the evidence in his mouth. :cool: (Hornady ammo with 20 gr. bullets.)
View attachment 104172
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Cant have them out there eatin up all the deer food.
 
BTaylor said:
Cant have them out there eatin up all the deer food.
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True! :)
What's strange is they'll eat the soy beans, before they get any height to the plant. They must taste sweeter, when in the young sprout stage. Seems like after the soy bean plants get 12" to 14" tall, they don't care for them and that's when the deer seem to snack on the leaves.
 
BowhunterXC said:
True! :)
What's strange is they'll eat the soy beans, before they get any height to the plant. They must taste sweeter, when in the young sprout stage. Seems like after the soy bean plants get 12" to 14" tall, they don't care for them and that's when the deer seem to snack on the leaves.
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Our deer will let beans generally get up to 6-8" and then wipe them out. We tried a 2 acre plot and the neighbors tried a 4 acre plot. In both cases the beans got up good and when they decided to hit them both plots were mowed to the dirt in a week. Groundhogs helped some too. We usually kill 2 to 6 a year but never cleaned one because we didnt know they were fit to eat. Gonna try the next one though.
 
BTaylor said:
We usually kill 2 to 6 a year but never cleaned one because we didnt know they were fit to eat. Gonna try the next one though.
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The young ones are good eating. Any yellowing or orange coloration of the teeth will be an indicator of the groundhog's age. The whiter their teeth are, the younger and better eating. :)

If you're up for the trouble, a groundhogs' hide makes for good shoe strings. Case skin them, remove the hair while tanning the hide and cut thin strips/strings. You'll end up with a tube of leather (the groundhog body) that you can cut, to make an endless strip of leather. Their hide has a uniform thickness, whether it's the back or belly, which makes for consistent straps or strings of leather. :cool:

The first groundhog that I killed with a bow was extremely old. His teeth were solid orange, worn down to the gums. He had a solid grey face with no hair on his back or belly....just on his sides. He was about 14# or 15#. An interesting trophy for a first kill with a bow. ;)
 
I had one run across the rd in front of me one day while my buddy from South AL was with me. I guess he’d never seen one before. He hollered “Look that beaver ain’t got a tail”. I still laugh about it.


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