66 American Shooting Journal // August 2019
and badgers that prey on them. A
smart groundhog will have more than
one burrow to escape to, as all the
predators know they are delicious.
In late August the maturing young
begin digging practice holes near
the den before leaving home to start
their own lives. Because they are slow
runners, the smart groundhog is never
far from a hole. Those that venture far
tend to get eaten, and they know that.
THE PREFERRED METHOD IS
to stake out an area and pick them
off from a distance after locating
their holes. While a .22 will suffice
for expert shooters, a larger caliber
with good shot placement is
recommended, for these are tough
animals that can easily escape to their
holes to die where you cannot retrieve
your hard-won dinner. The .30
carbine and .223 are about ideal when
used with fast-expanding bullets.
Any and every gun has been
successfully used over the years,
you like for long range shooting.
Groundhogs notice movement
and keeping still is the way to be
unobserved. If they do see you and
you become still, they may soon go on
about their business. Move only when
their head is down feeding or they are
otherwise distracted. Go slowly, softly
and quietly. While wary, they are
vegetarians and thus have to eat a lot.
That overriding priority means that
they are soon back about the serious
business of eating so they will have
enough fat to get through hibernation
in the lean, cold months of winter. If
you scare one and he darts into his
hole, he will likely be back inside of 15
minutes, so sit tight and wait him out.
Change your position while he is in
the hole because that is the first place
he will look when he first peeps out.
They are also curious animals. If
an unusual noise is occurring nearby
they will often pop out of their holes
for a look. Music (but not talk radio)
played a safe distance away from the
hole so they do not feel threatened by
the noise or even a swinging gong .22
target being rung can work to draw
them out. Do not shoot until they are
completely out of the hole. They will
not come all the way out if the strange
noise is very close to them. Music
should be soothing, low volume, and
nonthreatening to inspire curiosity
and not apprehension. Stealth works
better, though, and is a lot less trouble.
Just wait. The hungry varmint will
soon come out if he is in that hole.
Groundhogs can also be
successfully stalked. I have done so
and gotten within 20 feet of them but
you had better be good at this game
if you expect success by this method.
They have a very keen sense of smell
so wind direction is always important.
GROUNDHOGS BREED IN MARCH
and April and the female rears the
young by herself. The pups are mature
and able to be out on their own by
the end of August, so hunting them
between March and the end of
August may leave young to starve to
death in the den. Unless you are out
to exterminate this food source, you
should not hunt during these months
including shotguns and pistols. We
aren’t talking big game here. The trick
is to kill these tough little whistlepigs
instantly before they can make a
dash for their holes. Head shots are
preferred and anything outside of a
perfect head or chest hit will generally
result in a lost meal, a situation that I
would rather avoid.
This is a good time to practice
game shooting with big bore guns.
While a .577 3-inch Nitro Express
may be overkill on steroids (to say
nothing of the cost of that cartridge!),
it is good practice with the gun you
will be staking your life on if you hunt
dangerous game. After all, you are
also out here to have fun and this is
one game animal that you can use
anything on!
Because of the proximity of the
quarry to its holes, you can shoot these
at long range or short range, whatever
type of shooting you like. You can stalk
them or set up blinds at short range, or
you can position yourself as far away as
Best bet is to set up
near groundhog dens
and watch for animals
to emerge to feed on
plants. Author Jim
Dickson recommends only
shooting when they’re
well away from the safety
of their burrow to ensure
you recover your prize.
(FOTOREQUEST)