Question for you ground hog. __________________ Hunters
- Thread starter NDAR15MAN
- Start date
Beans and alfalfa fields. Mornings and late afternoons are best but pasture pigs feed all day especially after the newborn arrive. They stay close to there dens with the young but feed on and off all day. Wasn't aware Iowa had much of a ground hog population. Michigan isnt a great place to hunt them but Ohio, Pennsylvania and the Virginia's are exceptional. Having family in West Virginia works out very nicely. Ohio is another go to state although residents are saying there on a down hill slide population wise. I think they are like alot of species where populations go up and down.
snert
Silver $$ Contributor
Mornings, if I get up, and until mid afternoon when it gets to hot and i go to the nearby seafood place for lunch, then back at it till dark. Alfalfa if I can find it, cow pastures second, hayfields third. Soybean fields here are sadly empty of them for some reason.
I like setting up, sitting in one spot, so farms with big hills make best backstops for what i like to do
I like setting up, sitting in one spot, so farms with big hills make best backstops for what i like to do
WyleWD
Silver $$ Contributor
Mornings till around 10am, evenings between 4 and sunset are usually the best times. The best fields are Alfalfa, clover, or soybean fields and if those fields border a creek, railroad track, stump piles, or levee that is a plus.
Here in Central Ohio they disappeared when the coyotes showed up. Earlier this spring I saw the first one in 15 years or more on our farm. Dad used to get 80-150 a year back in the 70's and 80's and we still had them all over the place. There are a few counties in eastern Ohio that have some fair populations in pockets here and there. But nothing like they used to be. WD
Here in Central Ohio they disappeared when the coyotes showed up. Earlier this spring I saw the first one in 15 years or more on our farm. Dad used to get 80-150 a year back in the 70's and 80's and we still had them all over the place. There are a few counties in eastern Ohio that have some fair populations in pockets here and there. But nothing like they used to be. WD
Like many others said, AM and late PM, usually after 4:00 PM is best time although you can see them all day long but they are more abundant in early AM and late PM.
Tree lines that border alfalfa, clover, and soybean fields are great places to watch especially if the farmer rotates crops year to year and the ghogs can't get holes established in those fields.
Tree lines that border alfalfa, clover, and soybean fields are great places to watch especially if the farmer rotates crops year to year and the ghogs can't get holes established in those fields.
Here's the thing tho. When you arrive at your ghog hunt grounds, sit down with a pair of binos and just glass and glass looking for Bare dirt areas near higher spots in the fields. Watch edges. Edges of beans, fencelines, creeks, woods etc. Keep glassing because they aren't like prairie dogs that pop up all the time. They feed much more than they are up. They stay relatively close to there burrows. Prepare and take your time on your shot because unless there a half mile away on the first shot, you may not see him again for a couple hours if you miss him on that first shot. It's going to take you a while to get the knack of glassing for hours just for a couple shots. It's like hunting much more than shooting tho. You'll spend many hours glassing and only minutes on the trigger.
civil82
Gold $$ Contributor
This could be a reason for increased activity after a rain:
"Ernest Thompson Seton wrote that so far as he knew, the groundhog does not drink water but, like the rabbit, satisfies the need for liquid with juices of food-plants, aided by their sprinkling with rain or dew.[18] Schoonmaker said it is possible groundhogs enjoy the rain water that clings to plants because so far as he was able to determine, groundhogs do not drink and it seemed the juices of plants supplied the needed liquid."
I have never seen one directly consume water, but did see one swin across a shallow pond several years ago. Neat creatures.
This is correct , that's why I posted after a rain.
6MMsteve
Gold $$ Contributor
if you can scout the fields set up for multiple shots if you can, Walk the fence rows mark the holes then go back to your vantage point and wait. Late afternoon or early morn is best but early spring they are out all day. Always be safe make sure your shooting into a hill that's why you walk the fields and find a good vantage point, be safe and have fun. If you get lucky most farmers know every hole and they will gladly point you in the right direction just be safe watch your lines.
ND -
Howdy !
IMHO - The NE Indiana " Soybeanus Digestus " that I've shot/shot at, seemed to prefer early soybeans over Alf Alfa, Broam grass, Bird'sfoot Treefoil, and even flowering Clover.... given a straight-up side-by-side choice.
As the beans mature, it's a bit harder to determine whether hogs are still as active in the beans; while it remains comparatively easy to see them on second and third cutting hay fields.
I've seen them eat corn, tree bark; grass. They give them all a try.
You might see groundhogs out @ any time during the daylight.... including pre-dawn and dusk.
IMHO - They often sit out the worst heat of the day. For whatever reason, I probably had the majority of my engagements in the late afternoon, and especaily into the immediate pre- and post- sunset time.
The same time of day God walked w/ Adam & Eve in " the Garden "..... " in the cool of the evening ".
With regards,
357Mag
Howdy !
IMHO - The NE Indiana " Soybeanus Digestus " that I've shot/shot at, seemed to prefer early soybeans over Alf Alfa, Broam grass, Bird'sfoot Treefoil, and even flowering Clover.... given a straight-up side-by-side choice.
As the beans mature, it's a bit harder to determine whether hogs are still as active in the beans; while it remains comparatively easy to see them on second and third cutting hay fields.
I've seen them eat corn, tree bark; grass. They give them all a try.
You might see groundhogs out @ any time during the daylight.... including pre-dawn and dusk.
IMHO - They often sit out the worst heat of the day. For whatever reason, I probably had the majority of my engagements in the late afternoon, and especaily into the immediate pre- and post- sunset time.
The same time of day God walked w/ Adam & Eve in " the Garden "..... " in the cool of the evening ".
With regards,
357Mag
Same here - one of my best hunts - there were everywhere - not sure it was wise with lightening in the area but couldn't resist.
That is true, and why you will see them out after a rain or drizzle.
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