Woodchuck Problem

[srtolly]

I used to have a woodchuck problem as well. They liked my brush pile. Every morning they would come out an sun themselves. I didn't have much to shoot them with at the time so I picked up some slugs for my Champion .410. Funny thing is there were 3 of them and I took 1 each morning for 3 days. You would think when their numbers started going down they would change habits.

[rugersol]

I have the 500 S&W Mosin I would offer up to do the job and some 500 grain max loads. I bet you could shoot him while he is still underground with it. The report and recoil is actually less then a 45-70. Even with a crummy shot I highly doubt the chuck will go anywhere.

Engnerdan FTW!!!!!!!

FTW, nothin'!


... you jest wanna shoot his .500 Mosin!



as do I!

[photogpat]

FTW, nothin'!


... you jest wanna shoot his .500 Mosin!



as do I!

...and your point is?

[rugersol]

...and your point is?

I'll drive?!

[photogpat]

...and your point is?

I'll drive?!

I'll bring the beer and lawn chairs!

[rugersol]

...and your point is?

I'll drive?!

I'll bring the beer and lawn chairs!

We're gonna need more woodchucks!

[engnerdan]

We're gonna need more woodchucks!

Yes you are, if you can line them up like prairie dogs you can take many. I would be willing to bet maybe even 5 in 1 shot.

[photogpat]

I used to have a woodchuck problem as well. They liked my brush pile. Every morning they would come out an sun themselves. I didn't have much to shoot them with at the time so I picked up some slugs for my Champion .410. Funny thing is there were 3 of them and I took 1 each morning for 3 days. You would think when their numbers started going down they would change habits.

Hmmmm...I do have that Rossi .410 I picked up for the kids...and a bunch of BB/Slug loads leftover from the "Judge"...

[chunkstyle]

I had one. Little bastard had been undermining my garage, and I broke through the concrete driving in one day. Huge mess. He had to die. I live inside the city, in a crowded neighborhood, so I had to be extremely circumspect in compassing his destruction.

I set the house up so I could actually fire from the floor of the kitchen, and through the propped-open back door. Figured the house itself would absorb most of the sound. This was done during the day, when most neighbors would be at work.

First try was just a Daisy BB gun. Bounced right off its hide, and the damn thing went and hid for a couple hours.

So, OK, I need more gun. I have an old scoped Winchester 190 .22, and loaded it with Super Colibri. Same results.

Third try, full power Remington .22LR. That worked, I caught him under the chin, and he dropped. No apparent response from neighbors or cops. Went out to look at him, and he was still alive, bleeding, paralyzed. I had no weapon to finish him with, so I had to do the deed by smashing him with a cinderblock.

These critters are nasty. They live in their own poop, so he was covered with flies. I turned a Hefty bag inside out, and picked him up with that, tied it off, and threw him into the trash can. I was hosing the blood off the area, when the wife came home, who promptly freaked. Spent some time calming her down.

Lessons learned for future urban varmint hunting:

1) Use enough gun. Next time, .223 or pistol-caliber carbine.

2) Make sure people (like my wife) are on board from the get-go.

3) Be prepared to deal with the immediate physical aftermath. A big knife here would have been good. And have the Hefty bag and hose ready to go.

4) Don't let chucks have enough time alive to damage your buildings.

[rugersol]

And have the Hefty bag and hose ready to go.

Words to live by!

[yukonjasper]

What I hate is when they chuck your fire wood into the pond..............that really steams my Giblets.............

Since your out of town and have a good back stop. Liquify the little bastard with the biggest round possible. I like the tannerite idea, but you may want to get some safety goggles and wear old close so the blood and gut mist doesn't do too much damage.

[engnerdan]

1) Use enough gun. Next time, .223 or pistol-caliber carbine.

This just jogged my memory to some load data I found. Hodgdon has a couple sub-sonic loadings on there webpage using Clays and Titegroup powder and a 55 gr bullet. I have been wanting to try then to see how quiet they are.

[Vlad]

Back in the day, at the family farm the usual course to cure the chuck problem was 1) scope out all their burrows, you need one person per hole. 2) fill say 4 or 5 50 gallon drums with water next to one of the holes. 3) Start dumping water, when you see bubbles, shoot into the hole or if they try a side route, cut them off at the pass... 4) crack a beer. If you do it right, you push them back into the hole and back fill and level off the ground.

[FJ540]

220 conibear over their entrance. $7 at fleet farm, and you don't have to wait for it.

[Rem700]

220 conibear over their entrance. $7 at fleet farm, and you don't have to wait for it.

Boreing