Weird question about WoodChuck psychology???

[CatShooter]

OK, right off, I'll say this is a weird thought, but it's not my fault - blame MrMajestic, and his thread, "New trick for Chucks, maybe?"

Here's my thought. Dogs can be very territorial. When I was younger (in my mischievous teens), I discovered that if you made a cardboard cutout of a dog (sideways profile) and put it 50 or 100 feet from a house with a defensive dog, it would make the defensive dog think it's home might be under threat, and they will go nutz to defend their terrtory... (Don't ask me how I know that, but you just had to be there at the time).

Have any of you guys seen woodchucks do defensive behavior when they saw another woodchuck near it's home territory?

Here's what I was thinking... If you had a cardboard cutout of a standing woodchuck, a BIG ONE... and you stood it somewhere that a difficult 'chuck was holed up, that maybe when the chuck saw it's enemy, it would also stand tall to defend it''s home territory... and keep standing there, being bad assed until it got clobbered by a few grains of copper, zink, and lead.

Any thoughts??

 

[Minesweeper3433]

There is only one way to find out.

 

[markr]

I have indeed witnessed a Marmotas Monax defend his "territory" from stragglers that have sniffed the essence of love. This one was more of a pet than anything else, but he had a nice harem living close to his den that was under an old barn. A young male came over from several hundred yds away "downwind" to check out the possibility of a quickie...and got his ass whipped real good by the local admistration. The fight reminded me of bear fights that you see on TV.

 

[dtucker]

I think that is a great idea. I think i would draw a mustache under the nose and attach 2 small toy revolvers and see what happens ;D All kidding aside, you never know until you try, strange things do happen and work out of the blue.

 

[MrMajestic]

Now if we could just get Fox-Pro to release a call to lure them out of their burrow! Lets us know how your deke works. As stated, they are a feisty animal!

 

[CatShooter]

Now if we could just get Fox-Pro to release a call to lure them out of their burrow! Lets us know how your deke works. As stated, they are a feisty animal!

It will be a while until I can try it, but it IS on the "Projects short list".

I have heard (but cannot verify) that playing the sounds of song birds works to make chucks feel that all is safe and they will come out of their burrow - anyone else hear that??

 

[jerrschmitt]

Back when my grandson was little, he wanted to go deer hunting with me. He couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes so I rigged up a bird feeder in the tree next to my stand a few weeks before season. The deer got use to the birds and squirels in the feeder and didn't notice him squirming around.

Perhaps a decoy with some sunflower seeds scattered around it.

 

[40X Guy]

Anybody ever take a thick blade of grass and while holding it between your thumbs blow thru them? Makes them stand up and look around. I have tried this a few times when one is just crawling around and the grass is 6 inches or so tall.

Frank

 

[VooDooMagic]

How many times have you been watching a field with several dens and finally had one come out, shoot that one and very soon after had others come out as if it see what the commotion was? After experiencing this a couple of times as a youngster hunting them with a .22, sometimes I'd shoot a "calling shot" after growing impatient and quite often it seemed to work...

 

[Minesweeper3433]

Curiosity killed the cat or was it dog?

 

[lpreddick]

i too have fired a fouler shot into the ground,tree, rock and often curosity takes over and out comes mr curious. i have also missed one with the bullet hitting a rock or ground beyond the hole, only to see a ghog come out and stand looking in the direction of the sound of the bullet impact! drove a stick into the ground on the other side of a ghog hole in tall grass and is less than 30 min ,one came out and stood up to stare at the stick...bad move. i was going to have a 14 lb harvest from last year stuffed standing up and take him to the field. two problems.. cost ($300) and surely some dumb-ss woud see it and blow it away. i'm constantly looking for a stuffed childs toy-ghog lookalike which might certainly attract coyotes. do they make ghog sex hormone mating type stuff to spray on something? [/quote] if i can see you, i can touch you. BANG!

 

[K22]

I've been hunting them for 40 years and seen many of strange things. Several years ago I was hunting with a pistol (357 magnum, Model 27 S&W). I was quite good with it then before my eye sight and eye - hand coordination went south. Anyway I shot at one, about 30 yards away and missed. He ran into a nearby hole about ten yards away. I walked over to the hole figuring the game is over for that one but then I heard squealing and scratching. To my utter amazement the silly hog came backing out of the hole. I just stood there stunned, he saw me then ran into a tree line. A few moments latter another head popped out, looked at me and dropped back down into it's hole.

I concluded that the hog I shot at and missed, in a panic ran into the wrong hole.

I've never seen any other type of territorial behavior in my many years of hunting them but it stands to reason that it probably exists, especially during mating season. I doubt that a big old male would let a smaller young male mate on a female that the old guy was set on. I've seen them feed together, several yards apart, without any conflict but that was always after mating season.

 

[hogpatrol]

There's a bunch of Punxatawney Phil stuffed toys that may work. Rub some dead groundhog stink on 'em & give 'em a shot. http://www.groundhogstuff.com/shop/Plush_and_Toys/index.htm Hog

 

[CatShooter]

There's a bunch of Punxatawney Phil stuffed toys that may work. Rub some dead groundhog stink on 'em & give 'em a shot. http://www.groundhogstuff.com/shop/Plush_and_Toys/index.htm Hog

Good thinking. Now, if it could sing "I'm all right"

 

[Frankr]

groundhog/woodchuck/dirt pig/whistle pig all the same varmit..

weird'est thing i ever seen one do is eat another dead hog that i just shot like a half hour before.. i guess thats where the dirt pig name comes from, they will eat anything.

You are to whistle at them to get em to stand up. i guess thats where the name whistle pig comes from.
I have tryed it (whistle) to get them to stand up, not sold that it works but it has on occasion.

woodchuck, as i have learned on TV here lately that they like to chuck fire wood into the lake..thats one of my favorite commercials.

 

[chino1969]

Groundhogs never cease to amaze me. I've been hunting them for quite awhile and groundhog season is one of the annual rites of spring. I'm usually out in early spring looking for fresh dirt to signify an active burrow. The next step is working my shots out by shooting the position I'll be setting up at with a laser range finder. The holes are marked with surveyor tape and/or flags. Young soybean fields are a magnet for hogs and farmers are only too glad to have a hunter cull their fields. I've shot hogs from 50 yds. with a walk around rimfire to over 400 yds. using an assortment of rifles. The ability for a hog to suffer a solid shot and make it back to it's hole has always astounded me. Most times they will die right inside their hole but yet that last ounce of energy is spent crawling back.

 

[CatShooter]

Groundhogs never cease to amaze me. I've been hunting them for quite awhile and groundhog season is one of the annual rites of spring. I'm usually out in early spring looking for fresh dirt to signify an active burrow. The next step is working my shots out by shooting the position I'll be setting up at with a laser range finder. The holes are marked with surveyor tape and/or flags. Young soybean fields are a magnet for hogs and farmers are only too glad to have a hunter cull their fields. I've shot hogs from 50 yds. with a walk around rimfire to over 400 yds. using an assortment of rifles. The ability for a hog to suffer a solid shot and make it back to it's hole has always astounded me. Most times they will die right inside their hole but yet that last ounce of energy is spent crawling back.

Me too! I started shooting them a looooong time ago, mostly cuz there were a pest to neighboring farmers, and a challenging target.

But over the years, I have come to admire their tenaciously stubborn approach to life.

 

[Dogbone]

I have heard (but cannot verify) that playing the sounds of song birds works to make chucks feel that all is safe and they will come out of their burrow - anyone else hear that??

Sat over this hole for the longest time, but the hog never came out. Pretty sure it was because the darn catbird would not stop squalking at me. If hogs are anything like other prey animals, they key in on the sounds around them. ???

 

[lpreddick]

an "oldtimer" told me he would use a 22 revolver to hunt ghogs. he would see one, walk staight at him until the ghog got nervous and went in his hole. he would walk past the hole a few feet and sit down and wait. after awhile the pig would emerge and look directly in the direction of his last threat...his back to the man with the gun and, bang. i'v been told that coyotes have been seen doing the same thing. also told of a coyote slowly approaching a ghog while his buddy circled behing the unlucky meal to be. [/quote] if i can see you, i can touch you. BBANG!

 

[VaRandy]

OK, right off, I'll say this is a weird thought, but it's not my fault - blame MrMajestic, and his thread, "New trick for Chucks, maybe?"

Here's my thought. Dogs can be very territorial. When I was younger (in my mischievous teens), I discovered that if you made a cardboard cutout of a dog (sideways profile) and put it 50 or 100 feet from a house with a defensive dog, it would make the defensive dog think it's home might be under threat, and they will go nutz to defend their terrtory... (Don't ask me how I know that, but you just had to be there at the time).

Have any of you guys seen woodchucks do defensive behavior when they saw another woodchuck near it's home territory?

Here's what I was thinking... If you had a cardboard cutout of a standing woodchuck, a BIG ONE... and you stood it somewhere that a difficult 'chuck was holed up, that maybe when the chuck saw it's enemy, it would also stand tall to defend it''s home territory... and keep standing there, being bad assed until it got clobbered by a few grains of copper, zink, and lead.

Any thoughts??

If you set up a large woodchuck cutout in a field, a slob hunter would stop on the road and shoot. Yes, we have slob hunters and not just for deer.