I have several groundhogs that I have to eliminate around here. Only seem to see them when I don't have the rifle with me. Any suggestions of time of day and weather conditions would be helpful. Should of got the message to them that they are unwelcome a couple of years ago, but didn't have time. Retired now so I have plenty of time to send them a message.
The best time I've found to hunt whistle pigs is in the morning till around 10 to 10:30 and the evening from about 5 to dark on sunny days. On more over cast cooler days you can see them most any time of the day.
You can catch a groundhog out just about any time of the day. What distance is it away? What caliber you using? How skittish is it?
I've become a huge fan of the 17HMR, at least where I see them. The round drops them in their tracks. The added benefit is the round is so light it doesn't carry far, especially if it ricochets after hitting the ground.
I've got a pellet gun for close encounters or a .22 for longer range standoff... I'll sit in my garage and wait them out if I know they are eating my clover...... the traps are good, but just make sure no pets are around to get caught in them...
We've got a bunch at our place in PA and we always make a point to go run the bush hog around the few known holes when we get there if the fields high. Usually seems first and last few hours of the day but we've also got a pear tree about 50yards from the front door of the camp and the two holes there are usually all day action. At home or within 50yards the .22, .17 hmr or .30carbine are fun but usually it's the deer rifles 30/06 or .308 since some shots stretch out past 350 yards
I've shot a few hundred hogs with the .270. It doesn't miss out to 300 yds. I've even got one at 425. That's some fun hunting right there!
Distance would be with in 50 yards and I will be using a .17HMR Thanks all. Just didn't know weather and time of day to hunt. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason when I see them. I will have to get the rifle and lawn chair out one of these evening.
Most people that I know that "hunt" 'em go out an hour or two before dark...anytime after the heat of the day is when I see the lil buggers waddling around the most.
I haven't much hunting lately, but I always did it in the evning after work. They seem to have changed their habitat around here-I used to watch farm fields and shoot them-now it seems like I see most close to houses and buildings. I think I shot the last 5 between 15-30 yards with either a .22 or a handgun. It is far different than when I shot them @ 200, 300 yards and more with a .222, .22-250, or .243.
Fresh cut hay fields or before soybeans get too high. Like Brennan says, evening is when we had the lost luck. Usually rode around the hay fields in the back of the truck after the last load of hay was in the mow. Killed 15-20 a year that way. Who knows how many wagon spindles were saved.
It's been years since I hunted them but we found them to be inquisitive little critters. When they got shy and skittish we found they would pop their heads up to investigate a strange noise so we would use whistles and such to get their attention. I few times I would ride around the fields on my motorcycle and when I spotted one diving down a hole, I would put the bike in neutral, lay it down on it's side, get into the prone position using the bike as a bench rest. I would then reach up and twist the throttle revving the bike up. They couldn't resist the urge to stick their heads up to see what was going on
Speaking of wagon spindles.... I watched my great gramp snap the front end off his narrow front Farmall 230 in a chuck hole it just swallowed both front tires a loud bang and there it sat on the loader frame
Took out two this morning. Remington 700 with bull barrel shooting Fiocchi 223 loaded Hornady Vmax 40gr. @ 3300/fps. Tends to take care of them out at 300yds.