I shot a groundhog and hit it well but it wasnt more than ten yards from its hole. i got a clean pass through (snuffer) so it had no trouble entering its hole and of course its still in there.
What are some ways to get that thing out. i shot it about a half hour ago and i know its dead.
any help would be greatly appreciated!
thanks, John
Start Digging Maybe?? :clapper: :archer2:
Why you want it out?
Gonna mount it?
no but id like to recover it just for the sake of getting it. i guess its already buried though!
I have left many already buried. This will be your easiest option. If you are full of energy try and dig him out but I am sure you can think of better things to do!!!!
My dad always told me you could get a strand of barbed wire, run it down the hole, and twist it around. It will catch in the groundhog's hair, then you can drag him out.
I never really had the need to try it, but it sounds like a good idea.
I hunted ground hogs for years before I moved to the south. I have lost many down the holes. The holes can be very deep. It is probably a waste of time to try to dig it out. The only instant kill I ever got on one was I hit in the ear, thru the brain and out the other side. That one dropped dead. Many dozens of others always ran for the hole after being hit. If it is a pass thru, they usually make it into their hole.
we use to use a slim green limb with a small fork on the end for twisting in the hair/hide of game in holes. gotta take your time and not pull to hard to fast. we always had a dog near by on ground hogs and other critters that size. made things interesting to say the least.
I know a tree rat twisted on the end of a green stick can be a handful.
dang' reading what I just typed takes me back to a VERY, VERY special time. folks just don't enjoy the woods like we did growing up. if it went up, we brought it down....if it went underground, we dug it out, if it ran we chased it and, WE ATE IT ALL. LOL
One thing to consider, kill a female now, ya probably kill a den full of little ones too.... Just saying...
Put that barbed wire on the end of a plummers snake. Hap
I know a fellow whose farm we used to hunt on who went after one with a three gallon can of gas and a match. Ended up opening a series of trenches, putting a lot of dirt in the air and losing his eyebrows. No woodchuck (or at least it didn't land on his property).
He was a hoot. Had terrible teeth so his family collected a bunch of cash to present to him to get them fixed. He used the money for an elk hunt and had a huge rack he proudly displayed on the side of the house.
I do miss him.
Sadly, you will lose woodchuck with a bow. At least we always did. At least you don't have to bury them. ;)
QuoteOne thing to consider, kill a female now, ya probably kill a den full of little one too.... Just saying...
And that is a good thing for me.
With regard to A.S.'s comment concerning the barbed wire. In the very early 70's my dad hooked me up with a back woodsmans from a place called Panther, KY. This gentleman slammed on the brakes one time as we were driving at night and jumped out of the truck, ran and grabbed a oppossum, dropped it in a sack and tossed in in the truck bed, jumped back in the truck and we proceeded on. We were taken by all this and he just drove off as if nothing unusual happened.
While squirrel hunting with him, we saw a couple of squirrels dive into a narrow hollow log. He cut a piece of barbed wire and cranked out the two squirrels. We ended up getting both of them. I am still amazed nearly 40 yards later.
He accomplished the aforementioned as simply as eating a boloney sandwhich.
Ground hog holes go really deep and have multiple passages. It would be a miracle to get it out if you ask me.
I shot them with a stick bow as a young teen growing up in Pa. If you know the holes well watch the chuck as it feeds and try to put the sneak on it so you end up between the chuck and his hole. Not always easy to do. With you between the chuck and his hole you will buy yourself an extra couple seconds after the arrow hits. And wear work boots. As said...they often have multiple holes. Geeze...I loved stalking them. I still remember my first one with a stick bow. Bow was a 50 lb Dammon Howatt high speed. Shot the chuck at about 8-10 yards with a field point right in the back of the head. I think I was 12. I still remember the orange dipped wood arrows I had. I have a pic of one I shot during a break taking high school senior exams. Stalked right up to it. At a few yards it dawned on me it was sleeping. Very odd. Out in the open on the mound by his hole. Shot it at about a yard. They were "Ground Grizlies" and I might as well have been in costal Alaska. As a kid wanting to be like my boyhood mentors I read about, woodchucks provided me with plenty of stalking opportunities and stick bow action.
Do not overlook eating them. They are great! We had "Grammys groundhog roast" every summer. She made them with a shake and bake type preparation. Really good! Holy crap...I have redneck roots...proud of it to!
The Magnus Blunt was designed with the intent of cutting down on lost groundhogs and rockchucks. Works great too with bows of 50# plus.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/GroundhogMagnusblunt.jpg)
As with anything, arrow placement is key.
Well, I was going to say "bowfishing rig," but that Magnus blunt looks pretty well suited too. - John
They are tough critters. I got lucky and made a head shot on one with a judo when I didn't know well enough to use broadheads on them.
I would say forget about the one down yonder and go shoot another!
QuoteWith regard to A.S.'s comment concerning the barbed wire. In the very early 70's my dad hooked me up with a back woodsmans from a place called Panther, KY. This gentleman slammed on the brakes one time as we were driving at night and jumped out of the truck, ran and grabbed a oppossum, dropped it in a sack and tossed in in the truck bed, jumped back in the truck and we proceeded on. We were taken by all this and he just drove off as if nothing unusual happened. While squirrel hunting with him, we saw a couple of squirrels dive into a narrow hollow log. He cut a piece of barbed wire and cranked out the two squirrels. We ended up getting both of them. I am still amazed nearly 40 yards later. He accomplished the aforementioned as simply as eating a boloney sandwhich.
You don't forget good stuff like that :thumbsup:
They are a tuff critter, hit one mid ship and they are lost. With that said they are a nuisance animal and gone is good, although I have been told the young ones are good eating. Maybe someone with more experience will chime in with a recipe.
MMMMM! Ground Chuck :bigsmyl:
Still trying to get one. Not as many here as there used to be.
Now that you mention that, I believe you're correct. I have only seen one in six years on my property . . . and I scan the gardens and grounds every morning. Fields are larger, seldom left fallow, and farm equipment heavier to clear away ground snags and I don't think the 'chucks find the homey spots like they used to.
Haven't tried a Magnus Blunt on a chuck. They're bad medicine on bunnies.
When they run down the hole on their own it saves you the trouble of stuffing them in later.
Hunting sod poodles with a stickbow is about the most fun you can have without getting hurt!
Had only two that didn't run after taking punishment from a large snuffer. One was a head shot and one was a feeding head-on full length body shot. I wonder if whistle pigs are somehow related to turkeys.
Sod Poodles??
Oh, Mr. Lohr! :laughing:
Grandad used to cut a willow switch about 4' long and shove down the hole and then we'd folow the stick shoveling, but like said above, if'n you killed it, you ate it!
Get all 6 glands off them and they really aren't bad table fare.
Yep, throw a couple smoke bombs in a hole, cover it up and you will be surprised. Smoke with come out other holes you would never believe are connected. We did that growing up and had "hogs of the earth" running everywhere. Scared the heck out of a couple kids.
i shot one a few years ago and luckily my arrow didnt pass completely thru... he couldnt make it in the hole all the way. right as i got my second arrow in him...he had just chewed the first xx75 2020 in two!! tough critters and can be dangerous when hurt and cornered.
This thread is making me want to watch 'Caddyshack' again. :bigsmyl:
I woundn't worry with it myself.....
I have eaten groundhog before and it was pretty good. We ate plenty of rabbit, squirrel and raccoon also. A buddy and I once did "Shake and Bake" an opossum...not so good and a big mistake for our dates, needless to say the girls weren't impressed. We should have tried it once, before we made that meal. If we killed it or trapped it, we generally tried to eat it, except for skunks and then possums. We still laugh about it though.
Get some C4 and shape the charges like Mr. Bunny & Mrs. Squirrel, this way they won't scare the Whistle pig family. Drop them down each hole and wait for tomorrows golf tourny.
Or you could just call Bill Murray, Dan Akroid and Ted Baxter.
Might want to call Ted's neice also.
'A modified bowfishing rig for ground carp'
Be careful what you ask for if using a line.
I had one person who tried the Judo grabbers on the shafts behind the head in an attempt to stop pass through. Even if you don't get a pass through, they still break the arrow when they get to the hole. The shafts can't take the pressure of the chuck diving into the hole. Best chance is to take them as far away from the hole as possible.
They are tough critters. Had one treed one time, emptied my quiver and it looked more like a porcupine when it reached its hole...8^) Never did retrieve any of my arrows.
I rely on swap meets to supply my groundhog ammo. Cheap wood or aluminum arrows and whatever broadhead I can get.
My best swap meet purchase was at the Baltimore Classic. I got 36 Bodkin 3-blades for only $5. That was 5 years ago and I only have two left. I also was given a couple dozen assorted screw in broadheads, mostly Muzzys.
Most hits take the arrow down the hole so I use the cheapest stuff I can find.
Sorry if this is a duplicate.
I have tried everything under the sun to keep those little buggers from getting down their holes.
Broadheads always pass through allowing them to get down their holes, and judos usually stun them, but not enough to keep them from getting down their holes unless you hit them in the head.
I've found that my Groundhog set-up is this:
2 field points
2 broadheads
2 judos
I always take the first shot with the field point. It shish-kabobs them, usually leaving 6 - 8 inches of shaft on either end. This "usually" prohibits them from getting down their hole. Then a quick follow-up shot at the mouth of their hole can be made with the judo or a broadhead.
I've had them take my arrows down their holes with them, but a majority of them just can't get down the hole with shaft on either side of their bodies. Plan on a bent arrow for the field point first shot. They excert a lot of force trying to bend your arrow to get down the hole.
Hope that helps.
Matt
I gotta den on my property and wide assortment of old arrows and broadheads.Sounds like fun to me.I also got a buddy who will eat anything.Curious to see what he'll do if I kill one.
There is one consideration that offers a possibility of greatly reducing a ground carp's swim to the hole.
Don't shoot me and cry heresy before reading the following suggestion. I had contemplated taking a mechanical 2 3/4"- 3 blade Tomahawk and securing the blades in the open position. Tuning would be paramount as well as the over-all arrow design to be effective.
While I only use fixed blade heads, I am fully aware of the damage these 2 3/4"- 3 blades inflict. This set-up,if feasible, would yield a Slash Factor 88% greater than the big Snuffer.
May be the end of ground carp tail walking.
Friend has a pretty good idead working there. I like it.