Gophers, prairie dogs, woodchucks or groundhogs. They are all pretty much the same, just the change in names due to various locales. The creature is a hazard to horses, cattle and gardens. They burrow under barns, in fields and near wooded areas. Like the one in Caddyshack they can be, and usually are, a nuisance.

Farmers hate them not only for the crops they destroy but also because they make holes that cows and horses step in and break their legs. Another fact you may not be aware of, and they are good eating.

The meat is a little like the taste of a rabbit. The above fact puts it in the realm of huntable. Therefore you can do yourself and landowners a favor by pursuing these sneaky and alert animals. But remember they are smart. Their keen eyesight makes this ground dwelling animal hard to get close enough to shoot.

In fact, trying to get close to them is almost as hard as stalking a Whitetail or a turkey.When they are feeding the best way to get near to them is to sneak up in back of them using existing cover and camo. But, one mistake and their short little legs can put them out of bow range real quick. . It is also important to get these small critters as far away from their holes as possible.

Broadheads are the head of choice. I know people that have hunted woodchucks with field points and watched the animal go down the hole with the arrow attached, breaking the aluminum shaft on their way.  I have hunted them and know that if you can get twenty yards from them you have done well.

I know, from personal experience, that staying by their holes as they exit is not an easy shot. Like other game they react quickly to movement and can retreat to their holes before the arrow can get to them.

These creatures can also be of significant size. When I owned Seacoast Archery Center in the eighties I ran an annual woodchuck contest. Instead of weight I went by length and girth combined. It seems to me that what took first prize was one about 30” long with a girth of 25”!   So do not consider them to be cute little animals. Chances are they get big by eating your flowers or vegetables in your garden.

At about the size of your cat and almost as agile with the ability to run and escape down a hole this animal will test your hunting skills and hone them up for big game. Being very mobile they will challenge your marksmanship. Being a danger to livestock you should be able to talk your way in to farms that want them out. And it may just grease up permission to hunt deer this fall. So check out this hunting opportunity.  GRAB YOUR BOW AND GOPHER IT.