So i shot a baby groundhog today...

[Pelletini]

My wife and I were walking our dogs one early spring on a cold rainy day. The dogs alerted, sniffing the air. I look over not 8 feet away to see a baby groundhog looking at me. She crawled over to my boot, put her little paws on the toe, and looked up at me. I looked at the wife and her look was, "NO WAY IS THIS HAPPENING!". I reached down and picked her up in one hand. Nearly ice cold. Shivering too. I tucked my sweat shirt into my pants with my free hand and popped her into my stomach area. Zipped my jacket over top too. Five minutes later I had the little thing wrapped in a warm towel in front of the fire. My wife warmed up some goat's milk(we used to own those), and fed her with an eye dropper. She was ravenous. The wife left for work and I put her back on my stomach after she ate and she napped for a couple hours. When she woke up she farted and started crawling all over me. Never nipped or anything. The sun had come out and temperatures had risen to upper sixties, so I took her out on the lawn and taught her to eat dandelion and wild strawberry leaves which she did with abandon. I named her Farti, and called the wife, asking if we could keep her. She told me that I had to place her with a wild rescue in Lincoln, Maine. I called the rescue, and they arranged for a Warden to meet me for a transfer. I met him and he was a good egg. Took her in her shoebox travel case with a warm towel from the bathroom. When I handed her over I suddenly had a lump in my throat. I turned and didn't look back. The lady who ran the rescue kept me posted weekly for a few months. She released Farti to her field acreage. For many years Farti would come to the rescue lady's house, stand on her hind legs and beg for vanilla cookies, her favorite. She brought her children and grandchildren too. I have an enlarged photo of Farti. After that, killing groundhogs lost its appeal, tho if I was starving I would use one for food, especially if I had no relationship with it. I have killed deer and other game with no emotion except thanks for the food. I love songbirds and have no desire to shoot them either. However.....I love a squirrel stew...

 

[jt-outta-cali]

Next time shoot them once more in the head and once in the heart. Then be ready to take out the mom as soon as she comes out.

 

[davelarson]

I think it’s good to have feelings about killing. It’s a necessary thing to do at times though.
Life is precious and we know that deep inside, so it makes sense that you feel bad about taking a life.
To make jokes about it, or let the animal suffer longer than necessary doesn’t show respect for life in my opinion.
Your concern about it shows that you have a deep respect for life.

 

[Mr303]

I’ve been hunting for nearly 50 years since college when I could put a rabbit or grouse in the pot. Before that I was a camp ground plinker.
These days I regularly shoot prairie dogs with my powder burners and air rifles.
I do it to control rampant infestation of grass land where we graze cattle.
Its satisfying being able to hit my target but not gratifying having to kill something and watch it die every time I pull that trigger.

However, its reasonable (for me) because it controls a problem animal, let’s other animals eat, and makes me a better hunter of large game.
Alternatively poisoning is expensive, releases toxins into the environment that potentially could impact the burrowing owls, the coyotes, birds of prey and snakes that eat the remains.

Effective shot placement is critical anytime but with small critters it is especially critical because follow up shots are difficult.
You’ll also need to kill less if you’re active before they give birth. (Yes that’s an oxymoron)
Killing anything is not honorable in my opinion but respecting that life you take is, and requires being as effective and efficient as possible.

It bothers me a lot to see YouTube videos or t-shirts celebrating the killing of prairie dogs/animals with splattering graphics or violent footage, that just seems too bloodthirsty and very disrespectful.
I also take umbrage seeing the extreme long range hunters shooting big game from hundreds of yards away as it seems to me the animal deserves to at least have a fighting chance to elude me (the hunter) knowing I have to stalk the game to within reasonable killing distances (typically no more than 200 yds)
Last elk season (for the first time ever) I saw hunters (snipers?) with spotting scopes and long guns mounted on tripods shooting across a valley to kill an elk.
It took two hunters and three or four other guys to go locate the downed animal and made me think of more party hunting than actual ethical "boots on the ground" hunting. (But that’s just my philosophy.)
I should also state I’m primarily a meat hunter to fill the freezer and not a trophy hunter to decorate the man cave.