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[Johnch]

OK this is and isn't about cast bullet hunting

First off I am posting I went out and Maybe shoot a groundhog with the 22 Hornet using a cast bullet
But that was a simple barn yard groundhog that like the renters flowers to well

But what this is REALLY about is to get you out asking to shoot the darn critters

I also spent a lot of hours stopping at land owners houses and asking for permission to hunt
Sure a lot of those places I already had permission last year , so for all but 1 of them
They just signed a new years permission form
But I also stopped and ask a number of new land owners
I also stopped and talked to several farmers working on their machinery
As most I didn't know . hoping for new farmers to want a few groundhogs killed on land they farm

1 land lord had died
So I need to look up a son that got the land
I know him and figure he will still let me hunt there

I also got permission to hunt a new farm
Several maybes ( I figure I have a 10% chance they will let me hunt , so I do not count them) and 4 farmers told me who owned land they farmed
So I can ask the owners

All in all I figure I got about a 5 % increase in farms I can hunt

Not the greatest
But I also got to talk with 4 farmers that WANT someone to shoot groundhogs on land they farm
Those 4 farmers might help me get into a new area to hunt and all it cost me was some time and fuel

One BIG thing
Ask and talk to the farmers BEFORE they are working the fields
As when it is time to work ground or plant
Most will simply ignore you and get to back work
As there is never enough hours to do everything before it rains :(

John

[ElCheapo]

Good idea! I have a buddy in SC who wants to come up and shoot groundhogs this year. I told him the best time is June, right after the farmers cut their fields. I've seen some groundhogs out in the fields as I drive around but I haven't asked permission to hunt there yet. I should get out and do that. I am also friends with a man who owns apple orchards and he hates groundhogs. I've hunted there in the past and he always says yes, but wants me to call first because of the guys out working. Now that things are warming up I need to make some arrangements.

[warren5421]

I looked out the window about an hour ago and seen the biggest groundhog I ever seen strolling pass the small horse barn. I wish I still knew someone who liked them to eat as it looked as big as my son’s lab. I will look for the entrance to its den and setup to see it makes no more holes for horses to step in.

[Jim22]

If you want cooperation from farners when it come to permission I will pass along a small town technique I have learned:

An older couple moved in next door. They wanted a PO Box but the people at the post office said it would be two to three years.
So the older lady decided to stop by once a week to see how they stood. Each time she did she brought a plate of homemade cookies for the PO employees. As a result they had a PO box in less than six months. If visiting farmers or landowners looking for permission I would take along something tasty to smooth my entry.

Jim

[CastingFool]

I shot one next to my barn on Easter day. First one this year. They like to crawl under the bar and come up next to the ramp. I set up some cement blocks, so they have to come up and show themselves. One year I was able to shoot 10 of them. Must have scared them, cuz I didn't see any woodchucks for a couple of years

[Johnch]

How to entice the husband into letting me or me and a hunting partner

Simple sometimes as NW Ohio has a LOT of the old land owners families coming from Gremany
So many times the wife dose not like the husband buying a nice bottle
I "Dropped" off a bottle of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Ducks Unlimited and in exchange
I got exclusive hunting rights to about 10,000 acers today

Almost all the land is huge corn or soybean fields
But that isn't all bad
As there is 2 farms close to Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
So during the 2 split of duck or goose hunting season
I can take a friend and hunt fields that the waterfowl feel safe feeding at
Resulting in great hunts with us shooting birds at real close range
Last year we were letting the mallards get in real close
So we could pick out birds with leg bands to harvest

In a few days I am going to talk with a land owner that a farmer hold me owned the land
I was told he likes Canadian Club Classic Whisky
So I will take a bottle to talk to him

John

[35 Rem]

Shooting groundhogs is what really drove my love of guns years ago but for at least 20 years now the local groundhog population never seems to get to shootable numbers. Sure they are around and some years in the Spring I'll start to think of shooting a hog or two but then wait till mid Summer and you can't hardly find one anywhere. i know it's been about 20 years since I shot one and that pains me because I have a bunch of 22 centerfire rifles that were bought specifically for groundhogs. How i long for the large numbers we had in the 1970's through 1990's. Back then when I wasn't hunting our own alfalfa fields I'd just park on the side of the road of any nearby bean field and shoot them with no permission. I knew all the local farmers and they appreciated anybody who would kill groundhogs. Of course the last thing i wanted was to kill them out, I loved having free animated targets!

[versa-06]

35 Rem; Might be a coyote issue.They are rough on the population of a lot of game & critters.

[rancher1913]

keep an eye on craigslist. my old hunter moved to another state due to work so I put an ad on craigslist, used the anonymous email to screen people and made a list of 6 possible people we felt would respect our land, after letting them all come out and look the place over we went with the lowest bidder but best long term fit, 2 fathers and 2 young sons.

[35 Rem]

35 Rem; Might be a coyote issue.They are rough on the population of a lot of game & critters.

That's exactly wha tI think the problem is. When i started seeing coyotes was when the groundhog numbers started to decline. Sure you can hunt coyotes but that is a totally different kind of hunting. I always liked hunting groundhogs because it was pure rifle shooting with no actual hunting involved.

[versa-06]

If a deer & a coyote were both in range at the same time, The Yote is up for a bad day. Now if the deer didn't run away We'd call that a double! Dead Yote & Meats to the house! --- Man I Love Deer Meat.

[versa-06]

Anybody here eat groundhog? & What's your favorite preparation?

[Johnch]

Anybody here eat groundhog? & What's your favorite preparation?

NW Ohio groundhogs

Young of the year till mid July cook like you would Rabbit
Adults now need to be pressure cooked to reduce the toughness
Fall adults are coated with THICK layer of fat

John

[CastingFool]

The ones I have eaten were quartered and cooked in a crock pot. They have some glands that should be removed before cooking. There are charts that show the location.

[versa-06]

I may have to try P-cooker, then smoker with S. Carolina mustard sauce, or N.Carolina Vinegar sauce, I like the taste of wood cooked food.