Ground hog hunting

[Hayfmr]

They are not on my side of the Tri Cities.  See a ground hog passing thru every couple of years.  Have never seen a sage rat here.  I did see 2 yotes this morning.  Didn't have a gun with me though.

[satchel3006]

Care to elaborate there biginner?

[BIGINNER]

on a sunny day go out to any of the hills around tri cities.  Heck any feild/sage where you can shoot. Look for areas with alot of little dirt mounds and holes.  Usually by wheat fields and you'll most likely see sage rats.  They're really hard to spot at first,  but once you get used to it you'll see them everywhere.   

I used to never see sage rats around here until a fellow hunt-wa member/ OBGYN took us sage rat shooting in the lower valley. Once I knew what to look for I see them everywhere.  Heck I see 20 to 30 on the way home from work right off of 182 and 82.

[raevan]

Just for clarification; A ground hog is a Marmot, and a sage rat is a ground squirrel. In Washington the Hoary and Olimpic marmots are protected. The Yellow bellied Marmot found on the east side of the state are not protected. Be real carfull about Identifing your ground squirrels, most of them in the state are protected. ( see threads on Sage Rat and ground squirrels.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Commonly known as the rock chuck ... love shootin those little hogs ...

[Drop-tine]

they are everywhere around Conconully I have put the 17 Hmr to good use on them already 

[BOWHUNTER45]

yeah I used to shoot them in Winthrop for years ... I would camp at pearigin lake and the owner would let me hunt there every year ... spent 1000,s of .223 rounds there and when I left there were not many left ... but now there is new owners and guess what ... NO HUNTING !!!!  sure appreciate the old days ....

[BurleyDog]

my family used to make boot laces out of the leather.

Apparently the leather from ground hogs doesn't shrink and swell like regular leather does.

[Drop-tine]

Yeah no kidding everywhere you go now days signs posted everywhere NO HUNTING/NO TRESPASSING or you will be prosecuted im pretty lucky though growing up in conconully cause i know everyone and most of them will let me hunt their land except for the Haberlees They have some of the best hunting in the state for mule deer... I even offered to build fence for him for free if he would let me hunt his land and he said no hunting but ill pay you minimum wage   

[grundy53]

they are everywhere around Conconully I have put the 17 Hmr to good use on them already 

Out in the Scotch creek area?

[BOWHUNTER45]

.....yeah  know that property in Conconully....

[Drop-tine]

Yeah go ahead and cover the whole scotch creek area you might find one or two  No I usually go out by fish lake or mineral mountain or silver hill

[grundy53]

Yeah go ahead and cover the whole scotch creek area you might find one or two  No I usually go out by fish lake or mineral mountain or silver hill

Silver hill is part of the scotch creek wildlife area and was actually the place I was thinking of. Fish lake is another good one. Fishing and shooting doesn't get much better. Love that town.

[Drop-tine]

Yeah kind of the border on the north end of scotch creek the good hunting up there is mostly private though unless you head towards vonda olsens lake north east of the lake then you get into the fish and game land