GH SHORTAGE

[Webster]

I get ripped up for some of my post. Sometimes I read someones message to quick before I respond. I hope this is a meaningful message. I E-mailed the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and asked if there was a reason for not seeing many ground hogs. Below is their response. Susie refers to changes in farming practices she didn't say what changes. I am not a farmer but I believe one big change is no till planting.

Thank you for your email. I monitor ground hog populations throughout Ohio, and I agree that their population is declining in most areas. The decline is not limited to Ohio. A similar decline is occurring throughout the Midwest. I have corresponded with biologists from neighboring states, and while coyotes may certainly be having an impact, we believe that landscape changes and changes in farming practices since the 1970s may also be playing a role. In short, it is likely more than 1 factor causing their decline and we are investigating the possibilities. We hope to have an answer soon.

Thank you for your email and your concern regarding Ohio's wildlife.

Best wishes,

Suzie

Suzanne Prange, Ph.D.
Wildlife Research Biologist
ODNR, Division of Wildlife

 

[CatShooter]

I get ripped up for some of my post. Sometimes I read someones message to quick before I respond. I hope this is a meaningful message. I E-mailed the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and asked if there was a reason for not seeing many ground hogs. Below is their response. Susie refers to changes in farming practices she didn't say what changes. I am not a farmer but I believe one big change is no till planting.

Thank you for your email. I monitor ground hog populations throughout Ohio, and I agree that their population is declining in most areas. The decline is not limited to Ohio. A similar decline is occurring throughout the Midwest. I have corresponded with biologists from neighboring states, and while coyotes may certainly be having an impact, we believe that landscape changes and changes in farming practices since the 1970s may also be playing a role. In short, it is likely more than 1 factor causing their decline and we are investigating the possibilities. We hope to have an answer soon.

Thank you for your email and your concern regarding Ohio's wildlife.

Best wishes,

Suzie

Suzanne Prange, Ph.D.
Wildlife Research Biologist
ODNR, Division of Wildlife

I won't rip you... it's a good post.

I have been to areas that haven't changed their farming practices in 100+ years, and the woodchucks are all but gone.

I think Suzy is full of meadow muffins.

 

[Webster]

I wasn't referring to you or any other particular person when I said people were ripping me up. It goes back several years. Recently I commented on something I wasn't really familiar with. I guess I shouldn't comment on something unless I am very familiar with it. But the fact is most of use are not experts most of what we know comes just from experience and talking to others. About a half year ago I mentioned that primers are supposed to be seated so that the anvils touch the bottom of the primer pockets. This is what the manufacturers recommend. I got a lot of responses that like it doesn't matter they always go off if they are a tight fit. Another example large numbers of people are convinced that brushing in both directions will damage the bore or crown. I talked to several Hall of fame BR shooters, they brush in both directions.

About a year ago I put a bronze bore brush in an electric drill and rotated it in a cutoff bore stub. I wanted to see if a bronze brush could possibly scratch a SS bore. Someone commented that based on my experiment they would never use an electric drill to clean their rifle. I don't know if he was being humorous or just didn't understand.

 

[Eddie Harren]

No till farming and ground hog hunting for 40 years in central Md. No apparent shortage of targets here. As long as the farmers plant the bait (soy beans), and the hogs come.

 

[22turborimfire]

Same here in Virginia plenty of groundhogs in Piedmont area . Last Saturday I did notice a groundhog running across a field I made 1 of those quick shots hitting the hog but not killing it hog makes it to the hole .5 seconds later out pops a coyote nose to the ground coyote went wild where i shot groundhog never connected with coyote . That was my second sighting of coyote in area alive . I've been noticing some rough looking groundhogs on no till farms vers pasture hogs .Does this round up have any affect?

 

[Webster]

A steady diet of Roundup cannot be a healthy diet. There has to be a reason for so few GH. Last year I found a farm with several highly populated hay fields. I could cover three fields from one sitting location. I shot 6 in about 1.5 hours. There was at least three I didn't get. It's a difficult field to hunt because of the terrain and the mix of tall corn and hay. The farmer usually isn't home to get required in Ohio written permission.

 

[Ohio Varmint Shooter]

North central Ohio seems to be lacking quite a bit for groundhogs. I think Nomad47 here on the forum hunts 2 counties over from me, and he's very successful, but locally here....they're few and far between. Several of the farmers say they just don't see them as often.

 

[Nomad47]

I have shot 45 since arriving in Ohio on June 10. I guess you could say I am blessed to be in a groundhog rich area of the state.
But to respond to Webster, besides coyotes being hard on the groundhog population, so are some of the farmers. One farmer who won't let me shoot them on his farms gasses them. Two of my farmers use connibear traps. These are set over the hole and any groundhog entering or leaving the hole gets nailed. They set their traps on any hole they discover in their fields. So on their farms I am left with fence row, water course, and new arrivals. Ten of my kills have come from their farms, so they don't get them all.

Also of note, I would have a much higher total at this point in time but I was busy last week tweaking loads for a long range steel competition this past weekend.

 

[MQ1]

I grew up in Ohio, and have hunted groundhogs there for most of my adult life.

For the past 10 years I've lived in California, and make it home once every summer to spend time with family, and to hog hunt a day or so with my brother.

I just went yesterday to a group of fields near Bowling Green, and I can tell you that the hunting is the same as last year, and the year before, and the same as 10 years ago. Same basic den areas, approximately same number of hogs.

These ones are off the beaten path a bit, meaning you can't just drive up your truck, pull out your lawn chair, and plink away. You're going to hike about a mile or so, and then settle in with the ticks and wait.

I've seen no more coyote sign than I've seen in the past, and as typical, a half dozen deer walked within 50 yards of our setup.

I would be curious to learn if groundhogs have a population cycle that is similar to rabbits...distinct and predictable periods of growth and decline. That tied with some more local coyote pressure, and possibly some other localized environmental factors, and I think a decline could be better understood.

But based on my completely unsophisticated and unscientific observations, I don't notice much decline in the hard to hunt areas that I've hunted over the past 25 years.

FWIW,

MQ1

P.S. We shot a couple yesterday, nothing extreme...one at 125, another at 200, and one missed at 425. All with a 17 Remington. Man it is good to be home!

 

[357Mag]

Webster -

Yes, yes... I quite agree.

Not only Roundup, but perhaps also Prowl, Lorsban, Amiben; Treflan... take your pic.

I DK what chemical exactly... famers typically use for " burn-down " of vegetation; in-prep for " no till " farming.
Got some on me once, and it burned my skin on-contact like crazy.

And, as ODNR eluded to.... the increase in coyote presence over the past 30+ yr also plays a role.
Indiana has been seeing a decrease in groundhog numbers, like neighboring Ohio has.

Perhaps the future may bring increased use of more "green/greener" compounds ?


With regards,
357Mag

 

[WyleWD]

I'm not convinced that Roundup and the other current labeled herbicides are the culprit for the reduction of groundhogs. Roundup is not used in alfalfa, clover, crown vetch, etc and there is no difference in population between those fields and the soybean fields. Also, before one can market a herbicide it goes through an extremely vigorous environmental impact study that can last several years.

Having hunted groundhogs for 52 years now.... the groundhogs in most of Ohio began declining when the coyotes showed up. It may be a coincidence.... but. WD

 

[ShaneG.]

I have been noticing a little bit of increase here in central Indiana. Most seem to be hanging out in the roadside ditches. I did shoot a young one last week as it was headed to the farmers barn. Got another digging under his new barn right down the road but ain't seen the bugger out yet. We been hunting yotes pretty hard here the last few years but doubt we even put any kinda dent in population. Hopefully they keep multiplying, the farmers ain't gonna like it though.

 

[Webster]

I would like to try hunting coyotes. Evenings,afternoons and dusk are the only time I can get out. Sunup impossible. How do you set up and call to get them?

 

[K22]

Here in eastern PA, hunting ghogs has become more difficult each succeeding year starting back about 4 years ago. I use to see anywhere from 10 to 15 every time I went out hunting. Now, I'm lucky to see one, three is a great day.

Here I think its more of an access problem that due to a decline in population although the latter may be happening also. The reason is that the farmers are planting more corn and winter wheat than hay or alfapha, the latter a favorite food of the ghogs. A lot of the farmer are getting out of dairy farming and going to higher cash crop grain farming. Corn seems to be the crop of choice around here.

I've lost six fields over the last 4 years due to these changes. Even where they are planting hay, they are planting in strips between corn/wheat strips making it very difficult to hunt with a rifle or to achieve any long distance shots. I have no interest in shooting them at anything under 100 yards and much prefer longer distances.

I always thought I'd loose this past time to over development but it's been the change in farming that has cost me the most. I have a whole safe full of varmint rifles that appear doomed to collect dust.

 

[mr45man]

When i was hunting G hogs on my farm and several others,
i would never hunt till the pups were out of the den and foraging on there own.Usually after the first cut of hay.
John H.

 

[22turborimfire]

It's nice to not hunt until the litter is on its own but farmers will find someone else if you arent doing the job .Oh I enjoy the smaller targets and the numbers but I dont want to loose the land I have now . He has people chomping at the bit to hunt this ground . Ive averaged 75 + groundhogs a year from just 1 of his farms.

 

[WyleWD]

It's nice to not hunt until the litter is on its own but farmers will find someone else if you arent doing the job .Oh I enjoy the smaller targets and the numbers but I dont want to loose the land I have now . He has people chomping at the bit to hunt this ground . Ive averaged 75 + groundhogs a year from just 1 of his farms.

AMEN to the above post.... and now that soybeans are quite high in price... the farmers have begun to trap them, bomb them, and use those propane blasters to remove them from their fields. WD

 

[Trapper243]

Webster
I have seen some pretty wild swings in rodent populations, though I am nowhere near ground hog populations. The closest thing here being marmots. Habitat always plays a role and predation is always a possibility, but the real wild card is disease. If I were trying to figure it out I would be tempted to least do a little blood work. If you have access to predators or scavengers you could do the same with them. They may not be infected with anything but they may have positive blood titer for things they were exposed to and that would help. Next thing I would take a hard look at would be parasite loads with an eye out for anything exotic.

 

[SnakeEye]

I have hunted pigs for 50 years now and from observations , farming practices such as crop rotatations and working up ground that has large populations works on em big time. Changes in crops that they normaly feed on hurts too. The rest are taken out by yotes. As for chemicals being used, I say no, unless they are being gassed in the hole. I have noticed a slight up tick here where it has rained a lot which causes more vegetation to grow for food and cover. In a few places I have seen a slight up tick where the yotes have been trapped or shot on a regular bases. It has been very disappointing to hunt em the last few years...no targets...no fun! ;D

www.varmintsforfun.com

 

[22turborimfire]

In no waydo I imply that roundup ready beans kills but I do believe the chemicials used causes skin and coat fur issues .I hunt large farms in my area where there is beans with no till the fur on these groundhogs are very poor with some that look like hunks of fur missing .Now the groundhogs in hayfields do not display the fur and skin issues. I have been following this for more than a couple of years . I do know this farm is ran by 2 brothers the youngest diagnosed with cancer 6-7 years ago to this day he claims it could have been the chemicials used and he will not touch them now.