Now that to me is what a young man's life is all about and he reminds me of me. First time me and close friend took his son out ground squirrel Hunting and about the same age and also a good shot. He missed probably the first ten and started crying but once I got him to settle down and take his time I don't recall him missing another one the rest of day. I guess one might say he had to get over his buck or should I say squirrel fever and then he was more than good to go.

JLouis

I'm in the western Virginia mountains.  In the 1980s I was an avid groundhog hunter in various surrounding counties here in Virginia and in eastern West Virginia.

During those years I had a marvelous custom Sharps Borchardt chambered in .225 Win. with a Douglas XX barrel.  It had double set triggers by a 'smith in Ohio.  The rifle was deadly accurate and spelt the end of many a 'chuck.

As reported here, there seemed to be a correlation between the appearance of coyotes and a drop in woodchuck populations.

I found a photo of my Sharps Borchardt and thought I would share it here.  I sold the rifle in the mid-90s to fund a double rifle purchase.  Wish I had it back!

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The older I get, the less I have a stomach for shooting critters just for the heck of it.  Getting soft, I guess.

Let me also say, I have eaten several groundhogs in years gone by.  The meat is excellent if properly handled and cooked.  My children remember.  The biggest obstacle is hot weather.  A groudhog shot the morning of a hot sunny day can't be carried around until the evening.  I hunted on foot and was away from a vehicle or cooler all day.  Only a late evening kill presented the opportunity for the crock pot.

Curl