Groundhog Chonk

The first shot looked good to me, good enough to wreck a portion of its thoracic cavity and heart. Those Polymags get the job done! Second shot looked high, but possibly low enough to miss its spine. Either way, nicely done. After watching your videos I had to look these things up. They can get bigger than I thought. What draws them away from their holes? I wouldn't have expected to see one just strolling along like that. Keep in mind that I'm totally unfamiliar with these creatures.
 
The first shot looked good to me, good enough to wreck a portion of its thoracic cavity and heart. Those Polymags get the job done! Second shot looked high, but possibly low enough to miss its spine. Either way, nicely done. After watching your videos I had to look these things up. They can get bigger than I thought. What draws them away from their holes? I wouldn't have expected to see one just strolling along like that. Keep in mind that I'm totally unfamiliar with these creatures.

I'm shooting from the second story window, so what may look high is going down diagonal a bit. The second shot is a quartering shot to go through the vitals from the rear of the ribcage.

There is not much that can draw them out other than groundhog flares (poison flares that emit sulfur smoke) or flooding them out. Problem is, the burrows usually have a main entrance and an emergency exit that can be 50 feet away!

I actually saw this guy from 150 yards away with my binoculars walk across the two streets and five or six yards before I lost sight of it. I figured it was headed for my yard for some strange reason. I shot another one just a few minutes before shooting this one, but the quality was very low because I was at the maximum extended range of my ATN scope, which is 37.6x. It was a solid heart/lung shot, and I heard that familiar thunk, but it scrambled down its burrow, a few feet away.

They are up very, very early in the morning for an hour or so, but then they pop out in the late afternoon between 5pm and dusk. So you literally have to wait them out and hope they appear. I saw 12 of them in the quarter mile road on my way to the property, and after I shot this one, there was another one its size around 40 yards or so away, before he spotted me and took of. Kill any and everyone you see wherever you have permissions to do so, as if it's not on your property, it will be having kids and they are gonna want somewhere to live.

They loke making burrows near properties, as the foundation of the house provides some heat to their underground tunnel system. These guys are complete vegetarians, so they eat a ton of plants to keep their weight up. In the late fall, they really bulk up and prepare for hibernation for the winter. The gaps they make near the foundation can cause the walls to buckle, or erosion from water flowing. I have two neighbors that have sheds on concreate slabs that the floors caved in because if groundhog burrows underneath!

I now have two additional holes near the first burrow at my rear porch. I can't keep up with them, so I am gonna have to get some of those sulfur gassers to take them out.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/AMDRO-Gasser-6-Count-Gopher-Killer/3651779
 
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@estarkey7 Thank you for the explanation. I see why some guys are hitting them from 90-150 yards. I hadn’t thought that your shot might have come from 10’ above. I read about their burrowing when I looked them up. That’s insane!! I thought Armadillos were bad. I don’t think their burrows are nearly as extensive as ground hogs. What I’m unclear on is, how long do groundhogs live in the same system of burrows? Do you have a general idea? Good shooting and thanks for sharing. 
 
Way to keep taking care of your pests
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,the polymags hit hard good luck with the rest of them,if they see you they take off and hard-to get a shot


I just got some 79gr. NSA slugs in .358, so I'll test them out today and see if the higher velocity gets better expansion. But if the accuracy sucks, then they will sit on the shelf until I get a die set, then I'll melt them down for something else.
 
@estarkey7 Thank you for the explanation. I see why some guys are hitting them from 90-150 yards. I hadn’t thought that your shot might have come from 10’ above. I read about their burrowing when I looked them up. That’s insane!! I thought Armadillos were bad. I don’t think their burrows are nearly as extensive as ground hogs. What I’m unclear on is, how long do groundhogs live in the same system of burrows? Do you have a general idea? Good shooting and thanks for sharing.

They are very destructive!

They say they have a 3 year life expectancy, but in an urban environment, they have no predators, so they'll live much longer. I'm not sure how long they use a virtue l burrow, but if another groundhog finds an abandoned burrow, they'll use it.
 
We call them rockchucks out my way, or a yellow bellied marmot. They love to make their homes in the rock piles beside fields, and wreak havoc on new crops. But as you said, they never saw a foundation they didn’t want to tunnel under. Very destructive, and very tough animals. If you can find a slug that works in your setup, try for an ear shot. There’s nothing worse than one of them making it back to its burrow under your shed, and stinking it up for the rest of the summer.
 
We call them rockchucks out my way, or a yellow bellied marmot. They love to make their homes in the rock piles beside fields, and wreak havoc on new crops. But as you said, they never saw a foundation they didn’t want to tunnel under. Very destructive, and very tough animals. If you can find a slug that works in your setup, try for an ear shot. There’s nothing worse than one of them making it back to its burrow under your shed, and stinking it up for the rest of the summer.

I just popped one today with the NSA 79gr .358 cal slug, but the jury is still out on accuracy. I also just got some 110gr .358 slugs from NSA too, so I will test them out next week.

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i live in upstate ny and have never had so many groung hogs on my property and in my garden as this year they are raising heck with all my out buildings house and they ate all my peas three of them in last three weeks have had thier last salad on me

I've killed four in the last three days! I'm seriously dealing with an invasion down here!