Groundhog Vision?

woodchucks? lol They see pretty darn good. While farming I've seen them stand up to take a look at me from 250-300yds. Lucky for them I normally don't have a rifle with me when that happens.
 
If you are in an area that gets little shooting pressure they might act relaxed and let you get under 100 yds , but if they have been shot at and missed they will watch you and react once you get to 300, may just peek out of the burrow showing only the top of there head.
 
Some years back, I was hunting one from a RR track and it was about 25 yards out in a soy bean field, I was wearing a white T shirt and started a walk/stalk on the tracks from 500 yards away. It busted me and was back in its hole in about 3-4 seconds.

So, some of em' see pretty well if you're wearing white and moving...and they are lookin' at ya'! (I didn't wear white after that).
 
Last edited:
They remind me of a lot of animals. Great eyesight for something moving or out of place, but sometimes dumb as a box as nails. I've spooked them crawling on all fours from over 600yds in full camo and killed them at less than 10yds wearing an orange T-shirt and a pistol riding an ATV
scared.gif
. Now how blind and dumb was he, LOL?
PICT0013.jpg
 
So it sounds like a Ghilli Top/veil and Gloves may be in order. I havn't hunted GH since I was a kid. So last year went out a few times to get a shot at one and never seen any. Maybe im not as stealthy as I was 35 yrs ago.
ohmy.gif
What are you guys usin to be Camo wise??
 
Corey
You killin me with those pics,I am dreaming of warm summer nights glassin hay fields.
thumbup.gif

Chucks can see great,the problem for them is that thier natural curiosity,usally ends up being thier downfall!!
ohmy.gif

I hunt them a little different,I set up on high ground,I know the hole ranges and make a map with minutes up marked for each hole.I shoot off of a bench,I can not shoot prone due to arthritis.Some times I may go on walkabout,so I bring my .17HMR. My main chuck rifle is the .17 Fireball kills out to 450 yards.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: ARCOREYHere's my typical attire. Trying not to give your silhouette is key.
Corey13.jpg

Groundhog2-6.jpg
I can't tell from the Pic,But are you wearing Multicam Camo??
thumbup1.gif
 
Hat and pants are Army digital, I think they call it ACU. I belly crawl a lot, so I buy surplus if I can. The shirt is some wierd pattern I got at Walmart. The fact that both are light colored and give full coverage and some breakup is the deciding factor for me. It's as much about staying cool and sunburn free as it is being hidden. I also have severe grass and hay allergies and break out in very bad whelps, so I wear long sleeve cotton T-shirts. My neck and arms usually swell after laying in a cut hay field and it takes several Benedryl and about 4 hours for the swelling to go down where it doesn't freak the wife out. I wore long sleeves while video taping my hunts for this reason. I usually avoid anything dark if possible, Mossy Oak and similar patterns look like a blob in a hayfield. ACU, Kings, Mossy Oak Brush, and Natgear are good open patterns in my opinion. Here's another shot of me prone extracted from the video, only thing I'm missing is blue flowers and a little more green, LOL. The fields tend to go a little more brown once cut.
Prone.jpg
 
They see great AND hear as good. Try driving into an area they have been shot in. Soon as they hear or see a vehicle they dissapear in a blink!
 
Wallbass45:

You can wear camo if you want...just a dark color is all that's really needed. I knew that years ago, but the day I had on the white t-shirt in question I wasn't intending to hunt, then did hunt wearing it cause' I was too lazy to change my shirt as it was all sweated up anyways from the day's wear.

You can stalk em' pretty effectively wearing non-white as long as you don't move when they are looking at you.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: BuckeyeSpecialWallbass45:

You can wear camo if you want...just a dark color is all that's really needed. I knew that years ago, but the day I had on the white t-shirt in question I wasn't intending to hunt, then did hunt wearing it cause' I was too lazy to change my shirt as it was all sweated up anyways from the day's wear.

You can stalk em' pretty effectively wearing non-white as long as you don't move when they are looking at you.

I agree, white is definetely a no-no. Here in PA we're required to wear a flourescent orange hat while hunting so camoing up seems kind of pointless. I'll generally wear greens, browns, grays etc. for shirt colors but seldom, if ever, mess with camo. Although woodchucks see very well their sense of depth perception seems to be poor IME. If I need to get closer to a woodchuck for some reason I've had better luck walking a straight path towards one that has seen me vs. perpendicular/angled to it.
 
Ive found out that if they spot me if i walk bent over and zig zag almost like an animal grazing in the field they dont pay much attention to me.If you walk upright they seem to know the gig is up.
 
Here before long I'll take my 17HMR for a little walkabout around the farm scouting holes. I don't plan to kill anything on this trip, but more importantly, I am looking for freshly cleaned out holes. I start out by walking all the field edges and fence rows paying particular attention to ditches, rock and brush piles, and old buildings or foundations. I walk by all these places as well as any noticable clumps of grass or mounds in the fields. I make a mental notes of where every hole is and look at safe shooting positions to that particular hole or several holes looking for good backstops and safe directions of fire. I try to find a vantage point (usually elevated) that lets me safely shoot to half a dozen or more dens.

Then when I start hunting the hogs seriously, I pick a route that usually follows fence rows, wood lines, and ditches or hill sides that obscure my movement. I slowly walk a long wandering path along these routes taking time to glass every few steps along the way. Most of the time these walks end up being a large loop with places that I can glass from a distance, then jump off my route for a stalk. Stalks are usually slow walks using cover and terrain, then hands and knees the last bit to get in a prone position. I may walk the same loop two or three times some days and catch them out at various places along the way. When I get tired, I'll rest in the shade and take a lunch or water break and glass fields looking for more targets. I have several areas a short drive apart that I'll walk my routes in then go to the next, sometimes driving back and forth between them several times.

My vehicle is usually way away from where I'm hunting. I do sometimes take my ATV to cover useless ground between areas like wooded access roads between fields or unproductive pasture areas between good spots. It also helps to carry my second rifle and a cooler full of water and sport drinks to stay hydrated in the heat.

If someone were to follow me through the fields, they would think I walk like a blind man, turning left and right here and there for what seems like no apparent reason, but those are my routes learned over time scouting holes and shooting hogs in the same areas. It helps me remain undetected as much as the camoflauge does in my opinion.
 
Took a few pokes at one a couple weekends ago while shooting targets. Target of opportunity type thing, LOL. I will start scouting them over the next couple weeks, but probably won't look to take any until sometime in April.
 
Back
Top