Believe it or not, beavers are the most social animals I have ever come across. Their unity is just incredible and that is why you will see them walking in groups.
People never bothered about hunting beavers before. They were only concentrating on deer and rabbits. In the recent past though, there has been a relatively increased hunting of the beavers. Unlike deer it is better to bait beavers than to try to hunt them manually.
Beaver hunting has been continuing freely for a while. However, It is only recently that restrictions by the governments have been put in place to tame the hunting of beavers. This is due to the fact that beavers are more or less getting extinct. It is of course not a secret that without proper regulations beavers will be no more as we go into the future.
However, beavers have been seen increasing their numbers lately and that has led to the lifting of bans that were initially there. This created another opportunity to be hunted in order to avoid any destruction that might be caused by their increasing population. Hunters can now continue freely with the pleasure of hunting beavers to collect nice and useful items from them.
Although hunting beavers is a daunting task to do, this activity is nothing but an enjoyable exercise that anyone would love to do. Despite being hard to capture, beavers can be very easy to hunt if you have good skills and sufficient experience.
So, let’s take a look at facts about beavers, and tips on how to hunt them. Let’s dive right into it.
How to hunt beavers
1. Get the necessary clothing and gear
Since you will be dealing with animals living in water, getting yourself the appropriate waterproof gear is the first step. Beavers of course spend most of their time in the water. That means that in one way or another you will come in contact with water. That is inevitable. Waterproof gumboots and clothing are some of the things you must have in addition to the hunting tools such as bow, arrows, firearms among others.
To take advantage of the fact that beavers have poor vision, wearing some camouflage gear will help you get hardly noticed even when you get close to it. However, beavers have the best sense of smell and can easily notice you with that too. You might want to wear odorless clothes to tactically reduce the chances of them smelling any danger as you approach closer and closer.
In places, with deep water levers, beavers will be mostly found at their feeding grounds or traveling from one place to another. To be able to follow them, you will need a vessel such as a boat or a vessel to travel around those areas.
2. Find Proper hunting weapons
Beavers are small and amazing animals that often love to dive into water and vanish anytime they detect any form of danger. When shot they often fall into the ground. As a result, you will need to have a quick projectile that has a high level of hydrostatic shock. As far as speed is concerned, creedmoor is the tool that has superior strength besides great knockdown. With regards to the speed, Creedmoor is the most effective tool as it has superior knockdown and strength.
3. Selecting the best shooting spot
It is not a secret that these ‘large rodents’ spend most of their lives in water. They only come out when they are hungry to have some sort of breakfast, lunch or dinner. That is the only business that can make them come out. This means that for you to identify them, you have to study places they often go to feast and set up your shooting point within that vicinity.
You should choose a shooting location where you are sure of making a kill whenever you fire at the poor beavers. Given that beavers hide behind fallen leaves or grass, timing them is very difficult. That is why seasoned hunters prefer attacking it while still in water.
4. Timing and approach
Because beavers are nocturnal, they tend to come out in the evening. If you are then serious about catching a beaver, you have no choice but to arrive at your timing spot early in the evening. Always stay in a strategic location where the wind is blowing to.
That way your scent will not bow in the direction where beavers might be. As a result, you will be able to reach the area without being noticed by any of the beavers. If you arrive late and find that beavers are already present. Do not even think of sneaking. Their high sense of smell gives them the ability to pick up your scent and leave before you ambush them.
5. Master the art of shooting
Shooting is the most important part that will determine the fate of your hunting. More often, if you have mastered the art of shooting, you won’t go home empty handed. As we have discussed in the article, the best time to make a kill is in the evening when beavers get out in search of food. Shooting in the head to kill in every hunt can be the most critical aspect of your beaver hunting. This is because if you miss the mark, then the hunting process is definitely halted. As a result, getting to know how to shoot correctly is very crucial.
6. Dress the beaver
If you are lucky enough to have killed a beaver, then the next step is to dress the poor guy. Unlike others who prefer to take it home for their wifes to dress, most people prefer to do the dressing right at the field.
Unlike other species, beavers are skinned when open rather than cased. For you to successfully operate the beaver and cut the flesh along the legs and tail, a sharp knife that has a pointed tip is needed. This is different from the extraction of skin in which you will need a rounded tip knife.
To begin the process of dressing, first put on your latex gloves. Now place the beaver on top of some sort of table on its back and begin cutting right across its feet through to the tail end. Then go ahead and remove the skin from the tail and feet by cutting through the skin.
The next step is to Insert your pointed knife end to the cut around the tail. Start off by slipping the tip of your knife right under the skin in the exact middle of the tail base on the belly side. Once that is finished, right up the middle of the underside of the beaver’s hide and slide the knife’s sharp edge up. Now break the straight line near the chin gently so that you do not to sever the thin layer that protects the intestines.
Now take the other knife with a rounded handle and carefully remove the skin from the membrane that protects the intestines. Using your hand, lift the skill and pull it slowly and gently away from the carcass then cut off the tissue that holds the skin to the carcass with a knife.
The next step is to move your fingers and thumb between the leg and the skin of the beaver, grab the leg right below the skin, and pull the leg out of the beaver’s skin like a sock. Do this similarly to the other knee. Now flip the beaver onto its sides and separate the skin from bones by pulling the skin back and way through the binding tissue. Make sure you remove the skin from the back to prevent damaging it,
Finally, Skin out the head part by chopping the ears off with a knife against the scalp and cutting through the eyes. This you ought to be cautious enough not to make the eye holes any larger than they have to be. Separate the lips from the teeth, and cut the inner nose cartilage. The skin will now be loose and can be easily fleshed.
Conclusion
Beavers are very beneficial to the ecosystem. Besides their body parts being used in the making of skins and beautiful huts, beavers often make amazing dinners when cooked well. That is why most people love to keep hunting them at all costs no matter what.
Beaver hunting can be done at any time of the year. However, certain places might have local laws enacted to regulate how beavers can be hunted. Even so, the best time to hunt beavers is during the last few months of the autumn season. These are perfect times because the young ones are old enough to live by themselves. In as much as you can still hunt in summer, beavers will rarely be found as streams and ponds freeze over.
It is no secret that hunting beavers is a tiring activity that requires patience, but it is with all that that you end up feeling like a hero when you finally get to catch your first beaver. To make your hunting trip successful, you need to always plan. We sure hope that this article was of much help in giving you the insights you need to plan a successful hunt. What’s more, beavers can be turned into a delectable meal.