Groundhogs/Woodchucks

Growing up we had a garden the size of a football field. Between Dad, Sis, my neighbor Mark and I, we'd plant 5 to 15 per year that thought the veggies were being grown for them.

Now my Grandma no longer lives next door and I've little clue how the neighbors on the other side of the house would react to .22's firing. Those days are done.[crying]
 
I got lucky this year and had a farm owner ASK me to get rid of some woodchucks on her property.

I hope the people around don't freak out if I use my M15 Bushmaster. It's my only .223 gun at this time, and it's dead on. I guess I could use my .308 with sabot bullets in a smaller calliber.
 
I'd go with .223, much more effective. I've hit woodchucks with .308 and it is not always effective. Hit one dead center, it fell down, and got up, slowly started to scamper off i had to run after it... The bullets just zip through them, not very good. .223 is much more effective, quick and painless too.

I have a .223 bolt action that is perfect for this.
 
I've got about 15 or 20 one shot kills with a .22 LR. Sometimes I'd use dad's Remington and occasionally I'd use my 10/22.

We would shoot them from the bedroom window because opening the door tended to scare them off. In fact one day I did not bother waking my big sister up before I shot a chuck from her window.[shocked][smile] I imagine if I'd used a .223 she would have died of fright instead of just jumping 3 feet off the bed.[smile][rofl] Another funny memory is there is still a hole in the window sill because my middle sister did not make sure the barrel was out the window before she put her booger hook on the bang switch.[rolleyes] Dad was not told about that for several years.[rolleyes]

Those days are done though as today shooting chucks out the window would get us in alot of trouble.
 
Mom had two methods of drilling woodchucks that she trusted. She would either cut them in half with the shotgun or shoot them in the head with the .22 (which is what she usually did). I later found that she kept the rifle loaded with 22 shorts!
 
I was able to bag my first woodchuck of the season yesterday at about 60 yds with a 30 gr. .22Win Mag JHP from a scoped Marlin Bolt. He still had a dandelion in his mouth when I went out to move him. I agree with the previous poster, a bedroom window is less likely to spook them. That's one down and at least three to go. I really want a successful garden this year.
 
Woody? You Bet E' Wood.

OK Ill start calling a bunch of Farms and see if they want a Mob of Crazy Hunters shooting Semi-Auto Military style weapons to eridicate the Woodchucks.

Lets make a Day of it!

I bet we could do a Compeition and get Sponsors to donate Prizes!
 
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Ski areas are COVERED with em up on the slopes, check with the owners first, and don't bother with Nashoba, I have that covered :)

I grew up in CO, we used to use old Springfield M1s for hunting em (Prarie dogs), sometimes out to 400 yards with a good scope and rest. Great fun!

I've had good luck lately with my Diana RWS 52 air rifle using 22 gr pellets, it hits hard enough to take em out and is nice and quiet.
 
ps, there are also a TON of ticks this year, check yourself if you've been out in a field or in the woods
 
I have a den of them out back but the neighbors are too close. One of the'chucks is albino which looks pretty cool.
 
GaryO said:
I have a den of them out back but the neighbors are too close. One of the'chucks is albino which looks pretty cool.
Click to expand...
I've used the "have a hart" traps in my garden for a few years now. I have the same situation with neighbors nearby. I catch them, drive them into the woods and introduce them to Christopher Robin... and they live happily ever after.
 
I would love to find a place that would let me take care of their "problem". Unfortunately there aren't many around, and any place there are some the owners would probably not want someone taking shooting them... Probably they would be ok with poisoning or trapping, but not shooting.
 
i saw 3 of them wendsday, when i was out on my bike in Franklin state forest. They were the size of a volswagin.
 
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I bought an RWS 350 Magnum air rifle (.22 cal) last Summer for dealing with the varmints in my yard. I had a real problem with Woodchucks getting into and undermining the slope behind my house, very near the foundation … Took care of one Woodchuck and 14 or 15 chipmunks (which were also getting into the garage and foundation) between August and October.

I've seen another woodchuck come back this year, and the chipmunk population seems to have bred replacements.

BTW, that air rifle is a great option for neighborhood areas where the neighbors might not appreciate you firing off .223 while they're enjoying Sunday brunch … sends a .22 caliber airgun pellet down range at around 950 fps. Very quiet, nothing like a firearm, draws no attention. I'm using hollowpoint pellets that flatten out to about the size of a dime when they enter the target. The Woodchuck and about 90% of the chipmunks were all taken with headshots from 15-20 yards.
 
Bigwarden, try these out, I get them from pyramidair.com
Beeman .22 Kodiak Extra Heavy, they are 22GR, and by far the most accurate pellet I've tried. They aren't hollow point but they hit so hard it doesn't matter
Have fun
 

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