# Pot-Gut Hunting ?



## grocery_hunter

I was recently scouting for elk around 9,000 feet and I came across this meadow filled with Pot-Guts (By the 100s). Seeing this made me think, Do pot guts have a season like prairie dogs? Do you have to have a combination license to hunt them? Or is there any other regulation I need to know about?
Thanks


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## taxidermist

Pot Guts, "Whistle Pigs" whatever you want to call them, are open to tuning up your shooting skills. Great archery targets!


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## DallanC

taxidermist said:


> Pot Guts, "Whistle Pigs" whatever you want to call them, are open to tuning up your shooting skills. Great archery targets!


Pot-Guts are ground Squirrels. "Whistle Pigs" are marmots (rockchucks / woodchucks).

No license or season on either... unless it gets too popular of a sport of course, then the DWR will probably put a season on it like prairie dogs.

-DallanC


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## BPturkeys

DallanC said:


> Pot-Guts are ground Squirrels. "Whistle Pigs" are marmots (rockchucks / woodchucks).
> 
> No license or season on either... unless it gets too popular of a sport of course, then the DWR will probably put a season on it like prairie dogs.
> 
> -DallanC


Wow, never thought of it, but gee, maybe even a whole new group of permits/licenses. I can easily envision a few new LE's for those areas holding giant 'guts. For sure a new forum here with guys arguing about what caliber is adequate for 'guts, or is it "all about shot placement"... scouting questions...honey holes... special youth hunts would be in order along with archery and muzzy hunts. Might be a stretch, but even a Governor's tag for auction at the sport show?
PS...brings a whole new meaning to the term "gut pile"


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## Trooper

FWIW, Pot Guts are super interesting. Google them. I always wondered what happened to them about this time of year and the answer is they start hibernating in late July. They hibernate like 8 months a year!


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## Critter

I have never seen them hibernating in the summer much less late July. 

I used to get some fresh and hot french fries from Burger King along with my sandwich and then go over to a location where there were hundreds of those little buggers. I'd throw out a french fry and then watch them fight for it until the realized that it was too hot to hold onto only for the next one to grab it up. That is until it cooled off enough for them to handle and then it was gone.


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## DallanC

We used to catch them with lasso snares made from fishing line when out camping. Was alot of fun running around with a potgut on the end of your fishing rod. 


-DallanC


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## Critter

DallanC said:


> We used to catch them with lasso snares made from fishing line when out camping. Was alot of fun running around with a potgut on the end of your fishing rod.
> 
> -DallanC


I learned how to make wire and string snares using them as subjects.

It was fun being a kid long ago.


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## Hoopermat

BPturkeys said:


> Wow, never thought of it, but gee, maybe even a whole new group of permits/licenses. I can easily envision a few new LE's for those areas holding giant 'guts. For sure a new forum here with guys arguing about what caliber is adequate for 'guts, or is it "all about shot placement"... scouting questions...honey holes... special youth hunts would be in order along with archery and muzzy hunts. Might be a stretch, but even a Governor's tag for auction at the sport show?
> PS...brings a whole new meaning to the term "gut pile"


Come on we all know the 300 RUM is the only caliber for everything.


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## BPturkeys

Hoopermat said:


> Come on we all know the 300 RUM is the only caliber for everything.


Karl...little help here please


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## Loke

Hoopermat said:


> Come on we all know the 300 RUM is the only caliber for everything.


With at least 200 grains of bullet.

Unless you're a girl, then a 243 is OK.


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## Al Hansen

DallanC said:


> Pot-Guts are ground Squirrels. "Whistle Pigs" are marmots (rockchucks / woodchucks).
> 
> No license or season on either... unless it gets too popular of a sport of course, then the DWR will probably put a season on it like prairie dogs.
> 
> -DallanC


Depends on what part of the country you're from. I got talked into a "whistle pig" hunt up near Boise. I was told there were hundreds even thousands of "whistle pigs" ready to be exterminated. When we got there they were little ground squirrels that were on crack !!! My whistle pigs are Yellow Bellied Marmots not some tiny little ground squirrel on crack. 700 miles to shoot those things was not fun.


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## DallanC

Al Hansen said:


> Depends on what part of the country you're from. I got talked into a "whistle pig" hunt up near Boise. I was told there were hundreds even thousands of "whistle pigs" ready to be exterminated. When we got there they were little ground squirrels that were on crack !!! My whistle pigs are Yellow Bellied Marmots not some tiny little ground squirrel on crack. 700 miles to shoot those things was not fun.


I'd never even heard the term until I lived back east for a few years (West Virginia). They use that term quite often... its even in a ton of blue grass songs (usually in reference to using them as food... lol).

From prior posts, it seemed LostLouisianan and Goob were the only ones really familiar with it here on UWN.

But to your point about your trip, I'd still have alot of fun if there were alot of rodents to shoot at.

-DallanC


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## LostLouisianian

BPturkeys said:


> Karl...little help here please


I messaged Karl and he concurred that you need the .483 super ultra premium double magnum with a 647 grain FMJ steel core bullet to take them down ethically.


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## taxidermist

LostLouisianian said:


> I messaged Karl and he concurred that you need the .483 super ultra premium double magnum with a 647 grain FMJ steel core bullet to take them down ethically.


It's been stated, "that a man that use's an oversized caliber, is trying to compensate for something smaller". :mrgreen:


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## wyogoob

*they hibernate for at least 8 months*



Trooper said:


> FWIW, Pot Guts are super interesting. Google them. I always wondered what happened to them about this time of year and the answer is they start hibernating in late July. They hibernate like 8 months a year!


Yeah, we had pot guts (Uinta Ground Squirrel, I think) at our gas plant northeast of Evanston, 100s of them every year. Elevation was @ 8,000ft.

They hibernated for at least 8 months.

.


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## DallanC

wyogoob said:


> Yeah, we had pot guts (Uinta Ground Squirrel, I think) at our gas plant northeast of Evanston, 100s of them every year. Elevation was @ 8,000ft.
> 
> They hibernated for at least 8 months. .


Hey, I learned something. I did a little digging and found there is a term for "summer hibernation", its called *aestivate.

*


> *Aestivation* or *æstivation* (from Latin: _aestas_, summer, but also spelled *estivation* in American English) is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, characterized by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate, that is entered in response to high temperatures and arid conditions.[1] It takes place during times of heat and dryness, the hot dry season, which are often the summer months.
> Invertebrate and vertebrate animals are known to enter this state to avoid damage from high temperatures and the risk of desiccation. Both terrestrial and aquatic animals undergo aestivation.


cool.

-DallanC


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## wyogoob

The locals over here call them "squeakers" and "the Wyoming state bird" 

.


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## LostLouisianian

taxidermist said:


> It's been stated, "that a man that use's an oversized caliber, is trying to compensate for something smaller". :mrgreen:


Guilty as charged yer honor


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## LostLouisianian

DallanC said:


> Hey, I learned something. I did a little digging and found there is a term for "summer hibernation", its called *aestivate.
> 
> *
> cool.
> 
> -DallanC


AKA Siesta time


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## wyogoob

*big boolits*



taxidermist said:


> It's been stated, "that a man that use's an oversized caliber, is trying to compensate for something smaller". :mrgreen:


Yeah, well I'm shootin' the .14 Flea these days.

.


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## Critter

wyogoob said:


> Yeah, well I'm shootin' the .14 Flea these days.
> 
> .


How is the blood trail for tracking? -8/-

Are most of the shots one shot kills or do they require a follow up? :rotfl:


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## backcountry

Be careful in Grand and San Juan Co:



> (5) A certificate of registration is required to take any of the following species of nongame mammals in San Juan and Grand counties:
> (a) Abert squirrel - Sciurus aberti;
> (b) Northern rock mouse - Peromyscus nasutus; and
> (c) spotted ground squirrel - Spermophilus spilosoma.


Sounds like its a rare species in the state.

I had misread the regulations about non-game species and thought Marmot was off limits. Been curious about them for a while. Might have to try this recipe:



> Whistle Pig Stew
> Dehmer, Kurt
> 
> Unfortunately, we live in a time where a fat guy eating deep-fried swine-gut in the Caribbean is considered entertainment. I'm serious here-there are a half-dozen programs on various networks dedicated to portly fellows traveling to exotic locales and eating supposedly exotic food. Throw in a staged, chamber-of-commerce-approved outdoor "adventure," and you've got the formula for a cable television show.
> 
> I recently watched in awe as Chubby McGlutton polished off several different dishes made from the capybara, a gigantic rodent native to Argentina. What shocked me was that this wasn't really that exotic or unusual. In fact, in the not-so-distant past, my great grandmother perfected a dish that made use of a common pest abundant on her eastern Montana homestead, and like the capybara, it is a member of the rodent family. Of course, I am referring to the marmot, or whistle pig as Granny called them. This recipe is probably the root of a family tradition-never waste beer, ammo, or something potentially edible.
> 
> What You'll Need
> 1 marmot (the bigger the better) skinned, quartered, and deboned
> 2 1/2 cans grain beer
> 2 cups buttermilk
> 1/2 cup water
> 4 large garlic cloves, pressed
> 1 large onion, chopped
> 2 large potatoes, cubed
> 3 large carrots, chopped
> 6-8 mushrooms, whole
> 2 strips bacon, chopped
> 1 tbsp. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
> 
> Preparation
> In a large bowl or marinating pan, combine the buttermilk, one can of beer, and two cloves of garlic. Soak the marmot meat in this mixture. Overnight is recommended, but soaking the meat for a couple of hours will suffice. In a large skillet, cook the chopped bacon until lightly crisped. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pan. With the skillet on low heat, add a portion of onions, a pinch of garlic, and the Worcestershire sauce. Once the mixture is aromatic, add the meat and brown lightly on both sides. Once the meat is browned, add the contents of the skillet, one-and-a-half cans of beer, the bacon, and the rest of the ingredients to a slow cooker. Set the cooker on low and stir periodically. Once the potatoes and carrots are cooked through, the meal is ready.
> 
> Tips & Tricks
> Depending upon how the marmot was procured, it might be important to remove any bullet fragments from the flesh. Use only the larger cuts of meat; forgo rib and head sections as they're not worth the trouble. Feel free to get creative with the marinade, as marmot can be a touch stringy. Buttermilk really works wonders as a tenderizer, and teriyaki, sweet chili sauce, maple syrup, or a host of other things may be added according to one's tastes. If you're feeling especially gourmand-ish, drain the stew liquid into a separate bowl and add seasoned flour to turn out some unique gravy, then serve the whole mess over a bed of rice. This recipe also works wonders with rabbit, game birds, and even neck roasts from larger game. Keep it simple, and when your guests ask what kind of meat you used, tell them it's whistle pig. They'll just assume it's some sort of pork. Bon appétit.


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## taxidermist

wyogoob said:


> Yeah, well I'm shootin' the .14 Flea these days.
> 
> .


I just use my .50 BMG. -O,--BaHa!-


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## Al Hansen

wyogoob said:


> Yeah, well I'm shootin' the .14 Flea these days.
> 
> .


Just remember Goob, "it's not the size of the projectile , it's what you do with it ".


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