Goundhog hunting tips

[Withee355]

Well I smoked 3 of them to day before and right after rain today

[SharpShooter88]

I seen like 4 more today while sitting on my girlfriends front porch looking at the farmer mowing down a field yesterday....these aren't critters they are super critters....they just seem to disappear as soon as you see them!

[andrewmyers]

i wanted to update you guys...seems like my luck is finally coming around....ive shot 4 hogs in the last 3 weeks...2 each time i went out...so im happy, but im starting to see a trend...days that are cloudy and cooler seem to be when they are most active. on the hotter days with the scorching sun seems to keep them holed up all day. even at 8 or 9 am they arent coming out til probably evening, but on those cloudier days we're seeing them munching on clover at 1 and 2 in the afternoon. so keep that in mind...

[thumper69]

Originally Posted by cameraman

I am new to hunting groundhogs and have a few questions. Is there a time of day that is better? What about weather? Cloudy or sunny...does it matter?
I was out this afternoon around 1:00. It was overcast and breezy. I sat in a hedgerow between two fields for several hours and didn't see a single hog. There are plenty of fresh holes around the edges of both fields.
Maybe it was just an off day.
Any information is appreciated.
Thanks.
Brian

can you hunt groundhog when the file that have been plowed and when the fildes still have corn cute down allen.hunsinger

[grwitehunt]

A couple of things that I havent seen any one mention. Is have a good set of bino's or a spotting scope for looking for them. Then switch over to the gun. I use a spotting scope myself 18 x 36 power. Right now the weather isn't to bad to see them at anytime of day. But as it gets hotter then the late afternoon is the better time to hunt them. Trust me I have sat out there all day in 90 degree weather looking for them. Then again maybe most are not as crazy about hunting hogs as I am and others. Also if you are hunting a good bit of ground it's not a bad idea to have someone else with you to help spot them. I sometimes take one of my kids with me if my hunting buddy can't go. Also make sure you keep hydrated when it is hot out there. One time my son got dehydrated while hunting hogs, He was sick for a few hours until we got him hydrated again.

[Quarterbore]

I don't think I saw it mentioned here but the best tip I can give is to ask the farmer if he has problems with any specific field(s). Often, they know exactly where the groundhogs are making the biggest pain of themselves and I once had a farmer share with me that a friend at his church was having major problems with a soy bean field and gave me the number.

Goundhogs love soy beans and they must have moved from ever nearby field to live off those soybeans as we killed several dozen groundhogs over a couple weeks in one modest sized field.

The farmer was so happy, he offered to buy us ammo if we kept comming back but we didn't take his money as we were just glad to find a varmint hunters paradise.

Otherwise, this time of year you can get them all day long, in the hot days in the summer it is best early in the morning and late afternoon as previously mentioned.

I use a 243 with a 26-inch barrel and shhot 55-gr Nosley Balistic Tips at just ver 4000fps. The scope is a "cheap" Tasco Custom Shop 8-40 power with a 56mm objective. I got the scope cheap and it just works so well I never bothered upgrading it. I can splatter a chuck at 500+ yards with that rig.

[hunter1254]

My dad and i usually have 2 spots planned and we'll hit 1 and then the other one later. We usually see hogs later when its cooler, espcially if its hot out. Also they're very quick so i suggest if you have 2 people hunting, have one carry and shotgun or handgun, while the other has a rifle just in case u run into one at close range.
"the only good hogs a dead one"

[hunter1254]

Does anyone have any tips on hunting groundhogs like time of day to hunt them, or where, etc. Much appreciated.

[Karys]

I started by driving around the farms, knocking on doors and asking if I could shoot groundhogs in the farmer's fields. Most were more than happy to let me have at it.

As for time of day, I do most of my hunting in the evening, but only because that's when I have the time to go.

I try to take a friend and shoot as a team. We'll both glass the field and call out groundhogs when we see them. One of us will have a rifle for short range shots like a .223 or .17 HMR and the other will have one for longer shots, usually a .243 or .25-06.

[crlovel]

.50 BMG + groundhog = vulture learning to use a straw