Hunting nutria

[T Sunstone]

Years ago I would see and mostly hear the nutria making their gurgling calls( I think water in their mouths) at last light while hunting Sika deer.  Now I never see or hear them anymore.  They did a fantastic job of eliminating them.  Here's a video explaining how they did it and why.
 

[Sixby]

Why not hunt them with a fish arrow? You could retrieve them and club them in the water. Combination  of bowhunting and baseball. New sport designation./

God bless, Steve

[Tony Sanders]

Hi McDave, Years ago back during the 90's, I use to be the hunt coordinator for the Traditional Bowhunters of Maryland annual Nutria hunt. And yes we bowhunted and harvested them with our recurve and longbows. Man we really had a great time going after them on the marshes at Blackwater here in Maryland. And as ugly as they are, I certainly ate them and I believe some others ate them as well. Those hind quarters of them nutria are quite good barbecued. Matter fact Dr Don Thomas and his wife Lori came and hunted them with us back around 1999. I don't wish them back because of the damage they do, but I sure would like to go after them somewhere again. We really had a ball doing it.

  Tony

 

[Kevin Lawler]

The only one I ever saw had some pretty remarkable fur.

[McDave]

Enjoyed your post and pix, Tony.  So it is possible to hunt nutria with a bow and recover them so they can be cooked and eaten.  That's what I wanted to hear.  Now if the great state of California just won't throw up too many roadblocks....

[Wile E. Coyote]

Hunted them in LA at night with a spotlight out of a canoe. Lots of fun.

 If you shoot them along the bank and they run up the recovery is pretty easy. You will lose some if they dive after being hit. I'm not brave enough to try a fishing arrow, that would be like grabbing a running Cusinart on a stick!

Cleaning can be quick and easy if you just focus on the hindquarters up to midback. ( Thats where all the meat is anyways) Skip the front half and you can avoid the guts pretty much all together.

Soaked in buttermilk for 24hrs and fry. Very tasty.

[Roadkill]

Great pic, Tony

[Roadkill]

Great pic, Tony

[South MS Bowhunter]

There Tony!

I was hoping he’d respond.  I remember reading about your hunt with Dr.  Thomas and his wife Lori, a very good read!

[TREESLEEPER]

I've trapped them but never hunted them.  I have eaten them also. I liked it. I've only eaten them in a gravy.  The meat reminds me of domestic pen raised rabbit. Pink meat.if I remember the meat didn't brown too well.   If I ever get the chance to cook some again I will put them on the pit. Or fry some up.

[KOOK68]

As was said before, I've killed a bunch with a pellet gun, and boatloads with a .22 from fairly long range. They are relatively easy to kill

[Scott88]

I have killed hundreds with a recurve and longbow,I was fortunate to work at a facility where they were abundant.A four blade muzzy,and sometimes a judo point makes short work of them.They are absolutely good to eat,the younger the better,they fry  up just like a rabbit.I can cook you some in a gravy and you would not know it isn't rabbit  

[newhouse114]

I paid my way through college trapping them here in Oregon in the late 70's. Being a poor college student, I ate just about everything from my trap line. I've probably killed more (by hunting) with a stick rather than any other weapon. We would spot them feeding in fields and sneak up and get between them and the water. They would flat out charge you trying to get back to the water. I knocked several out of the air as they were leaping for my midsection. Lots of fun!

[McDave]

Originally posted by newhouse114:
They would flat out charge you trying to get back to the water. I knocked several out of the air as they were leaping for my midsection. Lots of fun!

Maybe I should have posted this in the dangerous game forum rather than PowWow    :eek: