Rocklchucks are UP!

[Rick in Oregon]

Went to gas up my truck and noticed fresh activity at my "chuck barometer" near home just now. Didn't have my Nikon DSLR with me, but spotted a huge male standing up just outside his den. Too early for shooting for me, as I like the young ones to get weened before starting in on them to provide better quality shooting in May.

But seeing one standing up in the sun was like a shot of adrenaline for me. Tick-tock.....almost time.

 

[Bullseye69]

Those look like fun to hunt.
Haven't gotten a chance at those.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

Those look like fun to hunt.
Haven't gotten a chance at those.

Oh yes, they ARE fun to hunt!

Back where you are, there's the eastern equivalent to our rockchucks, the eastern groundhog/woodchuck. Also a challenging quarry and just as shy. The best places here are usually deep river canyons that provide nice lush green plant growth for them. A century ago when ranchers here were clearing the lava rock for their fields, they stacked up large mounds of rocks, now home to these large burrowing rodents. Great for us, not so much for the ranchers.

A nice morning walkabout in the sage and junipers with my Cooper M38 20VT at a small local ranch:



The typical view in the sage and junipers. One must be in their best ninja mode or these very alert critters will spot you and bail down into the rocks, not to be seen for a spell afterwards.



My Anschutz 1715D HB 17HMR is great for the smaller places where the report of a CF rifle is not a good idea. I try to restrain myself when using the HMR and only use head shots to avoid any potential crawl-offs:



With the unseasonable warm weather we're having here now, the chucks are emerging all over their range. Here's a chuck mom with her new brood out exploring in the sunshine:



Right now myself and my rat shooting crew are gearing-up for an extended stay in the outback in our trailers camping on ranch property while thinning out the sage rats for the rancher who reports crop loss of up to $300K from the little alfalfa munchers.

It's bench time in the alfalfa for the sage rats. Much different than a day spent skulking about the sage and junipers scouting for the chucks.



The ranchers are always glad to see us, and we're always glad to be out there, rifles in hand. It's a win-win, and beaucoup fun!

 

[Bullseye69]

Yes we've got wood chucks here but not very plentiful.
We are always after them here at the house. Big cat n mouse game!
Come home and see one in the yard.
Try to get out of vehicle and get to rifle and sneak around to get a shot. Sometimes they stay but mostly head back to safety.
Got 2 last summer. One was DOA.
Other one was a close miss that I had to shoot aboot a week later.
You can see the scar on his belly.



I see them early in the spring but we wait for them to have a litter so we have more targets.

 

[Bullseye69]

Heres where I just clipped him.

 

[MTPaul]

Oh yes, they ARE fun to hunt!

Back where you are, there's the eastern equivalent to our rockchucks, the eastern groundhog/woodchuck. Also a challenging quarry and just as shy. The best places here are usually deep river canyons that provide nice lush green plant growth for them. A century ago when ranchers here were clearing the lava rock for their fields, they stacked up large mounds of rocks, now home to these large burrowing rodents. Great for us, not so much for the ranchers.

A nice morning walkabout in the sage and junipers with my Cooper M38 20VT at a small local ranch:



The typical view in the sage and junipers. One must be in their best ninja mode or these very alert critters will spot you and bail down into the rocks, not to be seen for a spell afterwards.



My Anschutz 1715D HB 17HMR is great for the smaller places where the report of a CF rifle is not a good idea. I try to restrain myself when using the HMR and only use head shots to avoid any potential crawl-offs:



With the unseasonable warm weather we're having here now, the chucks are emerging all over their range. Here's a chuck mom with her new brood out exploring in the sunshine:



Right now myself and my rat shooting crew are gearing-up for an extended stay in the outback in our trailers camping on ranch property while thinning out the sage rats for the rancher who reports crop loss of up to $300K from the little alfalfa munchers.

It's bench time in the alfalfa for the sage rats. Much different than a day spent skulking about the sage and junipers scouting for the chucks.



The ranchers are always glad to see us, and we're always glad to be out there, rifles in hand. It's a win-win, and beaucoup fun!

Hey Rick!

As always, your pictures are a treat for those (like me) who reside in the latitudes a little further north and who (like you) eagerly await the arrival of various furry critters (Richardson's Ground Squirrels, prairie dogs and rock chucks) to emerge from their long winters slumber and provide the eagerly awaiting "seasoned citizens" (like us ) with targets of opportunity. Yes indeed...tick, tick, tick...

Looking forward to your "sage rat adventure report" and seeing the results of the camaraderie rendezvous. Fingers crossed for my own exploitations next week during my upcoming semi-annual trip south to WY to fly-fish and red-mist while shaking off the effects cabin fever.