15 minute rock chuck hunt

[DDgofer]

Up here in farm country it's not very hard to get permssion to hunt Gophers. Gophers can do a lot a damage to a grain fields and pasture land real fast and the ranchers and farmers want them shot..

Getting permission to shoot rock chucks can be a lot harder to get. Rock chucks are found in the rim rocks and that is generally cattle country and not grain fields. Most ranchers prefer that the rock chucks be left alone.

One farm I hunt is close to the rim rock and the rock chucks are everywhere. Most farms up here have a rock piles from clearing the rocks out of the fields. The rock chucks like to hang out in these rock piles. The farmer wants all the rock chucks removed. If I remove all the rock chucks then I won't have rock chucks to hunt in the future. I make it my practice to only shoot rock chucks in rock piles in the new plantings. I leave the rock chucks in the rock piles in the stubble fields and fallow fields alone..that's my seed.

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I was out yesterday checking the seeded field rockpiles and manage to get 6.

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I also make it a practice to stop in when I leave and tell the farmer how I did. Yesterday when I stopped in the farmer told me that I had to do something about the rock chucks in the cement pile. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. The farmer hopped in my truck and said go this way. We went a 200 yards out behind the Hay barn and in a big dip was a bunch concrete rubble, that I had never seen before. The farmer said it was loaded with rock chucks. We saw two. I told the farmer we would come back in the morning and see what we could do.

We came back this morning and in 15 minutes I had killed 7. Here are 5, two fell down in the rubble and couldn't be retrieve. There were a lot of rock chucks that got a way.

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We drove away away to check some other rock piles and let the cement pile cool off, but the wind came up and the chucks all stayed down.

The farmer was glad I got what I did, but he wasn't happy I didn't get them all. Oh well there will be another day..yes!

[James in Asheville]

Oh what I would do to hunt in a place like that. Happy hunting DD

[DDgofer]

Start driving the back roads of NC and knock on doors and ask...further from town the better.

Always say please and always say thank you and always ask if they know someone who will let you.

Also check in for your local agriculture or extension office. State game wardens aren't always helpful, but sometimes. Stop by local feed and seed stores and farm implement stores. Any place dealing with the local farmers and ranchers are good place to ask. Always ask for a referral.

[cpttango30]

DD I never thought of going to the feed and seed store. I am going to have to try that in the comming weeks. I know where one is that is nice and out of any town. Thanks for the idea. Here in VA it is hard to come by a ground hog hunting spot.

[DDgofer]

Update...Per the farmers request, I revisited the cement pile this morning...in less that 10 minutes there were 13 dead rock chucks...

I won't come back to this spot until next year and only to check, not shoot.

I also visited a rock pile in fallow field. Several years ago I did one of these mass slaughter shoots on the rock pile when the field around it was seeded. I saw four chucks without looking hard. I drove away an left all four.