I need some information about hunting on private land in Dansville Michigan.

My friend just bought 26 acres of mostly field to eventually put a house on. She intends to fence in for her 8 horses and as we walked the property we noticed there are a LOT of woodchucks and their holes. This, obviously, is not good for horses.

She asked me if I could shoot them and get rid of them all before she turns it into a pasture.

I plan to ‘plink’ them with a 30-30 but I do not know what the laws are about me shooting them on private land below the "rifle/shotgun" line. I intend to stuff them into their holes and bury them, not harvest them in any way.

Are there limitations to the caliber I can use or other laws about this? I think the "rifle/shotgun" law only applies to deer season.


Here is the info the DNR has given me but for the life of me I can not get a straight answer out of them:


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If the area is open to hunting and you can abide by all hunting rules and regulations, safety zones and the like and you have a valid small game license you could hunt woodchucks on private land there is no closed season on woodchucks.

During the firearm deer season their are caliber restrictions. With rifles you are restricted to 6 round in the mag and barrel combined and the mag may not be capable of holding more than 5, except a .22cal. During the firearm deer season you would be restricted to shotgun only and the ammo is also restricted.

There are hunting area controls that prohibiting hunting or discharge of firearms in some areas. Hunt area controls can be found at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10366_37141_37701---,00.html

The hunting and trapping guide can be viewed at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10371_14724---,00.html

Realize in MI if you are born after or on Jan 01, 1968 you must have hunter safety before you can hunt in MI.
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To which I responded:
I thought private land out in the middle of the county (not in the city) would be pretty much free of regulations.

I was at a sporting good store today and the guy said I am not allowed to shoot a 30-30 down in this part of the state no matter where or what. I disagree with that. I think that only applies to deer gun season and by your response I believe I am correct.


Any info you Michigan people can share?

Thanks.

Will

I worked with a guy that hunted woodchuck in the thumb area with a 22-250 for years. (Davison, Lapeer, Caro, ect)The centerfire law is only appicable to deer hunting and oddly enough you can use centerfire handguns with some straight walled case cartridges in the shotgun zone for deer legaly also during rifle season.
The 30-30 will do on chucks but, I would look for another cartridge for varmites. A fast 22 or 6mm as they lessen the danger of a bullet bouncing all over the country would be a better choice. If you can get close, say under 150 yd or so a 17 HMR or 22 mag would be a fine choice. The 17 bullets will come apart and be safer of the two and likely more accurate, but neither will do as well as a centerfire small bore.

I finally heard from the DNR. In a nutshell....they said "yes" I can do it as long as I am safe. Well...duh! :-)

I have a 22 LR target setup so I will probably use that or a shotgun.

Thanks for the info :-)

[QUOTE=Ol` Joe]I worked with a guy that hunted woodchuck in the thumb area with a 22-250 for years. (Davison, Lapeer, Caro, ect)QUOTE]


His name didn't happen to be Brian did it?? If so he's now in Wyo popping PD's

Hope you guys don`t mind if some jamoke from New York chimes in here. ;)

I don`t see any reason why Renthorin shouldn`t use his 30-30 if his only other choices are a 22LR or a shotgun.

I know from experience belly crawling through the tall grass as a kid that you need to get awfully close to a chuck with a 22 or shotgun to humanely kill them. They can and often do take a 22 slug or load of 6s before crawling back into their hole to die a slow death. This can be problematic if you have any poison ivy or cow/horse/dog/bear/or lots of deer dung in the area you plan to crawl.

I also believe that the 22 is far more ricochette prone than the 30-30 although being absolutely certain of the backstop or what is behind the woodchuck is always vital information, ofcourse all shooters on this forum are keenly aware of this.

BTW, do any of you recall that back during the 80`s one of the writers for Outdoor Life advocated eating woodchuck? It was said to taste like chicken, no kidding! But before my friends and I actually tried any I also read somewhere that woodchucks are also common carriers of TB so from that point forward we just shoved them down the hole. Using sticks or boot toes.

Remember also that woodchucks have several entrances and well hidden escape paths for any one den. These must be filled in before turning the horses out in this pasture or the ol 30-30 might need to be pressed into service again.

They taste like rabbit, mostly. Which is not a surprise as that is basically what they are.

I ate one in Missouri many years ago. Let me tell you that if my mother could cook it and make it edible, it's surely gormet fare in the right hands.

Haven't heard the TB thing. I'm not sure how that could be spread? TB is a lung infection; avoid giving one mouth-to-mouth and I think you would be OK....??? :confused:

Parasites on them like fleas and ticks could certainly spread disease, though - same as any other game animal.

Woodchucks are taxonomically in the squirrel family (Sciuridae) and taste like squirrel. (So are Prairie Dogs, but I've not been tempted to try them as the colonies often harbor Plague.). As in most animals, the young of the year are the better eating. Since they are usually hunted in warm weather, it is important that the animals to be eaten be cleaned and cooled promptly.

Two things should be considered include: the "brown fat" in the arm pits (which allegedly plays a role in hibernation) can impart a strong taste if not removed and some individuals have a heavy load of tapeworm cysts (which can be very large and tapioca-like). However, I doubt if you can find a wild (or domestic) animal that does not harbor at least 1 parasite.

Well I'm probably 15 miles from Dansville and travel it's metropolis regularly. :) As far as the hunting, you COULD use a 300 win mag if you chose. That's the law, with the other seasonal considerations in mind as mentioned.
But I have been a chuck hunter for 40 or so years in this area. Early in the season, before the crops emerge from the ground, some use 22 centerfires and the like. After the greenery comes to life, a 22 or 22 mag etc., will work just fine. A neighbor got one with his 22 recently. His 80+ year old father got another with a shovel. They were digging under his 1000 gallon propane tank.
I tend to like a 22 mag Ruger 77/22, or my Browning 53 in 32-20 loaded light. Average distance over the years, is probably 50 feet or less.
As far as eating them, cut them up into little pieces, fry lightly and add as a stew starter or just like rabbit, squirrel, etc.
They can be quite a problem. One of my customers offered 50.00 per, for the ones tunneling under her sidewalk and under the floor of the pole barn. Tempting, if I had the time.
Bestboss

That rule about 5 in the mag and one in the chamber applies to semi automatic rifles only. A bolt action or lever action or pump can hold all they want. Mine holds ten.