Biggest woodchuck?

[yankee outlaw]

i have heard of eating the young ones but have never try it my self

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

i have heard of eating the young ones but have never try it my self

In the spring when the young ones came out we would shoot a few for a "Game Dinner". Cooked in a stew with vegetables. Not BAD!

 

[yankee outlaw]

now that i think of it years a go i use to go to the game dinner out in ohio maybe i have had some i am sure there ways some there

 

[Charles Keethler]

Wife said she would walk her Springer and he would catch ground hogs and kill them, young ones to make stew , old ones dog food.

 

[Knifeguy]

Hey Isaac,
16 to 27 inches is considered normal size for them. A Marmot measuring 3' not including the tail like the one you saw would be considered very large and rare. Here in North Eastern Washington State they average 2' in length but a few 3' have been seen over the years. For a groundhog to considered ginormous however it would have to measure a minimum of 48" head to rump not including the tail. Ginormous size are Thankfully exceedingly rare and those that large have been known to steal chainsaws as well as riding lawnmowers.

 

[Gary in MD]

I've killed some real Boone and Crocket dirt grizzlies over the years.

 

[ghklr67]

My wife and I saw the biggest woodchuck of our lives at the end of summer. At first glance it looked like a giant fisher, but then we realized it was a woodchuck. It was ginormous. The body was close to 3 feet long with the head. The tail was extra. We only saw it once as it crossed the driveway and nibbled some grass before going into the woods.

Has anyone ever seen one this big? Is it normal? We have shot smaller ones and yhey taste great, but we just stood there in awe of the sheer size of this one. We decided to let this one live unless it causes trouble.

Sorry, no pictures.

Biggest ground hog I ever killed was just over 18 lbs, shot him with a borrowed 700 adl 25-06 at about 275 yards , that was a great summer, my uncle and me probably killed 100 or more that summer in 1989!!

 

[Bear62041]

OK, we've got to have some recipes.

 

[Allen Kitts]

My Dad was a dyed in the wool country boy from the hills of Virginia and he just loved to eat Woodchucks. My mom hated it. We would come home from Sunday Church and the whole house would smell something terrible and my dad would have the biggest smile on his face. A three footer would be a certified mounter for sure! I have not seen anything even remotely close to that here in Montana since I moved here in "89"! Would love to get a crack at one that size with my 17 Hornet though.

 

[Hugnot]

When I was on a trip in Wyoming A nice Native American lady told me that sometimes rock-chucks were on the menu because of their fat content.

On another trip to Utah an old-time rancher told me that rock-chucks could be chopped up with a hatchet and rendered down in a big fry pan and the oils used for harnesses & saddles.

 

[Radman]

Yep! saw some really big ones in NE PA. The biggest one I ever saw was like the one you are talking about was chip shot at about 100yds or less. I set up in my shooting chair, squeezed the shot and MISSED! Can shoot them out to 500 with the .204, but never fails to miss the close ones. Too confident, too easy, too arrogant. There is no easy shot if you don't follow proper shooting practices.

I understand. Like in Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid: "Can I move?"
All seriousness aside, I can ring targets all day long from 50 - 300 yards locally with one exception: 200 yards.
It often gives me a fit for whatever reason. (BTW: 200 yards is where I zero)

 

[biff's reloading]

I've killed some real Boone and Crocket dirt grizzlies over the years.

View attachment 337939

Beautiful wood on that rifle.

I've shot hundreds. Some years over 100/yr. I've never weighed any of them. Never thought to. Now I'll have to steal the bathroom scale when I go!

 

[isaaccarlson]

We have rendered the fat and it is soft. I will try some on leather and see how it works.

 

[DarryH]

I shot one back when I was a kid on the farm in Iowa. The area was NOT known for them, and I only saw two in all the years on the farm. I was upstairs in my bedroom. I looked outside and saw this monster woodchuck down by the corncrib. I ran for my .22 rifle. Back then it was a Coast-to-Coast bolt action with a tubular magazine; I found out later it was made by Savage, I had a Bushnell 2-7x20mm scope. (3/4" tube) The shot was downhill and about 60-70 yards. I was almost shaking because of how big this thing was. I don't think I even thought about missing back in those days. I had one dead chuck. It was almost as long as my rifle, which would have been 40 inches. I have never seen another as large. The second one I killed was also from that same window. He was half the size of the first one!!! Both of them ended up as fox bait,