Sight Hunting / Trapping Groundhogs with Double Door Cage Traps

This sort of sight hunting for chucks integrates hunting with trapping and adds an element of excitement to the experience, while it both speeds and enhances the process.

I know I have mentioned a lot of this before in different posts, but would like to tie it altogether with hows and whys on some important aspects of groundhog trapping with double door cage traps.  Like beaver, along with morning, woodchucks are active in the evening up until dark, making late day a great time to check and set traps, while locating "new" chucks and dens, chucks that can get overlooked.

When checking in the evening its not uncommon to see groundhogs moving and feeding.  You will often see chucks you were not aware  of on large properties  When I spot them running I will jump out of the truck and follow them until they dive into a den, unknown chucks and dens for the most part.  Since evening is the time chucks are feeding before they bed down, if you push them into a den before they have finished, they will be eager to come back out and finish supper before turning in for the night.

Last evening, as hoped, I ran into a chuck crossing a road and followed him until he holed up in a den that I was not aware of.  I a minute I had a double door Comstock 9x11x18 covering the hole.  After checking a couple of traps I returned about 10 minutes later and found him in the trap, as expected.  What it comes down to, if you see a chuck late in the day, he's yours.  Just follow him and set.

I know some will set single door traps at chuck holes.   A single door trap will take only chucks in the den at the time of setting.  Where chucks are often in the den, not always be a long shot.  Transient males will have dens or dive holes scattered everywhere, long distances apart.  A dive hole is a quick safe haven for chucks to hide in when they feel threatened.  If you set single door traps at these locations you will short yourself.  Last night two of these holes that had remained vacant for a couple of days each had nice fat groundhogs.  Of course these woodchucks were caught re-entering the dens rather than exiting, chucks single door traps would simply have missed.