how do they do it?

[model 12 toby]

shot another ground hog this morning. only second one I shot this year. first was 300 and this one was only 165. both made it back to their hole with massive wounds. I mean massive. one today sounded like and looked like a pumpkin exploding. blood everywhere. how in there world do they make it back? I'll never understand.

also. field I hunt consists of 400 acres of rolling. I've yet to seen one in the evening this year and shot both at the crack of dawn nearly. it's all hay fields. I find many active holes but rarely see them. I've gotten to the point I see deer, rabbits, turkeys, and birds every single trip and rarely see a ground hog. I even wear a ghillie suit and sneak around now. I've had them run from me from 600 yards away before. I've had deer walk up to me while I was in a pile of haybails and had to yell at them cause they were so close it was uncomfortable. lol. anyone have hermit ground hog like these? think I've hunted them too much in the past or something?

 

[Dogbone]

also. field I hunt consists of 400 acres of rolling. I've yet to seen one in the evening this year and shot both at the crack of dawn nearly. it's all hay fields. I find many active holes but rarely see them. I've gotten to the point I see deer, rabbits, turkeys, and birds every single trip and rarely see a ground hog. I even wear a ghillie suit and sneak around now. I've had them run from me from 600 yards away before. I've had deer walk up to me while I was in a pile of haybails and had to yell at them cause they were so close it was uncomfortable. lol. anyone have hermit ground hog like these? think I've hunted them too much in the past or something?

They've got your number. They have cell phones and communicate to each other about the bad guys. :

 

[WyleWD]

What did you hit him with? Large caliber or 223? WD

 

[model 12 toby]

6.5x47 lapua 123 a-maxes. guess I'm doing something wrong. just don't see em like I did a couple of years ago.

 

[Nomad47]

What part of the country, Toby? I got three in soybeans and two in just mowed and baled hay this evening.

 

[model 12 toby]

eastern central ohio. I always hunt the same 400 acres. killed 3 last year. probably 30 the year before. maybe I need to expand my horizons.

 

[WyleWD]

Did you ever try to shoot 95gr Vmax or 100gr NBT's out of that thing?? If so and they shoot well enough, that's what I'd try to do groundhog duty with out of a 6.5. WD

 

[Nomad47]

Sounds like you aren't too far from me, Toby. Coshocton or Guernsey county? Or further east?

Those 123s might be a tad too big for the groundhogs. I hear the 7mm 168 AMax's tend to go straight thru the 'hogs. I know the 105 AMax's are devastating on the hogs, but that is down one caliber from your gun.

I was out in the bean and alfalfa fields this morning for about 3 hours and didn't see the first 'hog. Must be the weather - there is a front moving in.

 

[model 12 toby]

The damage to them is heavy. I mean heavy. Way bigger than softball size wound out other size. Not far at all from guernsey county. Ridding out there maybe tomorrow to bank. When we going hunting? ;D I heard of them running 10 yard to their holes with no heads before. I hunted them with 162 a maxes out of 7 mag last year. Outside 300 they passed right through. Get back at me.

 

[ShaneG.]

I'll second those 95g Vmax, Shot a coyote right in the neck under his chin and it blew a hole out his back I would say larger that a softball. This was out of a 260ai.

 

[killahog]

Groundhogs that run after exploding like a pumpkin, Headless hogs running across the field. That's it I have heard enough I'm taking going to dig out my flak jacket and AR for the next trip.

 

[fr3db3ar]

Ya gots ta shoot their dang legs off to keep em from runnin. ;D

 

[model 12 toby]

oh brother

 

[chino1969]

Having hunted groundhogs for years I am still amazed at the hits they are able to sustain and still make it back to their hole. Many times they die right inside their hole but a powerful instinct keeps them alive long enough to get back. It is simply amazing.

 

[Nomad47]

Hmmm, the groundhogs in Knox County must be of a weaker strain. Over 90% of my hits die on the spot. Of the four I shot this evening, three died right where they were when I shot them, the fourth slid in the hole but he was only half out to begin with.

 

[K22]

Here's what I've learn in 40 years of hunting groundhogs:

It's the movement that spooks them - in PA we are required to wear orange hats - we stand out like a beacon but that does not spook them - it's movement.

It you happen to spook one and it runs into it's hole, just sit and be still. If it was at the beginining of it's feeding cycle - it will come out again. You can usually tell by the direction the hog is heading - if heading away from it's hole it just started feeding, if heading back - it finishing up.

Not seeing hogs in active holes in the evenings is strange. Are you sure they're active holes, i.e. evidence of digging out and one sure sign is bugs around the hole. Also, some holes may be inhabited by foxes, rabbits or skunks. With that said, I've seen some hogs prefer to have their evening meal around two and three in the afternnoon - especially those living in tree lines that have a lot of afternoon shade. If the hole is in a open field, sometimes they will come out right at dusk and sit on the hole.

I've wounded my share of hogs and hate it when I do it but I've tried to implement the following to minimize the it:

On crawlers I go for the shoulder shot - if I connect it always kills them instantly. On standers - I go for the high chest shot - alway a one shot kill.

Trouble starts when I have a poor profile for a shot, hog bobbing up and down and trying to time the shot or rushing the shot. I've leaned to be more patient so I get a good chance at a killing shot. Also, knowing my limitations and the caliber I'm using helps minimize wounding. For example - I can off my target area with 22 250 but because of it's explosive power it will usually kill the hog. If I'm off my target area with the 223 at distances beyond approx 150 yards or more it will most likely results in a wound. So I have more margin of error with the 22 250. With that said, I still prefer the 223 under 300 yards because I just shoot it better and the less noise is a factor where I hunt. I've shot the vast majority of hogs with the 223 and in the old days with the 222.

Probably more than you wanted to know - good hunting.

 

[model 12 toby]

no. that's excellent information. I just started not long ago. this is my 3rd year. I've gotten some a little over 400 and came within a foot to the left of one at 730 last year. elevation was correct. using 243. missed one today at 525 with lapua. first shot elevation looked good but was off to the right. and of course being the dumb a** I am I started messing with the windage. I got excited. got to shoot at it 2 more times and they were worse. ;D

It's strange I've shot them with a 162 a-max at 400 and beyond and the exit wound was no bigger than the entry and they fell over and never moved. god I don't miss that magnum but I do have some 110 speers I'm going to try to get to shoot and match the ballistics out to 770 yards of my lapua and mess with it once in a while. I'm going to start on a 6BR project after the election. got to see if the fossile fuel business is going to stay.

 

[lpreddick]

i also have learned a lot in my 12 yrs of hunting this varmint. field pigs are the least smart and can stand for several minutes...mistook more than one for a bush, esp when seen from the back. fence line or ditch pigs are a bit smarter and will often sit or stand inside the grass line and you often only see their face or upper body..always impresses new hunters when i see one and shoot it while they could not pick it out . barn/building ghogs are the smartest and oldest and the hardest to hunt. they will dart out, eat and dart back and you can miss them. they stay close to shelter and like to eat in the shadows. old woopiles/log piles around ne tenn, sw va almost always have inhabitants and they will climb out to sun or sleep, hugging a log and can be very hard to see. shot one once and he was the same color as the logs. i placed him back on the log, took a picture and will show to a new hunter and ask "find the ghog". if you shoot and miss, the animal will often run to a hole and STOP at the opening and stare...shoot him! they are curious. shoot a rock or fencepost near a hole and one may come out. tap two pieces of metal together might work. an oldtimer would click two silver dollars to get their attention. head and chest shots are usually instant death, but belly shots can result in the ones that walk/crawl many yards to their hole, leaving behind pieces of intestine or liver and lots of blood. they will survive as long as their heart beats and there is blood to pump. belly shots close to the spine seems to send a severe shock up the spine to the brain and shut it down. i prefer no or minimal exit wounds as this means all the bullets energy is dispensed in the animal. a dead ghog may attract another one, probably a relative. also crows or buzzards may come calling. observe and learn.

 

[K22]

One other stange behavior I've seen more than a few times is a hog climbing up on falled trees to presumably get a better view of any threats. So when scanning tree lines, do forget to scan to top of any fallen trees, you just me see a hog starring back at you.

I was out Monday evening walking to another field and spooked one back into the tree line. I sat down, waited and ten minutes later I saw him peek out of the weeks. Another five minutes elapsed and he emerged. I was 167 yards away but in full view. He simply ignored me. I nailed him with the 223.

I've witnessed the same thing as stated in Ipredick's post, a hog emerging and milling around a fallen hog. It doesn't seem to frighten them at all. However, when leaving a field and anticipating a return, I always toss fallen hogs into the bush since they will attract buzzards which do seem to deter other hogs in the area.

 

[mikecr]

I blown up many chucks with 95 & 140VLDs, legs & guts everywhere, only to have to pull the remainder of them out of a hole by their intestines..
The killinest GH cartridge I've used so far (out to 510yds) is 223 & 40-50gr bullets.
No it doesn't blow thirds of them high into the air, or leave 20ft of guts strewn out..
I have to pick em up and shake to find an entry blood spot, with no exit.

But not one chuck I've hit so far with this 223 has so much as death twitched. They just tip over, knocked out completely & internally bled to death by the time I toss them into a fenceline.
The only thing I can figure is that more energy is contained WITHIN GHs with these light little pills, instead of most of it departing with limbs. This creating a hydraulic shockwave that knocks them out instantly. Like they never even knew they were hit, tipped over with grass still in their clutches and poking out of their mouths.