Where are the Groundhogs

[M21]

The only place the one guy had them was in his bean field they were off eating the tender young soybeans you could see the bare patches . The farmer actually had one of the neighbours where we always shoot beg us to come over. We saw one at 300 plus on a stump watching us ,

[SK33T3R]

We used to hunt below Collingwood late 70's, early 80's. We used to drive up and do day trips. Two guys - we never shot less then 80 and one day we got 142. Hunted from sunup till sundown. Had a few nightmares were I could see hogs in a scope getting blasted. It would wake me up! There were hogs everywhere. Farmers would track us down when they heard the 22/250's going off. They would point to their farm in the distance and then point to the fields they had problems in. Then along came the coyotes and with it -MANGE. I think the combination of the two was the end. We went back about 6 years ago and drove probably 100 miles of back roads - didn't even take the guns out of the truck. We seen maybe 4 all day.
Anyway just thought I'd chime in. There were so many groundhogs back then it was scary. We'd actually hit a few with the truck every time we went.

[GrouseWhisperer]

There are probably a number of factors involved in seeing less ground hogs,everything from habitat loss to Coyotes; but have you ever considered our hunting practices could also be to blame. I have commented to guys about hunting them in the spring, as soon as they pop out of their holes... right in the middle of breeding season. If you are hunting them to eliminate a pest for the land owner, have at it, if you want to maintain huntable numbers, hunt smarter. Have any idea how many guys are hunting the Mount Forest, Durham, Varney area? Think of how close the area is to some major cities. Also consider the numbers being taken, just on this thread comments of 30 a day... that's 15 couples, having 2-6 young a year means around 30-90 are not born, do the math on shooting 70 hog in one day. Can we hunt them out, obviously if we continue to hit the same farm over and over, year after year. When I was younger a friend bought a farm that was over run, he wanted them controlled, they had not been hunted for years, first year anything that showed its head was taken, and there were a lot taken. The farm was decimated in one year.

Don't count ourselves out of the equation when it comes to lower numbers of hogs. I will continue to hunt hogs; but I limit the number I take off a property, and I only hunt after breeding season. I am taking ground hogs which makes my landowners happy, and gives me the time outdoors.

Oh, and they have gotten smarter, I see them along the roadway all the time, as if they figured out a safe place to be... there and the park in town.

^this.. I know this year has been the worst for me, but between crappy/wet weather and a strangely busy work/family schedule...I've been out about 1/2 the number of times I would have normally been by this point in the summer. I only really got started shooting groundhogs maybe 7-8 years ago, and permission to hunt farms for them came with a "shoot them all" condition attached to it. If I ever made the mistake of saying "yeah...but I'm going to leave a few breeders so I have some to shoot next year" I'd probably be told to hit the road! lol Now, as a hunter...you can clearly choose to not pull the trigger and achieve the same thing without anyone knowing...just not hunt at those times, etc.. but in my case...it sort of betrays the spirit of the agreement. Every one I've shot this year so far has been a male, and while I haven't been skunked...there have been at least 2, 1-groundhog-outings.

I don't know any of the guys who have posted so far, so I won't comment on whether or not I believe the #s being shot...but...my personal best day was 16. (my nephew and I) An average day is seeing maybe 6-8, shooting maybe 4-5. I consider those numbers to be a GOOD day of groundhog hunting. I've also heard the stories (FROM farmers) about how bad a problem they used to be. It's also been my experience that (like crows)...they sure come to recognize a threat from a distance. You see some sunning themselves on the side of the road...but when they see my truck pull over on the side of the fields I hunt, they book it~even if I'm over 200 yards away! They do learn, I'm convinced.

Should also be said~groundhogs prefer rocky soil that provides good drainage. In other words, there are fields...no matter how ideal they look..that are likely to never have a groundhog on them. Period. There may be groundhogs in fields on either side, but if it's a sandy one you're in-no dice. Some hunters look at every field the same way, and lump them together (mentally) when in fact, there are important differences.

Why are their numbers down? I think it's everything mentioned so far, though I've never had a farmer tell me he poisons them. People hunt them, coyotes do... Not sure about foxes, I think a big groundhog might be too ornery a meal option for one of those. Heck, foxes don't even LOOK threatening this time of year. lol I do know for a fact (because I've seen it) that some tough old farm dogs have a knack for killing groundhogs too.

Impacting my hunts (this year) is all the rain, and not because you can't shoot them when it's wet...rather..it becomes harder to gauge when hay might be cut, harder for farmers TO cut/dry/bale, etc. I used to be able to guess before making the drive...now it's anyone's guess. Hay seems to be on longer as farmers look for a sunny stretch to get it off. One Mennonite farm I hunt, he got it off before everyone else (not uncommon) and in a normal year...hot and sunny....that would leave a mid-summer window of a few weekends where it would be low, groundhogs exposed, etc. This year? It was a jungle one trip out...then I didn't get out for a few weeks. When I returned, it was nearly 10" high again! Cool nights, lots of rain=hay goes nuts.

So, less guessing about the root cause of the "decline" and more bi**hing about how crappy my season has been...but there you have it.

[M21]

that is what Varney area used to be like too

[M21]

My buddy has been going 30 years and keeps track of all he and the people he takes have shot He had over 10000 during the 30 years. We used to have 70 kill days and then about 8 years ago they dried up and he used to leave some for seed.

[Gaoler]

If action is what you want...
Pack up the truck and head to prairie dog country...

'Last two trips netted about 400 kills a day.

I brought 3 bolt guns an AR15 and a pistol... All of which were put to use...

[GrouseWhisperer]

If action is what you want...
Pack up the truck and head to prairie dog country...

'Last two trips netted about 400 kills a day.

I brought 3 bolt guns an AR15 and a pistol... All of which were put to use...

^this. Already planning my spring/2018 trip. Pretty sure those prairie dogs are a different critter than the Richardson's Ground Squirrels (=gophers) we hammer in western Canada though. Larger for one thing. I use a 22LR with custom-modified, gaping hollow points as well as a 17HMR. Both hit very hard on something the size of a gopher. I love groundhog shooting here, and got 3 in fairly short order this past Sunday. However, last spring...on the day we arrived, I'm confident I got more gophers in 3 hours than the total # of groundhogs I've ever connected with. I won't even estimate the # we got by week's end.

Again, I love going after groundhogs but some time spent out west sort of re-wires the way you think about varmint hunting!

[Gaoler]

I'll be driving g through the prairies first week if September...
'Still debating... Do I pack a rifle or not...?

[GrouseWhisperer]

I'll be driving g through the prairies first week if September...
'Still debating... Do I pack a rifle or not...?

I would. However, long afternoons of high-ammo consumption and lots of targets~highly doubtful of course.

[Fox]

AR15 and a pistol... All of which were put to use...

Hunting in the US?