Rock Chuck!!

[bwaites]

At lot of people have asked what animal I am referring to when I mention rock chucks. These are technically a marmot, but I generally don't have a chance to take pictures of them.

Tonite I was on my way home when I noticed that a friends orchard had quite a few varmints in it. I returned with my pellet gun, found the home pile of rocks and wood and set up close by. I hit 3 with killing shots, but 2 managed to drag themselves into their holes, even though I backflipped one of them, hitting him solidly in the head.

This one didn't make it into a hole.

Don't worry, the barbecue is a junker that was close by, but I wanted to give some scale.

PS. Inside city limits, so couldn't use the 17 HMR or the Grendel.

[warped]

Marmots are supposed to be edible...

[bwaites]

Marmots are supposed to be edible...

They eat vegetation, so I suspect they are a lot like a rabbit....BUT....I'd have to be pretty hungry!

[warped]

Nah, I have a friend who grew up in WI.

She said they ate woodchuck all the time and it was better than rabbit, not as tough.

They ate them all kinds of ways as well and even put the meat into pasties.

BTW I am sure that Gene, Paul and I have eaten far worse, heck that would be like Christmas dinner if you were hungry.

[bwaites]

Nah, I have a friend who grew up in WI.

She said they ate woodchuck all the time and it was better than rabbit, not as tough.

They ate them all kinds of ways as well and even put the meat into pasties.

BTW I am sure that Gene, Paul and I have eaten far worse, heck that would be like Christmas dinner if you were hungry.

There are plenty of recipes, most look like you treat them a lot like fatty squirrels, which makes sense. Parboil, then bake.

I'd probably give them a try if I was out camping, everything tastes better then!

And trust me, I've eaten far worse.....try Icelandic hakarl....

[RStewart]

Looks like a squirrel on steriods.

We don't have those down here but we have nutria. A vegatation eating rodent imported into Louisiana from South America in the 1930's for their fur. They are now considered nuisance animals and can be shot any time. The state has tried several times, unsuccessfully, to promote the meat. They weigh an average of 12 pounds.
Would you eat this? I know we Louisianaians get accussed of eating anything, but there are limits.

[warped]

I would eat Nutria, I would make it into a creole lightly browned then simmered, serve over rice

[Longshot_34]

I believe they're officially called a Yellow Bellied Marmot

[RStewart]

I would eat Nutria, I would make it into a creole lightly browned then simmered, serve over rice

1 customer down, 318,000,000 to go.

I do hum the theme to "Ben" before I pull the trigger on them, though.

[bwaites]

I believe they're officially called a Yellow Bellied Marmot

I believe that is correct. Interestingly, no yellow belly on this one! I wonder if they actually are some crossbreed, maybe a hoary marmot and yellowbelly, or ? Maybe the yellowbelly only shows up on fully mature or grand daddy types?

I had a chance at two of them when I took this shot, the other one was bigger, but at a more oblique angle. I took the sure shot rather than the tougher one.

[VASCAR2]

We call ours groundhogs and they love soybeans. They can do a lot of damage to earthen levees along our rivers so County used to pay a bounty for ears and tail.

[bwaites]

Groundchucks, woodchucks, whistlepigs, rockchucks, they're all marmots of some type.

Rockchucks can tear up alfalfa fields, gardens, and they even damage some types of trees. Farmers here will often pay a bounty, too.

My friend pays the neighbor teenager $5 a piece for them, but the population this year is higher than last, so I didn't feel like I was taking any money from him! LOL

[warped]

Here we have woodchucks and as you know they like to burrow under foundations and in landscaping.

I rarely shoot them but the dogs sure love them to pieces, literally.

[z06man]

Looks like a squirrel on steriods.

We don't have those down here but we have nutria. A vegatation eating rodent imported into Louisiana from South America in the 1930's for their fur. They are now considered nuisance animals and can be shot any time. The state has tried several times, unsuccessfully, to promote the meat. They weigh an average of 12 pounds.
Would you eat this? I know we Louisianaians get accussed of eating anything, but there are limits.

Looks like a muskrat.

[Longshot_34]

.22-250 loaded with Sierra blitz kings makes a fine mist