First Chuck Taken for 2018

[dbHunterNY]

I haven't had the time to get out but took advantage of an opportunity. Was at parent's house mothers day.  saw a chuck and it was on. no pictures. wished i had a Go-Pro though. she was in a hole on a bank near the barn. Has a couple holes under the barn and some always get dug in the side hill of the adjacent hay field.  I worked around a long way and then stalked from the top of the bank to her hole from directly behind.  got to within 5' or so. scope blurry as heck even at 50 yd parallax setting. managed to get lined up with fur filling the whole reticle. perfect shot through the head. think that's the closest i've ever gotten to one undetected.

[BKhunter]

Anyone ever try cooking them? Someone was telling me they are pretty good and have seen come people online cook them up.

[turkeyfeathers]

38 minutes ago, BKhunter said:

Anyone ever try cooking them? Someone was telling me they are pretty good and have seen come people online cook them up.

I’ll just leave it at no amount of bacon wrapped would entice me 

[Robhuntandfish]

Weve all had it..... "chuck" roast, ground 'chuck" ......

[dbHunterNY]

i've been told by individuals that have cooked them first hand that they are good. when i take them from our ag fields they stink, are crapping themselves, and everything else to make them seem plain unappealing. I've never tried them. local rod and gun club wanted some for the game dinner. i just assume leave them at nearby fox or coyote dens during off season to give them an easy meal and detract them from gobbling up fawns. that's what happened to this one.  no longer have animals on farm and reasons to justify legally taking them now. in the fall they get hammered. everything needs to eat and i'll stick to deer.

[mowin]

I've had a 'Chuck stew at a game dinner yrs ago. Was tasty, but tuff.

[dbHunterNY]

even if i have little time i'm sure there will be at least a dozen more this summer. anyone care to try it then let me know. lol it's free but don't expect it field dressed.

[ny hunter]

Not sure I would even try it....

[dbHunterNY]

another ate a lead pill yesterday afternoon. count is onyl at 2 so far for this year. until hay season is here it's usually slow.  i better get behind the gun more and actually get out there if that number is going to climb to anything significant. no time though.

[Dinsdale]

Things are picking up here, took a long walk and got 2 and know where to go back again with a centerfire for a bit more punch at distance.

I'll give a report but this one is headed to a pot, neighbor claims he can cook them up. We'll see. LOL  

[helmut in the bush]

41 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

Things are picking up here, took a long walk and got 2 and know where to go back again with a centerfire for a bit more punch at distance.

I'll give a report but this one is headed to a pot, neighbor claims he can cook them up. We'll see. LOL  

Tell us about that gun

[Dinsdale]

Nothing special, CZ  "Trainer" 22LR, I like the long barrel as it shoots quiet. I have several CZ 452's and they shoot very well. Balance is similar to another favorite centerfire rifle so I have the same scope on both, triggers are close too. Cheap practice.

Found a good enclave of red squirrel too, but didn't get a good position and the bugs were tough to sit near a wet area today.

[ny hunter]

I love the look of that rifle,I bet it shoots like a dream..

[philoshop]

I've eaten a lot of them, and the meat is very tasty. The meat tends to be pretty tough and needs to be marinaded and/or aged, but I think that's because they pretty much dig for a living and their muscles are well-toned. They eat the same stuff that cows and deer do so it's not diet, but they can move a heck of a lot of dirt pretty quickly when so motivated. As I recall, my grandmother used to gut and skin them and hang them in the root cellar for several days, similar to how you'd handle an old deer.

[DirtTime]

I've eaten it a few times, it can be tough, but doesn't taste that bad. 

 

Anyone ever have any luck hunting chucks in wooded areas? Been out hiking a local hunting spot a couple times over the past week and seen them where they shouldn't be. No, I never bothered to take a pic.

[Dinsdale]

17 minutes ago, Rob... said:

I've eaten it a few times, it can be tough, but doesn't taste that bad. 

 

Anyone ever have any luck hunting chucks in wooded areas? Been out hiking a local hunting spot a couple times over the past week and seen them where they shouldn't be. No, I never bothered to take a pic.

I shot this one in a wooded area/transition between fields, I hunt the edges as these are not cut hay fields on state land.

Actually had the camera out as I have a new hobby and was taking pics of butterflies and moths to identify, so there ya go.

26 minutes ago, philoshop said:

I've eaten a lot of them, and the meat is very tasty. The meat tends to be pretty tough and needs to be marinaded and/or aged, but I think that's because they pretty much dig for a living and their muscles are well-toned. They eat the same stuff that cows and deer do so it's not diet, but they can move a heck of a lot of dirt pretty quickly when so motivated. As I recall, my grandmother used to gut and skin them and hang them in the root cellar for several days, similar to how you'd handle an old deer.

I've had it before too, same observation, tastes fine but chewy. So it happened to come up in conversation as I gave this same guy part of a deer and his stew was fantastic he gave me; so he said he'd cook up a chuck' if I had a head shot. Looking forward to trying his results.

[philoshop]

My Grandmother preferred that I shoot the young ones who didn't have to dig to stay alive. They were pretty tender, and it thinned the population. It would be interesting to try dry-aging. It wouldn't take much of a refrigerator to hang a few for a while.

[DirtTime]

27 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

I shot this one in a wooded area/transition between fields, I hunt the edges as these are not cut hay fields on state land.

Actually had the camera out as I have a new hobby and was taking pics of butterflies and moths to identify, so there ya go.

I've had it before too, same observation, tastes fine but chewy. So it happened to come up in conversation as I gave this same guy part of a deer and his stew was fantastic he gave me; so he said he'd cook up a chuck' if I had a head shot. Looking forward to trying his results.

I was more or less asking about actual woodlands. I was at the top of a mountain ( open space/wild grass field, maybe 3/4 of an acre ) with fields across the road, but for the most part, it's all woods. I have seen them in the woods before, like you mentioned, where it was more of an AG area, with fields bordering the the woods in all directions. 

[moog5050]

1 hour ago, Dinsdale said:

Nothing special, CZ  "Trainer" 22LR, I like the long barrel as it shoots quiet. I have several CZ 452's and they shoot very well. Balance is similar to another favorite centerfire rifle so I have the same scope on both, triggers are close too. Cheap practice.

Found a good enclave of red squirrel too, but didn't get a good position and the bugs were tough to sit near a wet area today.

CZs are great rifles. 

[stubborn1VT]

We always par-boiled them and grilled them.  They are tough, but flavor is alright.  It seemed to me that their flavor was better early in the year, as opposed to later in the summer.  

[turkeyfeathers]

55 minutes ago, Rob... said:

I've eaten it a few times, it can be tough, but doesn't taste that bad. 

 

Anyone ever have any luck hunting chucks in wooded areas? Been out hiking a local hunting spot a couple times over the past week and seen them where they shouldn't be. No, I never bothered to take a pic.

Chucks in the woods is random as they’re probably just moving through or near a field edge. I shot one with my handgun when I was coming out of the turkey woods last year. He was hundreds and hundreds of yards from any field though. 

[DirtTime]

5 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Chucks in the woods is random as they’re probably just moving through or near a field edge. I shot one with my handgun when I was coming out of the turkey woods last year. He was hundreds and hundreds of yards from any field though. 

Pretty much what I was thinking as well. Just wanted to ask. 

[dbHunterNY]

i've seen a bunch while out and about on people's lawns, road sides, and in the city. hay is just starting to come off the fields for first cutting. should be able to stack some in the near future. a lot of old holes are still filled in but new ones always pop up.

Edited June 8, 2018 by dbHunterNY

[the blur]

I saw 1 on Long Island.    I was surprised.. but it was a wooded area.

[dbHunterNY]

20 hours ago, the blur said:

I saw 1 on Long Island.    I was surprised.. but it was a wooded area.

we're an ag farm. taken over a 100 off the 350 ish acres some years. never seen one in the woods. always out in the hay fields digging holes. if they were in the woods they'd live a long life. i'd leave it be probably.