You made me laugh out loud!!!!!!!!
The first time I whacked PDs in SoDak, I was amazed at the humongous amount of green goop that could come from one "widdle PD" - yuck!!
Your progression on groundhogs from earliest age to present - rifles, optics and distance
- Thread starter Nomad47
- Start date
You made me laugh out loud!!!!!!!!
The first time I whacked PDs in SoDak, I was amazed at the humongous amount of green goop that could come from one "widdle PD" - yuck!!
Parker, I don't remember any rattlesnakes! You got that coyote yet? That 20/222 you assisted on has 10 to its credit so far! Never shot a groundhog but started out on PD's with a 300 savage bolt action of all things! Hope all is well in NY and tell your daughter to get after those deer!
TheOtherZilla
Pull my finger
And how many big Elk have you killed? Prairie dawgs are a challenge cause they are at least half the size of a ground hog. But they are pretty stupid.Ya ain't hunted till ya hunted groundhogs!
snert
Silver $$ Contributor
snert
Silver $$ Contributor
You are correct...no rattlesnakes, because my guide was excellent and warned me and the lids to "watch out". Besides, I never said i had any grit. Had I seen a snake, much less had one crawl up my leg, it would not have been grit you saw, but it would have rhymed!
I have not shot that coyote, though every night they go nuts around here. I am told someone is hunting them hard but I never see them...I know theyhunt with hounds after deer season.
Paige sends her best to ya! I want photos of that 20-222 and at least one dead dog! I take it that it smaks em?
P
VaRandy -
Howdy !
As regards your comment on NE Indiana groundhog predation by coyotes...
This was a topic of discussion not too long ago @ this website.
I weighed-in that ( IMHO ) any decline in total groundhog numbers should not only be attributed to coyotes; but also the rise of
" no-till " farming. Groundhogs are involuntarily becoming " GMO's ", and this exposure to many different AG chemicals cannot be
beneficial to their health ( again, IMHO ).
For my part, if there were so many groundhogs on the coyote' hot lunch program in Allen Co. Indiana, then why were they not seen during daylight hours when groundhogs are out & active. In 30+yr of shooting groundhog, I cannot recall ever seeing a coyote on the run, going down into a ditch or up-out-of a ditch, or trying to dig out a groundhog. Not sayin' they aren't they or are not doing those things.
Just in my groundhog shooting, I did not see coyotes. Hmm....
My feeble attempts to describe the epic groundhoggin' territories found in places like Allen Co,. and Paulding Co. OH were intended to convey a sense of the sheer size and sweeping vistas of this primo area.
For a LR shooter such as yourself, my thought was that this type of area(s) could afford opportunities for one to exploit the LR capabilities
of the big guns and large optics you mentioned.
I'll demure from offering a likely head count. Better I think, to under-promise; and let the area itself deliver.
My best friend and shooting buddy lives smack dab in the heart of the East Allen CO. action, today.
He shoots all the groundhogs he sees. On Oct 30, he only got 2. However, that 2nd hog was the largest he ever shot.... 21lb !
In 40yr of shooting " Soybeanus Digestus ". And....it was only 200yd from his house, inside an embanked pistol range; on the property where he has lived for 25+yr. He grew the thing himself..... in the ditch, along his 17 acres !
So.... chemical aside, coyotes aside, past ballistic mischief aside; the area STILL holds promise to amuse, entertain; and delight !
With regards,
357Mag
Howdy !
As regards your comment on NE Indiana groundhog predation by coyotes...
This was a topic of discussion not too long ago @ this website.
I weighed-in that ( IMHO ) any decline in total groundhog numbers should not only be attributed to coyotes; but also the rise of
" no-till " farming. Groundhogs are involuntarily becoming " GMO's ", and this exposure to many different AG chemicals cannot be
beneficial to their health ( again, IMHO ).
For my part, if there were so many groundhogs on the coyote' hot lunch program in Allen Co. Indiana, then why were they not seen during daylight hours when groundhogs are out & active. In 30+yr of shooting groundhog, I cannot recall ever seeing a coyote on the run, going down into a ditch or up-out-of a ditch, or trying to dig out a groundhog. Not sayin' they aren't they or are not doing those things.
Just in my groundhog shooting, I did not see coyotes. Hmm....
My feeble attempts to describe the epic groundhoggin' territories found in places like Allen Co,. and Paulding Co. OH were intended to convey a sense of the sheer size and sweeping vistas of this primo area.
For a LR shooter such as yourself, my thought was that this type of area(s) could afford opportunities for one to exploit the LR capabilities
of the big guns and large optics you mentioned.
I'll demure from offering a likely head count. Better I think, to under-promise; and let the area itself deliver.
My best friend and shooting buddy lives smack dab in the heart of the East Allen CO. action, today.
He shoots all the groundhogs he sees. On Oct 30, he only got 2. However, that 2nd hog was the largest he ever shot.... 21lb !
In 40yr of shooting " Soybeanus Digestus ". And....it was only 200yd from his house, inside an embanked pistol range; on the property where he has lived for 25+yr. He grew the thing himself..... in the ditch, along his 17 acres !
So.... chemical aside, coyotes aside, past ballistic mischief aside; the area STILL holds promise to amuse, entertain; and delight !
With regards,
357Mag
My groundhog hunting obsession started when I was in my early teen years. I would walk about with my Marlin Model 60 loaded with CCI stingers and just about anything was fair game. Then one day walking in one of the cherry orchards adjacent to my parents home I saw my first woodchuck running and I shot him. I remember hearing the bullets hitting the critter and wondering why he wasn't slowing or dying right there? That's when I learned these critters were tough and took a good smack to kill them.
Some time passed and I found the two thing that I loved more than woodchuck hunting, booze and women. Let's just say there was little woodchuck hunting as my time seemed better served pursuing these two lol!
Along the way I got out my father/grandfather's old slide action Winchester 22 mag topped with a small Savage scope. The hunt was on again! I shot a couple with this rig and decided I had better put it up before something bad happened to it as it is a very nice gun. At that time I purchase a Marlin bolt action 22 mag and went after these critters again. A short stint of coyote hunting, varied other hobbies, and sobriety again put woodchuck hunting on the back burner. \
Then in 2009 I purchased Savage model 12 VLP in 22-250 and we went after the chucks again. Shot this gun a bit but, never fully appreciated the long range hunting until I anchored one with this same rig fitted with a McGowen 243Win barrel. Between the 243 and my 22 mag I set out to commit genocide on this species in the summer of 2013. Between myself, my cousin, and a very good friend we put a significant dent in the woodchuck population in our home town and the surrounding areas. 2014 offered some deaths but, not as many as we did a pretty good job thinning the population the year prior.
Just before Christmas 2014 my poor mother became ill and was hospitalized. Long story short she has never fully recovered. Also, as a result I found it necessary to quit smoking and become fit so as not to go the same path as my mother. So between helping take care of her and staying in shape there hasn't been much time the past couple years for woodchuck hunting but, I fully intend to "make" time this next year and give them hell again. I see the population is recovering after my hiatus and that bothers me lol!
Mike
Some time passed and I found the two thing that I loved more than woodchuck hunting, booze and women. Let's just say there was little woodchuck hunting as my time seemed better served pursuing these two lol!
Along the way I got out my father/grandfather's old slide action Winchester 22 mag topped with a small Savage scope. The hunt was on again! I shot a couple with this rig and decided I had better put it up before something bad happened to it as it is a very nice gun. At that time I purchase a Marlin bolt action 22 mag and went after these critters again. A short stint of coyote hunting, varied other hobbies, and sobriety again put woodchuck hunting on the back burner. \
Then in 2009 I purchased Savage model 12 VLP in 22-250 and we went after the chucks again. Shot this gun a bit but, never fully appreciated the long range hunting until I anchored one with this same rig fitted with a McGowen 243Win barrel. Between the 243 and my 22 mag I set out to commit genocide on this species in the summer of 2013. Between myself, my cousin, and a very good friend we put a significant dent in the woodchuck population in our home town and the surrounding areas. 2014 offered some deaths but, not as many as we did a pretty good job thinning the population the year prior.
Just before Christmas 2014 my poor mother became ill and was hospitalized. Long story short she has never fully recovered. Also, as a result I found it necessary to quit smoking and become fit so as not to go the same path as my mother. So between helping take care of her and staying in shape there hasn't been much time the past couple years for woodchuck hunting but, I fully intend to "make" time this next year and give them hell again. I see the population is recovering after my hiatus and that bothers me lol!
Mike
Oh, its more than something to enjoy. LOL. It can get quite addicting. Before I encountered some health issues, I was spending nearly 40 hours per week hunting those whistle pigs. Even though I've only shot 12 or so over the past month, I've shot 267 for the season.
Sorry to hear about health problems, hope you have everything under control. I truly enjoy hunting gh's as much as anything else. My wife says that I have no stress and I tell her its because when I sit in the field glassing, waiting and shooting, there is no news, no TV etc. just blue skies, and lush green hay fields and hopefully some gh's. This has been my second best year, currently 294, and I hope to be able to get in a few more years as I just turned 68 and so far health is good. Wish you the best.
drags
Silver $$ Contributor
I agree with you varmintshooter I hunt some farms that I just like to sit there and look at the scenery but of course I like to see a few groundhogs also. When I was in my 60's I had back problems and my goal was to try to hunt groundhogs until I was 70 but I am 75 now and I am trying to hunt groundhogs as long as I can. I finished my 58th year of groundhog hunting this year and shot 62 groundhogs. I have always started hunting after the first cutting and stop on Labor Day. Also we have groundhog shoots in SW Pa. that I enjoy shooting, I call it hunting paper groundhogs. I hunt live groundhogs with .222 .223, .204, 22-250, 22x47 Lapua rifles and hunt paper groundhogs with 6mm br and 6 dasher rifles.
Drags
I just went back to my records to check. I had 245 kills on July 27th, so just 22 in the last 7 weeks or so.
My hands are going numb after about 15 minutes of looking thru binoculars while resting my elbows on the bench. And now there is constant numbness in my ring and little fingers on my right hand. The VA Doctor thinks its carpal tunnel, but I get numbness in my legs at times as well. I think its all related, but what do I know. LOL.
Anyway, my groundhog hunting is limited to about 3 hours once or twice a week. (sigh)
My hands are going numb after about 15 minutes of looking thru binoculars while resting my elbows on the bench. And now there is constant numbness in my ring and little fingers on my right hand. The VA Doctor thinks its carpal tunnel, but I get numbness in my legs at times as well. I think its all related, but what do I know. LOL.
Anyway, my groundhog hunting is limited to about 3 hours once or twice a week. (sigh)
Sorry to hear this Bill and I pray for a speedy recovery. I might add that if it is your ring and little finger it would be cubital tunnel, where the ulna(?) nerve passes through the elbow. When I had my shoulder replaced he did both cubital and carpal tunnels. Sounds like too much time resting your elbows on the shooting bench!
Joking aside, get better soon!
Thanks, MildBill.
Wow, MrM. I think you have a correct diagnosis. To be honest, I've never heard of the cubital tunnel but it sure sounds like that is my problem. The right hand numbness has been constant for over three months, left hand is occasional.
I've got a VA appointment next Friday for an OMG (?) test. Not sure I got the letters correct, but it is a test of the nerves.
Wow, MrM. I think you have a correct diagnosis. To be honest, I've never heard of the cubital tunnel but it sure sounds like that is my problem. The right hand numbness has been constant for over three months, left hand is occasional.
I've got a VA appointment next Friday for an OMG (?) test. Not sure I got the letters correct, but it is a test of the nerves.
I wish you well, but your hand thing is not carpal tunnel.
Your problems stem from the ulnar nerve, which passes superficial to the wrist's flexor retinaculum not deep to it. The distribution of your hand's symptoms is definitive: it is an ulnar nerve issue, likely an ulnar nerve tunnel syndrome. That needs to be ruled out. The treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome is different from ulnar nerve syndrome.
Your leg problem is not related to your wrist problem.
I wish you well . . . I've known several people who have had entrapped nerves and it isn't pleasant, though many can be successfully treated.
Last edited:
This refers to entrapment of the ulnar nerve in the groove on the "body side" of the back of the elbow. That nerve, when whacked, is the so called "crazy bone."
MildBill could be correct, and I would keep this in my differential. But I'd start with the wrist and rule out an entrapment there.
In any event, it is not carpal tunnel.
My sincere apologies to Mr. Majestic. He absolutely got it right.
Thank you for correcting me.
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.