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This beautiful weather has the woodchuck's comming out of their dens to feed on the newly greening plants. I have spotted a few hit along the road as well as 3 different ones that were feeding near their dens. It will be 5 weeks before turkey season and the carp won't be spawning until mid May, so now is the time to chase the ground grizzlies! For those that haven't done this before, you will need a decent pair of binoculars and make sure you have a good sharp broadhead on your arrow. I prefer a 3 blade cause they are tough and you want to stop them before they can get back to their hole. I don't worry about camoflauge but it does help, I think they mostly spot movement. I will stop at several farms and just tell the farmer that I am trying to rid the countryside of woodchucks. I tell them that I use my bow and arrow but if they have one that they need killed right away I will take my .22 if I try a few times and can't seem to get close due to the open location of the den. The farmers will welcome you with open arms and they like the fact that you won't be shooting a .223 or .22/.250 like most chuck hunters use. Down the road this will open up opportunities for hunting small game and some times for bowhunting deer. When I get a woodchuck, I will drive by the farm and if the farmer is out I will stop and show him. I may try and tan a few hides myself this year and make kids quivers to give away.
-------------------- The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who are not. - Thomas Jefferson Posts: 2308 | From: Fowler, Michigan | Registered: Dec 2003
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I have always wanted to try this but I have never found a good place to give it a go. Do you look for certain types or farms Jim? How do you know what a good place to look for them is? Seems like I see them a lot on the sides of the roads in the grass areas.
-------------------- Dreams can not be bought; they are free to those who have lived. -Mike Mitten
We must go beyond the textbooks, go out into the untrodden depths of the wilderness & travel & explore & tell the world the glories of our journey
TGMM Family of the Bow Posts: 4740 | From: Holland Michigan | Registered: Oct 2006
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I find most of the dens along creeks and rivers...usually high on the bank, near old abandoned buildings, fence rows, near rock piles and brush piles, along the roadside, and in the wide open fields like alfalfa. I always give the farmer my phone number and I also tell them I will check back every so often and they will tell me exactly where any woodchuck dens are on their property. If you stop at dairy farms or any farm that raises horses or cattle they will be glad to get rid of all woodchuck. The animals can break their legs if they step in a hole. Another good place is along the edge of woodlots. A fun way to hunt them is to float a river on a sunny day. They will often let you float right up to them or you can beach the boat and stalk up on them. There are places along the maple river where the banks are fairly verticle where it has been dredged. There is one stretch in particular that I used to see a woodchuck about every 100 yards!
-------------------- The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who are not. - Thomas Jefferson Posts: 2308 | From: Fowler, Michigan | Registered: Dec 2003
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I've been desperately trying to find some good ground grizzly spots. Most farmers near me won't let anyone out on their land, even if it is to help them out. State land can have very few as most hunters wipe them out. Being able to hunt them year round keeps the jitters away mid-summer. Spot and stalk one of these successfully and your ready for stalking deer.
-------------------- Just one more step.....please!
St. Joe River Bows Oliverstacey Strings Swafford Knives Michigan Longbow Association Posts: 4189 | From: Michigan | Registered: May 2006
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I work on my uncle's blueberry farms in the summer and I know a few good spots.
-------------------- "A hunt based only on trophies taken falls short of what the ultimate goal should be...time to commune with your inner soul as you share the outdoors with the birds, animals, and fish that live there" -Fred Bear
James 2:19-20
USMC Infantry-Present Posts: 567 | From: Grand Haven, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2008
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soy bean fields early are magnets for wood chucks... they will mow down any new beans just sprouting...look along ditch banks and fence rows...and its not too uncommon to see where they have done there damage.... lots of times it can be a 1/4 acre area... they also like hayfields...look for mounded dirt where they have burrowed.....
-------------------- TGMM Family of the Bow
"There's a race of men that dont fit in, A race that can't stay still; So they break the hearts of kith and kin, And they roam the world at will" Robert Service Posts: 3506 | From: dansville ,michigan | Registered: Jan 2007
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I went out today for about 3 hours and saw 2 grizzlys. They were about a hundred yards apart and I put a stalk on the 1st one. He spotted me from 75 yards away and took off. The 2nd one had disappeared after I failed the stalk on the first one. They both had dens along the top of a ditch and were feeding in an old un-picked bean field on state land. I did find a few other dens but as soon as stuff starts to green up a little better and we have some warmer weather they will all be out and stalkable. The dry grass that I had to sneak through was so loud that there was no way of getting close without them hearing me first.
-------------------- The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who are not. - Thomas Jefferson Posts: 2308 | From: Fowler, Michigan | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Tim Fishell: Arwin, If I find some spots around here I will let you know. I know a couple big cow farms that might let me go after them.
Keep me posted!!! Sounds like chuck slaying is starting to warm up.
-------------------- Just one more step.....please!
St. Joe River Bows Oliverstacey Strings Swafford Knives Michigan Longbow Association Posts: 4189 | From: Michigan | Registered: May 2006
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Dudes I have a hard enough time kill them with a 22. How the heck do you get close enough with a bow, they go souch good eye sight and spot me from 100 yards away. I bet you guy's can shoot 100 yards, you just have been holding out havent you (lol) I'm pretty sure JBob can.
-------------------- US ARMY 1984-1988 Posts: 1861 | From: Fowlerville,MI | Registered: Dec 2004
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It's really not impossible........................ Shot this old fella at a whopping 5 yards after a 45 minute 100 yard stalk.
This one was the result of a 20 yard shot after a 10 minute stalk. I used a creek to sneak along and then pop up over the bank and take the shot. I can't hit a barn from a hundred yards!
-------------------- The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who are not. - Thomas Jefferson Posts: 2308 | From: Fowler, Michigan | Registered: Dec 2003
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Woodchucks seem to gravitate towards soybeans for some reason. I grew up in the thumb area and at the time most farmers grew only dry/navy/black beans. Never saw a woodchuck up there that I can remember. Down here it seems like it's all soybeans and very few dry beans. Apparently growing soybeans is becoming more popular in the thumb and I've heard some farmers complain about woodchuck damage since they've switch from dry beans to soys.
We've grown soybeans on our family farm(behind my house) for a long time and we've always had woodchucks. A woodchuck can really clean out some beans in the early spring. Doesn't take them long to clean out the corner of a field when the plants are only 6" high! For that reason killing 'chucks has always been serious business aroun here. We only have 30-40 acres of beans on our 80 acres so a little damage could be a large percentage of the crop yield.
Last year I killed 3 or 4 adult woodchucks early on and then had almost nothing the rest of the summer. My plan this year is to try and use my bow and hope let 'em go so they can grow for awhile. Don't tell my uncle who is actually farming the crop though.
I don't claim to be an expert ground grizzly slayer but I have shot quite a few at spitting distance with rifles and handguns. In my experience 'chucks hate windy days. Early spring they are much less wary and this doesn't hold as true but in summer I don't expect to see them with any more than a 10 mph breeze. I seldom see them until an hour or so after daylight either and they tend to be back in the holes well before last light. If I could script a perfect woodchuck hunt it would be a sunny day over 70 degrees with no wind 10AM to 7PM.
As for tactics, I'll admit that I usually see them from the house and put on a "sneak" to within 200 yards and dump them with a .22 mag or .243. A lot of times I haven't been sneaky enough and they've gone back in their holes before I could get a shot. The woodchuck's biggest downfall is that they can't seem to resist coming back out of the hole after being spooked. If I get busted, I will walk up to where I can clearly see the hole and find a spot to wait. My rule is typically to wait 20 minutes unless it's a real problem chuck. On a nice day they will show up within that 20 minutes most of the time. If not then I keep that hole in mind and check back as often as I can.
I have shot AT lots of 'chucks with a bow during deer and turkey season but have never came close. Hopefully I can change that this spring. If not I'll be too busy at the reloading bench in mid-summer to post much. Posts: 307 | From: Swartz Creek, MI | Registered: Aug 2004
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quote:Originally posted by T Folts: Dudes I have a hard enough time kill them with a 22. How the heck do you get close enough with a bow, they go souch good eye sight and spot me from 100 yards away. I bet you guy's can shoot 100 yards, you just have been holding out havent you (lol) I'm pretty sure JBob can.
I have gotten close in the past by belly crawling through tall grass and slowly making your way to them. You'll have to wait till you can rise and draw at the same time, will give you about 5 seconds before they book.
-------------------- Just one more step.....please!
St. Joe River Bows Oliverstacey Strings Swafford Knives Michigan Longbow Association Posts: 4189 | From: Michigan | Registered: May 2006
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Another place you may want to ask permission is at the local grainery. I used to work at one near Reese. There must have been 20-30 of them living there.
Posts: 82 | From: Horse Shoe, NC | Registered: Jul 2003
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Don't tell my uncle who is actually farming the crop though. ![[saywhat]](graemlins/saywhat.gif)
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A lot of times I haven't been sneaky enough and they've gone back in their holes before I could get a shot. The woodchuck's biggest downfall is that they can't seem to resist coming back out of the hole after being spooked. If I get busted, I will walk up to where I can clearly see the hole and find a spot to wait. My rule is typically to wait 20 minutes unless it's a real problem chuck. On a nice day they will show up within that 20 minutes most of the time. If not then I keep that hole in mind and check back as often as I can.
