UTMC

Anybody know a good way of preparing groundhog. There is a very big, bold groundhog who has been successful in getting through our garden fence, despite my efforts. Seriously, are they decent eating? I bet someone here has eaten one. Do tell.

Wow. I didn't realize you were serious! My understanding is that woodchucks are pretty fatty, especially later in the season. Other than that, they're usually just shot for "sport."
We had three of them here for a few years; with enough activity around, they just move. They have poor vision but very good hearing. So if you start a lot of activity around the garden, he should spook and just move off to you neighbor's garden. I didn't have the mind to shoot them, since their take was normally the sunflowers in front of the shed and they didn't get into the trash; the garden was pretty much left undisturbed save for the skunks. Which have also moved on, albeit in a different manner.

He mowed down about half of our peas last night. I didn't mind when he ate the brussel sprouts, because I don't like them, but I do like peas. I can't see where he's getting in the fence, usually it's been obvious in the past.

He may have a burrow dug by now that doesn't end at the fence, usually right next to a structure of some kind or tree. Flooding this with water will make him stuck his head out of one end.
I would recommend against eating it though. It supposed to be just one step above possum (which is awful). If you are set on devouring the vermin the boiling step is absolutely vital to help get (some) of the grease and nasty out. It'll still be nasty, but marginally less so.
The web has several sites devoted to this venture - http://briansbelly.com/belly-recipes/groundhog-roundup/

Enjoy.

Here's one for you



right out of this cookbook

Have you ever eaten a larger Fox Squirrel? Kinda mealy and grainy, and generally not so good. A waste of bag limit really (when you could be bagging Grays).
Chuck is just like that, but less good. Especially the larger ones. The babes aren’t so bad, still not great, but not too bad.

Don’t let this put you off eating it. You fed it, your going to kill it, you might as well eat it. They REALLY are not that bad. There are just lots of other furry critters I’d rather eat.

There is a trick to making them more palatable. After you dress the sucker out, and remove all of the external fat (most will come with the skin). You will see some other fatty looking deposits under the front legs. These are glands, and will taint the meat. Remove anything that looks like them if you see more. Its been awhile cense I ate a chuck and I don’t recall if there are any others. You’ll see them, and they are easy to cut/pull off.

After that you can cook it any way you want. Older critters require long and slow cooking. I like a good game fricassee, but you can roast or BBQ them too.

Here is the quick rundown for my fricassee:
1) Cut beast into 6 or 7 chucks; 2 Front legs w/ shoulders ( rim close to rib cage and you wont have to cut any bones), 2 back legs, cut back off rib cage and discard ribcage, back (w/spine) gets cut into 2-3 chuncks

2) Coat in you preferred frying covering and pan fry, in butter (this is not to fully cook meat, but try for a good Brown)

3) Transfer meat and pan drippings to oven safe dish.

4 optional) Throw some sliced onions into pan along with more butter and cook until onions turn translucent, throw in some garlic and stir. Add all this to dish too. Oh, don’t burn the garlic!!

5) Add some liquid (cider, beer, chicken stock, wine…water if you have nothing else), we’re only talking enough to cover the bottom. (If you did step 4, throw some liquid into pan and scrape up all that good stuff in the pan to add. )

6) Cover and place in oven @ 350 deg for a bit…just check in on it don’t lat it dry out. Near the end you can pull off the cover and let some of the liquid cook down into a nice sauce.

Eat and enjoy. Its finger food, messy sloppy finger food. There is no better way to get the meat off the bones than your teeth.

Good luck, and shoot clean.

I put in a garden every year and groundhogs are my enemy. This spring I drove wood stakes around and in the lettuce garden. I attached some strips of silver mylar to make short flag poles. The shiny flickering of the mylar freaks out the groundhogs. They can't get their shitty little minds around what they see so they avoid the area. Best year ever so far for the garden. I have used a cross bow for years to wipe them out but three to four come in every year. So far so good. Check my Ground hog Boy shots here in the gallery or some other category just can't remember. Good luck..... I hate ground hogs.

When I was a teen, (before the PETA freaks stole my toy money), I used to trap with my brother. We cooked up a large beaver for kicks, mostly 'cause mink & muskrats stink, and coyotes are, well...dogs. It was kinda forgettable. Fatty & nondescript. I suspect their smaller rodent brethren may be similar, but their diets are very different, so my ass could be sucking slough-water.

Of course, if it's a rabbit that is decimating your crops, there's tons of good recipes. Cotton-tail chicken.

I went and borrowed a gun from my neighbor about the time I first posted. Since then I haven't seen him, though I've seen evidence. Before, I was seeing him all the time.Wiley little fucker, you'll get yours.

I'll use dynamite! No, seriously, I got him yesterday. Unfortunately, he didn't drop dead, he rolled around grunting and bleeding, and while I went for another bullet, he ran down his burrow. I hope he died quickly after that. It's the first time I've ever killed an animal, and while I'm not torn up with grief, I'm left wondering why so many people are so turned on by hunting. It wasn't a "feel good" experience. Surprisingly, my wife was delighted ( it's more her garden than mine) and my five year old daughter was excited. Go figure.

I've always wondered the same thing about hunting. I grew up arounding, being raised in SE Alaska, but that was always semi-subsistance. After that, hearing suburbanites whine about missing their chance at the year's venison sausage or a hunting trip for a trophy hog in Mexico always puts me off.
That said, while at my parent's this summer maybe I can convince my mom to let me break out the pellet gun to bag a rabbit or two that invariably end up in their garden, since the neighbors are a bit too close for the .22.
Has anyone used a pellet gun for small game?

It's not going to work, or at least it's not going to work in a very kind way to the animal. You'll likely just end up wounding it, but it will likely still be able to run away from you and maybe die a day or three later. I understand being close to neighbors, but a .22 round is a .22 round, just be careful..or use a bow and arrow!

Yeah, I imagine that would be the result more often than not. My father has used it on rats a few times but wasn't really concerned about how thy died...

Rev wrote:

My thoughts exactly.

pellet guns come in too large a variety to speak in broad sweeping terms. most spring-piston types aren't powerful enough for a clean kill but there are some that can do the job; pellet choice, accuracy and shot placement are key.

there are some super potent air guns out there that were designed just for hunting, particularly some of the pre charged pneumatics (pcp's run on a self contained tank of high pressure air).

and for the .22: CB caps

Rev wrote:Murderer.

Aren't you the guy with the Baltimore Rat Fishing T-shirt? You know, the kind of fishing you use a baseball bat for?:evil:
http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=12787

I never understood the sport of hunting unless it were a level playing field, If you kill it you should eat it. Right now I just prefer to let someone else do the killing while I do the eating.

I have a pellet rifle capable of 1100 fps, and have used it on small game multiple times. Its actually pretty fun. Not as much fun as rabbit with a bow, but more fun than squirrel with a shotgun (or .22). I do wish it was a bit more silent tho. She cracks just a tad less than a .22

Shot Placement is always key. Remember, the heart is further up in the chest cavity that most folks think. And even with a good heart lung shot, most critters will scamper for a bit, b4 falling over. (unless high kinetic shock is delivered by the blow)
Humans drop sooner (often) because we are weak as a specie.

Oh and back to the chuck killing.
Another trick I've used. It does help to have a helper for this.

1) Find ALL exit holes (there are always more than one)

2) Clog all but 2 (rocks dirt brush, clog them good), try to leave 2 open that are fairly close to each other

3)shove burning oil rags down one hole (far down) and cover once it gets to burning and smoking well. Have partner watch other exit.

4) wait for vermin to exit, and take them out.

If nothing comes out (but smoke) the critter was more scared of you (you made too much ruccus during set up) than of suffocation. Fill in reaming holes. And make sure ALL holes are filled in tight enough that a horse or cow cant put a leg down it.

I use the AR for everything.