Destructive groundhogs

[Quillback]

They look like they ought to be fat and tasty, but you never hear of anyone eating one (that is until reading this thread).

[tho1mas]

Old timers used the tanned  hide for boot laces (tough stuff).

[Johnsfolly]

1 hour ago, Terrierman said:

They're the hardest animal to skin I've ever done. 

I've never skinned one, but also hear that beaver is difficult to skin as well. @BilletHead could confirm.

I'm sure that a few folks on here have known this for some time, but it was about seven or eight years ago that I saw my first groundhog up in a tree. It was climbing out to eat buds on the branches. I've seen that a couple of more times since then. Pretty funny to see. I wonder what it would sound like after you shot one up in the tree and it hit the ground. One of them was out on branches above the Current river. I wonder if it would have sunk or just floated downstream.

[Terrierman]

1 hour ago, Johnsfolly said:

I've never skinned one, but also hear that beaver is difficult to skin as well. @BilletHead could confirm.

I'm sure that a few folks on here have known this for some time, but it was about seven or eight years ago that I saw my first groundhog up in a tree. It was climbing out to eat buds on the branches. I've seen that a couple of more times since then. Pretty funny to see. I wonder what it would sound like after you shot one up in the tree and it hit the ground. One of them was out on branches above the Current river. I wonder if it would have sunk or just floated downstream.

I hunted groundhogs in their earths with jack russell terriers for years.  Just a lot of fun and they can give a dog a good fight.  Very exciting.  I've seen quite a few in trees over the years.  They can sure cause some damage, in barns and they're really hard on soy beans.  Seldom had difficulty getting permission to hunt them, but did get a few odd looks.

[oneshot 1]

Oh well I'm like my Grandpa to. Thinking Possum is better than Coon.

oneshot 

[tjm]

We ate them when I was growing up and the young ones weren't tough at all, older ones sure are though. Grandpa had me making  leather whangs (thongs) from the skins too, cut a spiral around the skin so that a single long strip is produced that uses up the entire skin. Cut the strip about a inch wide to make boot laces, because the raw hide strip will be stretched and stretched again as you pull it from spiral into a string or thong. Tough leather.

[Carl1969]

I'd love to try one. I figure I'm 3 for 3 on rodents I've eaten & enjoyed immensely- squirrel, nutria & beaver, so why not? Little old lady in town asked me to pop one that was burrowing under the garage of one of her rental properties. She asked if I was gonna eat it & said that if not, she knew folks that'd want it. Never did shoot it for her, as it just quit coming back one day. Oh well.

I've seen one groundhog on the property here multiple times, usually hauling tail across the pasture, but no signs of digging.

[tjm]

I've  never seen anyone eat a 'possum, Daddy used to cook them up for the dogs to eat though and unless we cooked some corn with the 'possum them hounds would starve before eating the 'possum. When I was about 14, I was tending the outdoor kettle boiling some opossums and thought (maybe not the smartest thing I ever thought) "I've heard of people eating opossum, wonder what it tastes like", so knowing the meat was fresh and butchered the same as we would have another critter to eat, I cut off a sample of that cooked marsupial, all I can say is never again. The taste is long lasting, and then some.

IIRC June is the month to kill young whistle Pigs to eat. I don't think they stay young long.

[BilletHead]

3 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

I've never skinned one, but also hear that beaver is difficult to skin as well. @BilletHead could confirm.

I'm sure that a few folks on here have known this for some time, but it was about seven or eight years ago that I saw my first groundhog up in a tree. It was climbing out to eat buds on the branches. I've seen that a couple of more times since then. Pretty funny to see. I wonder what it would sound like after you shot one up in the tree and it hit the ground. One of them was out on branches above the Current river. I wonder if it would have sunk or just floated downstream.

         Beaver skinning is really not skinning. You have to cut the hide off taking meat even at times. Fleshing beam next. 

[Johnsfolly]

4 minutes ago, tjm said:

I've  never seen anyone eat a 'possum,

How many rednecks does it take to eat a possum. Three. One to eat the possum and two to watch for cars 🤣