Second ground hog this year

franktank

franktank

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I just wanted to share my story, I’m no longer a big fan of hunting small game but if I see a squirrel on my bird feeder it’s game on. Groundhogs are a delicacy. I used to kill hundreads a year in an infested area in the Ottawa valley with my 22-250. Killing at extended and long range distance was addicting. I no longer have the opportunity other than the occasional one I see with the corner if the eye when I pull up with the motorcycle like today. I got excited, switched ammo from CCI 22lr RN to CCI fragmented 710 fps my favorite deadly quiet ammo with my 455. I walked down and spooked him. I knew they were fast to move on after being spooked so I laid down prone and waited, Not 10 min even went by and I saw a little movement. I just saw the half top portion of his eye/brain. I wasn’t even 50 yards away I knew my gun is really accurate so I aimed for his eye. The rest is just pure joy like I’m still 15yo but with more toys.IMG_8502.jpeg
 
"Delicacy' ..hmmm or mmmm lol I could google it 1st, but do you mean as in Delicious/you eat them? or you shoot them for making holes in the ground?
 
skwerl said:
Hey frank , xlnt tale .

Shot some, never eaten any .

Do they taste like Rabbit ?
........ skwerl

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We love shooting yellow bellied marmots and gophers! :LOL:

They are great target practice and really help out the farmers and land owners.(y)

Unfortunately they also smell like sh!t, especially when one blows them up.😂

You would have to be starving or insane to eat one of these filthy, flea ridden rodents. Yes I said RODENTS!......:sick:
 
My old Ontario 'chuck-hunting days were spent on a friend's dairy farm in Hastings County. We hunted them with everything from air rifles to elephant rifles. Good memories! Even tried eating...one...:)

I get very few on my place in Manitoba now, although this year is so dry that their numbers as well as those of ground squirrels are unusually high this year. I won't shoot a 'chuck unless it's within about 150 yards of the house; don't tolerate them digging under slabs and foundations. I've gotten 5 this summer and probably a couple dozen gophers...still using everything from air rifles to elephant rifles. :)
 
OkayShooter said:
Saw my first one walking across my driveway about a month ago. Didn't think they were around these parts.
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I'm surprised, the Okanagan Valley is well populated with them. The FNs used to battle over the major proliferation areas.

I guess most of them have been eradicated in the areas surrounding Kelowna, but when I was a kid, before most of the valley was built up between Rutland and Kelowna, we hunted Marmots all through the area. They played hell with the fruit crops and the truck gardens which used to cover that area.
 
In BC, yellow belly marmots are protected by law, other than on private property.

Yes, they are delicious.

If they're tough, it's because you aren't cooking them properly.

I've eaten a lot of them over the decades. They make great pepperoni sticks as well.

The large ones can be tough, mostly because they're older. Just like old chickens, there are ways to prepare the meat so it's palatable.

They taste very much like rabbit and should be processed in a similar manner.

I soak the older ones in baking soda/water overnight and slow cook them in a beer brine for the afternoon. By dinnertime they're tender and tasty.

As for smell, anything shot in the guts and blown up smells bad.

When I skin out a marmot, I open up the back at the neck and down to the tail. The skin is very tough/thick, so have a sharp knife. I use a box cutter with disposable blades.

Don't puncture the paunch membrane, remove the front meat on the shoulders, then the tow back straps and separate both hind legs from the body. Leave everything else intact and dispose of it properly, as there isn't any meat on it worth mentioning, unless you're starving.

I've served a lot of people marmot, and they thought they were eating rabbit.

They young ones, I only take the two back straps and the hind legs, they're usually quite tender, unless food is scarce.
 
bearhunter said:
I'm surprised, the Okanagan Valley is well populated with them. The FNs used to battle over the major proliferation areas.

I guess most of them have been eradicated in the areas surrounding Kelowna, but when I was a kid, before most of the valley was built up between Rutland and Kelowna, we hunted Marmots all through the area. They played hell with the fruit crops and the truck gardens which used to cover that area.
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Well Nova Scotia is pretty rocky. Might only seen 2 in my life here. One on the range in Aldershot, then my place 45 mins West. But the valley is pretty sandy soil.

Been at my place going on 9 years and it was the first time I seen the fat little bastard.
 
My apologies, I was under the impression you were in BC.

Marmots in our area don't mind sandy soil at all, especially when there are big boulders or logs mixed in.

When the marmot populations are good, so are the raptor, coyote, wolf, bear, lynx, bobcat and other predator populations.

I know they're a nuisance in farmers fields, but they also do a lot of good in the food chain. I don't shoot them much any more, unless they're on private property, and I want a couple for the freezer. Blowing them up for fun, doesn't do much for me anymore.

That doesn't mean others don't enjoy it and I'm not knocking them for it, but it's just such a waste to leave them rotting in the fields.

Sort of like the guys who shoot grouse and rabbits with their large centerfire cartridge rifles just to watch them explode.
 
bearhunter said:
My apologies, I was under the impression you were in BC.

Marmots in our area don't mind sandy soil at all, especially when there are big boulders or logs mixed in.

When the marmot populations are good, so are the raptor, coyote, wolf, bear, lynx, bobcat and other predator populations.

I know they're a nuisance in farmers fields, but they also do a lot of good in the food chain. I don't shoot them much any more, unless they're on private property, and I want a couple for the freezer. Blowing them up for fun, doesn't do much for me anymore.

That doesn't mean others don't enjoy it and I'm not knocking them for it, but it's just such a waste to leave them rotting in the fields.

Sort of like the guys who shoot grouse and rabbits with their large centerfire cartridge rifles just to watch them explode.
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Wasn't that long ago I was out every weekend in the spring/summer for them. Some days zero, best day 16 between my nephew and I but it was a late start that year. We weren't out in the spring, it was the first cut of hay that revealed the problem. Anyway, I think after years of doing it, I ended-up averaging about 1 and hour if I was doing my part. These days, I see it as a minimum of 4 hours of driving to pull the trigger 2-3X.

Something about a spring, western gopher trip that makes low-odds, hot/muggy groundhog work a little less appealing. ;)

I've never been tempted to eat one but once had an old farmer tell me; "mom and dad used to like eating them, thought they made the best gravy".

Since I hunt with centerfire rifles, something about the word "gravy" stuck with me and not in a good way. I think you'd need to hunt with something else if you were planning on eating them, because gravy is almost always a factor. I confirm every shot and want to see how/where the bullet impacted vs. my point of aim, but that also reveals a lot about the animal's state of health. I've seen ticks, mange, and groundhogs in all kinds of states. I've never looked at one and thought "table fare!" but then, having seen countless groundhogs taken apart I can also say the flesh looks exactly like that of a rabbit, which makes perfect sense considering their diet.
 
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