Second ground hog this year

[jjohnwm]

I used my 338 Lapua back in the day, they’d flip at least six feet into the air, spinning in their own blood. It was absolutely epic.

.338Lapua? Wow...you like to live dangerously, using such light armament. I wonder if that would even stop a determined charge from a big buck 'chuck?

I've smoked one this year with a .375H&H and that seemed about right. Mostly I fall back on a .45-70. It doesn't really penetrate per se ; rather, the big slug just seems to sort of pick up the critter and carry it away across the field with it.

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.

Okay, since the thread is starting to get a little silly, I'm not 100% sure if you're serious or not? Back in the day, I always reasoned that a chuck should be every bit as good to eat as a rabbit...but that didn't work out for us when we tried it. My father performed the culinary artistry, I just provided a gutted/skinned/dressed carcass for the project. Carefully spiced, poked with garlic cloves, lovingly simmered in a Dutch oven, basted periodically...virtually inedible. We had three dogs at the time, and only one would eat it.

I don't recall the size of the critter, but it was likely the biggest one I got that day so in hindsight not a wonderful choice. But you have me wondering about this again; the ones we now get in and around the yard are always small ones, young-of-the-year who are spreading out into new territories to set up their own home ranges. In other words, probably the best choice for the table.

Dang it, I'm gonna try again! I'm goin' in...

 

[bearhunter]

I'm not joking. A lot more people eat them than will admit to it.

There was a very good reason some tribes battled each other over the richest Marmot colonies.

Not all people like rabbit, and rabbits can be tough and stringy when they aren't cooked properly.

Adding a can of beer to the cooking sauce helps as well.

I've had the young ones, from the spring litter, which are about twice the size of Richardson Ground Squirrels, roasted on campfire spits and they were fine. Don't expect the consistency of young chickens from the grocery store. Again, not much, if any meat worth taking on them, other than the backstraps and hind legs.

If you're going to insist on eating one which can weight up to 20 pounds live, it's going to need a couple of days soaking in Baking Soda and it's going to be strong flavored.

Anyone who eats prairie Jack Rabbits knows how to prepare Marmot.

All of the comments above sound just like the folks who've eaten Prairie Jacks.

 

[franktank]

Dad told me my Alberta uncle family used to use 50 bmg for sh!ts and giggles. But then again he is in Northern AB and has a buffalo ranch.

I’m sure he’s still having fun in his ranch

 

[Mr Bill]

I had a farmer near Guelph Ontario trade me a beef roast for every 10 head shot groundhogs I gave him. About 110 hogs the summer of 1990 or thereabouts. He just saved the hind legs and backs and served them up to friends and neighbours along with bbq steaks and chicken at his big monthly deck parties. Myself and my girlfriend at the time were the only ones that knew we were not eating rabbits. And quite honestly they did taste a lot like domestic rabbit and were delicious. Now if we see a groundhog while driving around it’s a big event…might have to put them on the endangered species list. While on the topic of eating small game all of us that have tried squirrel rate it a 9/10.
Bon appétit….

 

[jjohnwm]

Okay, that does it; I'm gonna try it again. I'll say right now that I loved shooting them as varmints; but the enjoyment will triple if I get a nice wild game meal out of it as well.

Now, with my luck, we'll start getting giant Chuckzillas in the yard instead of the little guys...

 

[Meroh]

Ate one back when I was a scout leader, it was OK.

I went from .22 to 6.5 x 55 to .22-250 to .223 to 17HMR and am now back to 6.5 x 55.

Since I don't eat them, I like the way a Sierra 85 gr Jacketed hollow point, loaded to modern pressures, in a modern rifle decimates them. Pregnant females with the hydraulic shock come completely apart. Seeing them in our area is very rare

 

[350tracker]

I'm always on the hunt for rodents around the yard. My 22 is ready to go at any time. I've taken out 2 wood chucks, half a dozen ground squirrels and couple squirrels and one chipmunk to date and the season isn't over till the snow is on the ground. Makes for great shooting with my iron sights.