Halloween Badger

12244 · 10-31-2008, 05:48 PM

Spooky lookin fellow. How rare are these things?

Limbhanger · 10-31-2008, 05:57 PM

They arent rare at all. Badgers do a good job of eating sage rats and other small critters.

Mad Mikey · 10-31-2008, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limbhanger

They arent rare at all. Badgers do a good job of eating sage rats and other small critters.

That, and chasing me around in the woods! I am badger-phobic!

Almost got et', twice last year.

Eeeek!

hunter9 · 10-31-2008, 06:48 PM

Rare to me I have never seen one. Where could I find one?

M'kay13 · 10-31-2008, 06:49 PM

Opportunity kill, or did you call it in?

kigercreek · 10-31-2008, 06:51 PM

For many years we had a badger mounted in a very aggressive pose which we would hide around the high school and bus facility...then it made its way to deer and elk camps. I swear, even when I'd take it out and leave it in the pickup I'd scare myself when I'd return to the rig. We had some GREAT times with it. Two of the best involved our transportation manager laying under a bus before daylight waiting for a bus driver to come to work, then shove it out from under the bus at the driver. Good for a few screams. Then, a few years back, we sat it on my uncle's generator at elk camp one night...we kept trying to get him out of the RV, but only succeeded when we shut off the generator only to turn it back on. He poked his head out the door of the RV, then we heard him say "grab my pistol" to my aunt. We intervened. When asked how he thought the badger started the generator back up we all got a laugh!

BrianMaguire · 10-31-2008, 09:39 PM

they are not rare nor common. No real sense in killing them unless you want the hide. They do good.

oregonoutdoors · 11-01-2008, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianMaguire

they are not rare nor common. No real sense in killing them unless you want the hide. They do good.

Unless the rancher/farmer asks you to shoot them. Most of the places that I have been rat shooting they have asked me to shoot them if I see one.

12244 · 11-01-2008, 05:28 AM

This friendly badger had white line fever, a danger of your camo matching the roadside paint line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M'kay13

Opportunity kill, or did you call it in?

Don Becker · 11-01-2008, 07:06 AM

Maybe if Skein, or one of the other attendees at the first annual Ifish predator hunt, sees this he/they can correct my recollection, if I'm mistaken. My memory is that the rancher whose land bordered the public land we hunted, and who urged us to also hunt his land, wanted them killed. He seemed to feel the holes they dug were a real hazzard to his cattle.

On another trip to Central Oregon, a buddy shot at one in an irrigation ditch. We had our .357 magnums loaded with snake shot in the first three cylinders - - he forgot that - - all he did was to make that badger really, really angry

.

During our '06 pronghorn hunt in the Silvies Unit, my brother Jon and I saw one but neither of us was quick-enough to do him in.

I think there are plenty of them around but they're pretty nocturnal and secretive.

Don

Chug · 11-01-2008, 07:34 AM

Found one coming back from Burns just outside of Christmas Valley.. Looked freshly hit, still had Blood oozing from the nose. Sorry no Scale,

OH yea, For the City PC folks, Do not look at the Ketchup, if you have weak belly.

They are Best Rodent killers Killing machines., Then Yotes. Skunks.

SR1 5 · 11-01-2008, 08:11 AM

Back when I was a teenager a friend and myself working wheat harvest one year caught a badger in the field away from its hole . We decided to run after it----- possibly the biggest adreneline rush of my life when that thing decided it could not out run us and turned, showing his teeth and snarling. He didn't come at us but let us know that he was not very happy and was not backing up! Try it sometime- you won't need hair gel to spike your hair.

nevermiss · 11-07-2008, 11:25 AM

They aren't really all that uncommon, tho' SEEING one sorta is. Excellent varminters, tho' again, you'd be lucky to witness that. Lots more in E. Oregon than W, or at least more commonly seen. If you feel the need to take one worry not, there're plenty to take it's place.
They seem to do most things after dark, I believe. (Or underground, maybe?)

Sweet Melissa · 11-07-2008, 11:32 AM

When I was working for the USFS outside of Chemult, I got a little too close to one of their dens. She let me know that I was not welcome on her property. And she really didn't like it when I waved my hat at her to shoo her back in her hole.

It really caught me off guard, because there were animal burrows all over the place and none had been occupied. Did not expect to find a "live" one.

TheJester357 · 11-07-2008, 01:58 PM

I stepped on one by accident in Montana one time while hunting deer with my grandfather. I ran the better part of a mile with that little ball of hate and discontent chasing me, before my grandfather yelled at me to take off my boot and give it to the damn thing. I finally got up a small rock, and did like he said. That badger chewed that boot to pieces and then walked away growling after it was destroyed. My grandfather thought it was hilarious, not exacty the same thought my mother had....

Bob

Nw dukn · 11-07-2008, 02:45 PM

A few years back I was walking down a gravel road and out of a dead log comes a badger running at me hissing and snarling..Instead of killing it I walked around it and it went back into its whole..It was like it was protecting something inside maybe babies..

buglingobblers · 11-07-2008, 03:20 PM

two years ago my brothers gsp was acting kinda funny and i couldn't tell if he was birdy or not. when he finally stoped i didn't know what to expect, i was hopeing birds but instead in was a badger. threw down on him and shot him. by the whole in his head the shot must have barely got out of the wad. he was a big'n

11-07-2008, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hunter9

Rare to me I have never seen one. Where could I find one?

ive seen and killed a few in the baker city area

Fool4FishnHuntn · 11-07-2008, 09:48 PM

I got one of those offensive critters last week while elk hunting. It was digging holes on the top of a ridge looking for some rodents. On our ranch, all badgers seen were disposed of as they were death on cows, horses, and pickups. My dad would go thru a dandy tirade if we hit one of those holes in the tall grass and we hit our heads on the roof on the inside of the cab of the pickup.

The one I got was a male that had two broken front nails on one paw. I figured he had a tough time digging with that one. I plan on getting him tanned as he had a good coat.

Ifishsum · 11-08-2008, 09:58 AM

I'm sure seeing more of them in the last few years than I used to. They certainly can get nasty, you don't want to be close to them if you can avoid it. I think the hides are really cool looking and have skinned out a couple. My son had one done rug style with a head mount, open mouth and all.

B.J. Lilly Hunter · 11-08-2008, 11:03 AM

Every spring like clock work there will be a dead one on the west side of hwy 97 between Bend and Redmond in almost exactly the same spot.

nevermiss · 11-08-2008, 11:42 AM

I remember the first one I bagged seemed to just about take the edge off my knife while I skinned it out!