Have a ghog under my porch...

[WobblyHand]

My wife (and I) have been wondering what's been eating things this year.  Thought maybe it was rabbits, but stuff was being eaten that bunnies don't like.  And the bunnies seem to not be as plentiful as last year.  Think I found out and confirmed it today.  A groundhog.  Not too big, but big enough to wipe out uncaged or unfenced plants.  I was in my below grade shop this afternoon, and used a step ladder to look out the window, which is nearly ground level, and under the porch.  A big furry lump.  Wasn't sure, so I went to get a flashlight.  I came back and saw the ghog was gone from that location, but saw it had left the porch and was outside.  Went outside and the ghog basically ran up our granite steps and dove under the porch, nearly beneath my feet.  Well, that's not going to go unanswered.  I'd like to get this critter since this is next to the house.

Have a couple of questions.  What can I use for a relatively cheap game cam so I can find out this critter's hours?  Maybe then I can bait him with some ripe fruit and get a clean drop on him.  The only thing with any power that I have is a GK1 in 0.22.  Right now it's shooting at 38 FPE using a 28.4 gr BBT slug.  Have a moderator on it, so a shot or two can be done discretely.  I'm guessing that dawn and dusk are the best times, but I'd like to narrow down the time somewhat, so I'm not hanging around unnecessarily.  Any advice?  This is all close range stuff, like 5 yards and under, so really up close.

[Back_Roads]

 Early am and late afternoon- sunset you may see it most often. Sit on the porch and wait

[WobblyHand]

Was up at 5:45am, 30 minutes before sunrise, came around from the back.  Waited 30 minutes, nothing.  Oh well, there's sunset, and maybe I'll put out some watermelon scraps then.  Have to clean it up that evening, don't want to attract even more pests.  Porch has screening, and a screen door.  Not so great to shoot through - I've done it, but it's not much fun repairing. 

[ER00z]

I found you don't need big power for ghogs. I read about what folks were using and initially was very uneasy about taking them with air. My preference is now about 18-20fpe or so w/JSB 18gr pellets if shots are within 30-35 yards. Basically, my .22 S510 unregulated with power dial at middle. Does the deed without major passthrough risk. Could even step down a notch in power if only shooting within 20 yards but use more if that's what you're comfortable with and behind target is clear/safe. Shot has to be to the fusebox with .177 or .22 for clean dispatch, can't say about larger calibers.

The ghogs I had would only come out at the most inconvenient times for me. One liked to snack in the afternoon, anywhere from 1:00 to 3:00. Lots of folks recommend trapping, using cantaloupe as bait (if I remember right). Seemed whatever I put out as bait they had no real interest. Also, they'd spook very easily to sound and movement.

Wish you the best luck. Be persistent and you'll bag it (or them) eventually.

[ranchibi]

I use an inexpensive wireless doorcam to alert me of rat activity, got one off of amazon. Your GK1 .22 has more than enough power for a head shot. Good luck!

[longislandhunter]

Like the others have said,,, very early and very late in the afternoons are the usual times they emerge however that is not carved in stone.  Over the years I've had some g-hogs come out in the middle of the day.  I tried more than a few times to trap the g-hogs that burrow under my sheds.  I used those "Hav-a Heart" spring door traps and baited them with everything from fruit to vegetables (even cantaloupe which they supposedly love) but I never did get one in the trap.  They'd just walk right by it and head for my wifes flower garden or my vegetable garden.  That left me no other option but to use one of my air rifles and a clean shot between the eye and ear is the sweet spot....... puts them down quickly, cleanly and humanely.  As Randall said, an inexpensive wireless door camera or motion sensor available on Amazon will quickly give you your g-hogs routine.    Be patient, you'll get him 

Oh and BTW...... g-hog pot roast is absolutely fantastic 

Jeff

Jeff

[eeler1]

At least it's not a skunk.  I've had to deal with them under my porch. 

[WobblyHand]

At least it's not a skunk.  I've had to deal with them under my porch.

Accidentally caught one of them when trapping squirrels.  Left the trap out at night.  Bad idea!  Yeah, the skunk went for the peanut butter.  Double bagged in trash.  Took a year for the trash can to not stink like heck.  They were nesting under our tool shed.  Guess the ground hogs evicted them.

[Habanero69er]

Bruce, a wireless driveway chime from Harbor Freight isfairly inexpensive.
Also, next time you shoot a skunk, a lung/heart shot will keep them from spraying.

[WobblyHand]

Bruce, a wireless driveway chime from Harbor Freight isfairly inexpensive.
Also, next time you shoot a skunk, a lung/heart shot will keep them from spraying.

Thanks.  This one?  https://www.harborfreight.com/wireless-security-alert-system-57937.html  Seems cheap enough.  I'll get one tomorrow.
I only shot the skunk to make sure it was dead, I found it head first in a tube trap meant for squirrels.  It had already sprayed.  It was, as you'd imagine, pretty darned stinky.  A lot of gagging while trying to extract it from the trap.

[Habanero69er]

Yes, that would be the one.

[only1harry]

Bruce, make sure you practice with the correct holdover at 5-6 yards if you are using a scope.  Be sure to aim for the brain behind the eye or halfway between eye and ear like Jeff said.  "Between the eyes" is OK too on top of the skull if you are in an elevated position and he is staying still to check around.  If you don't hit the brain your yard will stink for weeks from the Ghog decomposing if you don't drop him in his tracks and he makes it down the burrow to die later from his wound.

The majority of the G-hogs I have shot (hundreds) on my property came out between 6am and 7:30am, and again between Noon and 3pm.  They also tend to tailor their schedule around the people living around them after a couple of weeks.  So if you go to work at 7:30am they 'll make sure they are back down before then, or come out right after you leave.  If you return at 4, 5 or 6pm, etc. they 'll be sure to fill their belly before that and not be around when you pull up. 

When they put their head up and freeze, which is often while they feed to scan the area for movement, is the best time to shoot.  You have a 4 to 5 second window. The trick is to stay very quiet and only move to get into position or bring the gun to your shoulder when he has his head down eating. Don't even move if he is facing away from you with his head up because their eyes are on the side of their head and they can see pretty close to 360 degrees around them.  If he puts his head up you must freeze immediately, or pull the trigger if you have him in your sights.  Nothing in between.  Freeze if not ready, or shoot.  It's going to be very challenging from only 5-6 yards away. 
I recommend shooting from an (already) open window that has a view of your garden, and preferably higher off the ground like a 2nd floor window, or keep the porch door open and shoot through the doorway or leaning on the door frame if you can.  You will not have a chance to shoot if you open a window or door that makes a sound while he is a few yards away.  He will run when he hears the slightest sound other than birds chirping, so you must open a window or door ahead of time and cock the gun inside the house because they can hear that too if you are too close.  Good luck and post the story and pic when you get him

Harry

[WobblyHand]

Unfortunately, I don't have a clear shot of this area from anywhere inside the house.  Maybe if I was laying on the flat porch roof, hmm.  Have to think about that.

After filling the hole the ghog made under the porch lattice, the ghog made another within the past two days.  Put a bunch of bricks over it, but this is a losing battle so far.  Bought the ding dong unit from HF, and set it up on a cinder block looking along the side of the lattice work and the stairs.  Not so sure about how well this is going to work, but it's cheap. 

The fact is I have to sneak out a different door and somehow set myself up without making noise, or having the wind blow the wrong direction.  Dunno, the roof is sounding better, as long as I don't fall off!

I don't have a scope set up for my GK1.  I have a green dot on it, and I installed a 1 degree wedge on it for short range shooting.  Right now it's set up for 9 foot or so range.  The shot I have to take isn't a lot longer than that, it's a crummy location for shooting, since I need to be sure of my back stop, and not shoot through my fixed basement window! 

Anyways, hope the ding dong goes off, so at least I learn this critter's hours.

[WobblyHand]

@only1harry Thanks for the advice.  Just got a shoulder stock for my GK1, which in someways will make it easier.  But if I am hanging off the roof, maybe it won't be easier.  The GK1 is auto cocking, but there's no sound, just a trigger pull, a bang and the cylinder auto-indexing to the next position.  I'll be trying for a brain shot, but first I have to see the critter first!  Been quite elusive, but the new burrow under the lattice work is fresh.  I did see him two days ago, up close and personal.  Pity I didn't have my GK1 near by.

Hoping the ding dong will at least give me a clue when he leaves the burrow, that is if he exits from under the porch.  I will have to search the property to see if there are other exits.  My wife has some bigger plants, and who knows, they may be hiding a burrow underneath them.

[only1harry]

Place the ding donger (that's the nickname we gave the HF driveway alert/motion detector 16 years ago) just 8" to 10" off the ground and point it at the burrow entrance 4 feet away at an angle or about 45 deg. in relation to the burrow, because the Ghog will either walk straight out or follow your home's foundation or wall to the end when coming out.  Then test the sensor by putting your foot or hand in front of the burrow and move it back & forth a little.  Make sure you plug in the receiver in an outlet near a window on that side of the house, put the volume on high, open the window, and listen for it when you simulate some movement in front of the burrow.  See when the receiver goes off and adjust the position of the sensor accordingly if you have to. 

Do you have the rifle stock add-on on your Huben GK1?  Here is what I recommend since it sounds like you don't have a good spot to shoot from inside the house or the porch, etc.  Once you have confirmed that the G-hog is using that burrow regularly, and you have given it a couple of days to learn the time(s) of day it comes out, set up a chair and small table with sand bag or rest outside 10 yards away on the lawn or wherever you get a clear line of sight to the burrow entrance, or where he comes out in the clear to start feeding.  Take position 20 min. before his normal time to come out and stare at the burrow entrance or listen for the ding donger receiver that you have placed near a window within hearing range.  You must try not to move much while waiting because sometimes they just stick out half their head or their eyes just above ground level before exposing their entire head or their body more.  They usually sit at the burrow entrance for a few minutes with their head partially out, to make sure the coast is clear before fully coming out.  That's the best time to take a shot because they sit perfectly still scanning the area.  Just make sure you practice shooting at that distance so you can hit the brain and get a 1-shot kill.  When you see his head out, move very slowly to get behind your red/green dot.  Sometimes they don't react right away if you make very small and slow movements.  If you get busted and he goes back under, it's OK.  He 'll pop his head up 5 or so minutes later, 10min at the most.  He is hungry and wants to come out.  Just make sure you are behind the gun and ready when he attempts to come out again.

I have done this once successfully the first time a Ghog dug a burrow under my home's foundation directly under the porch/florida room which is on the 2nd floor and supported by 6 steel posts.  Obviously I could not see or shoot through the porch floor and he kept eluding me for a while because we kept the porch windows closed that summer due to a lot of mosquitoes and there was a hornet's nest in a tree nearby, and when I tried to open one to shoot him when he was a few yards away on the lawn, he would hear it and run back to the burrow.  So I set up in the backyard 10 yards away and got him when he popped his head out.  I used a "weaker" gun - a Diana 36 .177 (14.3 fpe) because I didn't want to do any damage to the concrete foundation with my powerful PCP's, and although he pellet went through the Ghog's head, it didn't have energy to chip the paint or put a dent in it. If you have the rifle stock on your GK1 I would recommend you throw a cheap scope on it you may have laying around to make sure you are 100% successful with the shot placement since pistols are hard to shoot accurately.  If you have a rifle with at least 12 FPE, that will do fine as well inside 15 yards with a head shot.  You don't need a lot of power for a brain shot from that distance

[WobblyHand]

Ding dong went off at 2:44am and again at 6:03am.  I got up at 6, since at least it was light.  Went downstairs and looked out the window and saw the ghog.  Even got a picture.  Was feeding in a spot that would have a fine porch rooftop vantage.  I could set up a chair there and wait it out.  It's a further shot, but it's down and safe.  Seems like he's back at 6:50am, back in the burrow.  Lost sight around 6:10, must have circled around the house.  Well, I need to pace out the lawn/roof shot and do some trig to figure the range.  It was rare to get a head view, mostly it was facing away, presenting it's rump.  But occasionally it showed it's head.  From comparing with the bricks, it's body is between 12-14" long, maybe bigger, but I couldn't capture a full size view.  Going to be interesting... A year or two ago I saw a considerably larger one, that one was over 18", got a good visual of it as it was alongside a stockade fence.  I just counted pickets and later measured them.

[WobblyHand]

Here's the ghog this morning.  Not a very good photo, through two window panes and a screen door.  Did a walk around the yard, seems the ghog went after my wife's zinnias, last night, which was fenced with two foot chicken wire.  The ghog had pulled down some of the fencing by about 6" to attack one of the zinnia stems.  That would be tough to get a good shot there, much easier from the porch roof to the grass, like in the photo.  Or I guess I could lie on the roof and shoot straight down, but not so keen about that. 

[splitbeing]

Following...

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Hi Bruce


If it were me and I wanted a highly controlled shot situation then I would set up a bait station.
Most commonly ground hogs forage at dawn & dusk. This can vary due to location though.
Primarily, groundhogs eat grasses, garden flowers, clover, alfalfa, and dandelions. In addition, groundhogs like to eat garden fruits and vegetables like berries, apples, lettuce, corn, and carrots.
A 5 footlong section of 24 inch high chicken wire suspended between two stakes would be what I would set up.
I would put it at a location that I had seen the groundhog feeding or would want it to feed at.
I would suspend some carrots, corn on the cob or even a bunch of grapes right at the top of the chicken wire..
This would require the groundhog to rise up on its haunches in order to feed.
By rising up in that way, it would likely expose the top of its head for an unobstructed shot.


Good Luck and Best Wishes - Tom

[WobblyHand]

Hi Bruce

If it were me and I wanted a highly controlled shot situation then I would set up a bait station.
Most commonly ground hogs forage at dawn & dusk. This can vary due to location though.
Primarily, groundhogs eat grasses, garden flowers, clover, alfalfa, and dandelions. In addition, groundhogs like to eat garden fruits and vegetables like berries, apples, lettuce, corn, and carrots.
A 5 footlong section of 24 inch high chicken wire suspended between two stakes would be what I would set up.
I would put it at a location that I had seen the groundhog feeding or would want it to feed at.
I would suspend some carrots, corn on the cob or even a bunch of grapes right at the top of the chicken wire..
This would require the groundhog to rise up on its haunches in order to feed.
By rising up in that way, it would likely expose the top of its head for an unobstructed shot.

Good Luck and Best Wishes - Tom

Thanks Tom.  It would be best to get a clean shot at a known controlled range.  Good idea on the baiting, not sure if someone else will get it, but I will find out.  At first i thought this would be hard since it was a very close shot, like 3 yards.  But at least this morning, it was more like 7 yards, if I could shoot from the porch roof downward.  As you may know, its not that easy to change the range sight in by more than double.  I had made a short range wedge for my sight, and its shooting about 6 inches high at 21 feet, about 1.5 degrees, but I did have to remove the sight this morning.  I had it set up for 3 yards before.  My sight only has +/- 50 minutes of elevation adjustment.  So I'm working on a smaller wedge, so I might be able to span the two ranges without too much trouble.