Yesterday was the second day I went "Hoggin" this year. I tried last week and was able to walk 100 yards in to the field. The sky was a low dark overcast and rain was forecast but had held off all day (I bet you know where this is going). I had driven by a groundhog eariler in the day feeding on clover in a neighbors yard so I figured they were out and went to my favorate hay farm. I spotted a head sticking out of the knee deep grass over two hundred yards away. He disapeared as I was setting up for the shot. I quickly moved to my right 30 yards (slightly higher ground) and set up for him to pop up again. As I looked through my binoc's I could see rain against the grass. "Is it raining" I said to my self? I don't feel any rain. Then I was hit by a soaking down burst. It felt like many buckets of water hit me all at once. Not having to run to the car to stay dry (that boat had sailed) I walked to the car, put my wet gear in the back and sat in the drivers seat wiping the water from my face with a handfull of extra paper napkins from too many fast food drive throughs. So much for the first hunt....


Yesterday the sun was shineing. The warm wind blowing just enough to be pleasent so back to the hay farm I went. The neighbors award winning cow herd was in one of the best hunting fields, and I promised him I would not hunt in the same field as the cows. So I scanned the other fields. Nothing. I walked to the top of the tallest hill to look down into the tall grass. I spotted just the top of a head in the grass. It dropped down. I have a 200 degree field of view at this spot so no reason to move around too much. 20 minutes later I spot another head looking at me with one eye. I set up my CZ 527 in 204 Ruger and put pressure on the trigger. Bang, and like the snap of the finger the head was gone. I watched for about 10 minutes then walked the 120 or so yards to the hole. The 39 grain Sierra Blitz King entered just below the jaw and exited producing a 1/2 inch exit hole. I like this bullet. It knocks them down dead. See the Picture below.

Next I walked the fields to look for new holes and checked old locations for activity. I spotted the back sides of a hog diving into his hole. I'll remember the location. The farmer told me about a chuck who moved into the barn and to "get him". So on the way back to the barn and my car I saw a head sticking out of the grass near the barn. At about 130 yards I shot. I walked up to the hole and spotted two drops of blood and what looked like a fresh piece of bone about the size of your little finger nail. The hole was big enough to stuff a soccer ball down and dropped stright down 4 feet before turning. I thought I saw the tail but I was not raised to stick my hand into a hole for a wounded animal. The farmer will tell me if the Turkey Vultures come to snack on the remains of that hole or not. But I'm pretty sure that was number two of 2009.

I hope you enjoyed this hunt as much as I did. More to follow, I hope.

I hear that!

Thanks for the story.

Way to Go, MUSH!!!

Keep after 'em!!

Bob

I enjoyed it, I enjoyed it! Nice story and good shooting. AL

Good read, GREAT shooting!!

I don't reach into the holes either. Might loose a trigger finger or something....
I have thought about some kind if grabber that could reach 4~5 feet to retrive a charlie as I don't consider it a kill if I can't recover the body.

Tigger, I feel the same way you do. If my arm is too short there is usually a piece of barbed wire lying around to fish it out.

Two years ago I shot a hog 5 feet from his hole. The blood trail was 1 inch wide from the point of impact to down the hole as far as I could see. Unless there was a trama unit down the hole waiting - Was that a kill? I know these are tough critters, and the farmer is happy that there is a carcus (down the hole) where he cannot see one - should I be happy?

I did look in the hole tonight for remains. The "tail" I saw the last time was gone and no evidence of critter could be found. The Hay is almost two feet tall now. The farmer lets me know when it is being cut. No sightings tonight.

That is a good blood trail and it's more than likely that he passed on in the hole. Sure, count it as a kill if you like. The main thing is you are helping the farmer and having fun.

Mush do you eat the groundhogs you kill? Ive heard they dont taste to bad!

RM, they taste just like chicken, marinated in poo(I don't know the correct spelling of cucka).

I think I would rather shoot them then eat them. I killed one last year that was eating my garden and placed a steel trap at the entrance of his hole and he crawled partly back in with leg in steel trap, which req. 10 shots from a .22 L.R to kill him.

I have not yet. From my friends who know how to cook groundhog, they tell me you can eat the young ones up to one year old. After that they are pretty tough and full of grissle. Some of the young ones explode with the 204 ruger under 100 yards. The old ones you have to look hard to find a bullet hole and many times no exit hole. I'm not sure my teeth are good enough to chew through the old ones.....


A 22LR needs just the right shot to kill the big ones. I used one until I got tired of chaseing them across the field shooting because they just would not die.

And yes, the farmer keeps calling me to say "go shoot the one next to the barn" or "I saw one over in the north field". But I have a standing invitation to fish in the pond, ride his quad, and pick what ever spot during deer season.....