How to Hunt Beavers at Night?
A Comprehensive Guide
Beavers are gentle, but sometimes aggressive animals. They graze on grasses and aquatic plants during the day and will need to be careful while hunting them at night. Beavers are opportunistic prey which means they will forage near their homes so they can quickly return back to their dens. Many hunters relish the joy of hunting these rodents and killing them as a game but don’t know how to hunt beavers at night?
Table of Contents
If you are one of them, read this article carefully for successfully hunting beavers at night.
Get Information About The Beavers
It is essential that before any hunt takes place, hunters need to know certain things about their targeted prey. The first thing a hunter needs to do is gather information about where they can find these rodents. If you are not familiar with the area, research is needed to look up their geographical location in relation to your hunting spot.
Most Common Behaviors of Beavers
It has been said that you can smell them if you get close enough. The beaver population is known as impressive builders who can build something out of anything, especially wood, they are quite industrious. However, these animals can prove to be a nuisance, being builders, they mostly make use of wood and can get rid of trees within your vicinity. Beavers also eat wood, so the trees in your surroundings are at risk if these rodents are around. Beaver in water can also obstruct your drain pipes and water level. The only option for you may be to get rid of them. Most people prefer to get rid of them by beaver trapping. Traps are equally effective, but, where the beavers are many, foothold traps or even box traps may not deter them. Hunting them down is quite easy and can be the option of getting rid of them.
Best Time to Hunt
If you are finding the beaver hunting tips, the best time to hunt beavers is between early evening, daylight hours, and night hunting because it is a nocturnal animal. They come out to feed and construct in the evening and night.
Set Up a Reconnaissance
However, you should run a reconnaissance in the afternoon before preparing for night hunting. Look out for their feeding spots and construction sites, beavers are quite easy to trail as they leave a lot of signs anywhere they go. Beavers usually build dams in water, a good way of luring them out is by damaging a little part of the beaver dam. This will surely get their attention.
Be Strategic
By evening time, these aquatic animals will come out to inspect the dam, when they notice it’s been damaged, they have no choice but to repair it. While they are in the water, you shouldn’t start shooting yet, wait until they are done repairing the dam and are out of the water. This way, you will have a safe shot and can kill as many as possible. It is very difficult to kill beavers in the water, once you hit one, it alerts the others and they become wary.
Don’t Strike Until They Land
These attentive animals are faster in the water than on land, they are very good swimmers and can remain submerged underwater for a very long time. However, on dry land sets, due to their webbed feet, they cannot move quickly. So why not wait till when they get on land where they are slow and would not be able to get away quickly.
Beware of Beaver's Sharp Eyesight
Beavers have very poor eyesight, in fact, you don’t need to scout them from afar in the game season, you can move very close to them before pulling the trigger. You can stand five or four meters away from a beaver exit yet it won’t see you. Thus, you do not have to bother about staying invisible or hiding from a beaver individual. In spite of their poor eyesight, while hunting beavers, it is advisable that you use red light or spotlight, it will guarantee your invisibility. Red is a difficult colour for animals to see, add that to the poor eyesight of beavers, you can sit quietly and take down these rodents without any fear of them even spotting you.
However, their hearing is so sharp that they can even hear the vibrations of water. Do not stay in the water while trying to hunt beavers, chances are they will hear you moving. While stalking beavers, ensure you stay out of the water and stay as quiet as possible without making any noise as the slightest noise can spook the beaver swimming. Just get a very good vantage point near the water, from there you can wait till when they are coming out of the water. Then, you can start shooting them, you are guaranteed a successful hunting experience this way.
What To Consider While Hunting Beavers at Night?
Do not go into the water while hunting beavers. You do not want to sacrifice your advantage over these rodents. The water is their terrain of strength, you relinquish your advantage when you attempt to hunt them in the water. The best option is to wait for them to come to land, you would be surprised how easy it is to kill them on land.
Be silent. You can choose not to hide, however, you have to be silent. Beavers have very sharp hearing, they can hear any slight movement in the water. Thus, you should stay in a vantage point that gives you the opportunity to take a clear and safe shot at them without moving.
Learn about the basics of beaver hunting. Survey and look for beaver colonies inland after daylight hours, the behavior of beavers feeding, and construction sites of the beavers. During the day, you must scout the area you are going to be hunting at night. This will make you familiar with the terrain and make hunting easier. With reconnaissance, you have an even better chance of killing more beavers.
In order to lure beavers out, you might have to damage their dam as they will most likely come to rebuild it. You can damage a small part of the dam allowing the body of water to leak. You can then trail them while repairing the dam. As soon as they are done repairing the dam and are coming out of the water, you can ambush them and kill as many as possible.
Beavers are protected by wildlife management in some states while other states have given hunters free reins to hunt beavers. For instance, in North Dakota, you must have a furbearer license before you are permitted to enjoy hunting seasons. You must consult the hunting laws of your state with regard to private land and also the public lands before going on a beaver hunting expedition. Beavers have useful furs, thus, these laws are to protect them and keep hunters from hunting them into extinction.
Trapping
This is the most popular method of getting rid of beavers as some states do not allow the hunting of beavers. There are several types of traps that can be used in trapping beavers. Beaver hunters make traps that are made to be used in water, the beaver will swim through and become trapped in the trap. You can then go and release the beaver in another location or do as you please with it. However, it is essential that you completely destroy the dam it has built, else the dam will attract another beaver if not destroyed completely. Thus another cycle of nuisance beaver will begin all over again.
Beaver Hunting or Trapping: Is it Legal?
Most states have laws that generally regulate the hunting of animals including beavers. The main aim of these laws is to preserve animals and prevent them from going into extinction thus upsetting the ecosystem. Most states require you to have a valid hunting license or special permit before you can hunt beavers, however, if the beaver is on your land, you have the right to hunt it without permission as it is basically trespassing onto your land. But if the land doesn’t belong to you, you might have to get permission before you can kill the beaver. Ensure that you look up the laws regulating hunting in your state before attempting to shoot beavers, some states consider shooting firearms near water illegal.
This is because of the hazards it presents, bullets may ricochet off a rock underwater or a tree thus liable to cause unknown dangers. However, you should be careful while hunting beavers, as they are intelligent animals. These rodents are quite smart and should not be killed indiscriminately. Also, beavers serve as food to predators thus forming a part of the food chain. Killing a huge population of beavers can cause the ecosystem to be unbalanced thus causing big and dangerous animals to be hungry. These dangerous animals can wander into your land thus spelling danger for you. You can choose the option of calling the local Wildlife Department if the nuisance is getting out of hand, they can help defuse the situation easily. Otherwise, it might be time for you to get your gun and go beaver hunting.
FAQs
Important Note:
Any activity using a firearm has the potential to be harmful and can lead to death, serious injury, permanent disability, or property damage. Only general educational and informational purposes are served by the advice, graphics, photographs, videos, and information found on Ballachy firearm reviews. The knowledge provided about guns, gun handling, tactics, training, legal issues, and marksmanship skills on this page is the author’s opinion based on his experience and education. This knowledge, which includes advice and training methods, is applicable only in a given set of conditions that the reader cannot precisely recreate. The author disclaims any liability for improper use or incorrect interpretation of the information on this website. Use of this website as a replacement for training or any information found on this website is not legal advice of any kind.
Yes, a .22 is lethal enough to kill a beaver.
Important Note:
Any activity using a firearm has the potential to be harmful and can lead to death, serious injury, permanent disability, or property damage. Only general educational and informational purposes are served by the advice, graphics, photographs, videos, and information found on Ballachy firearm reviews. The knowledge provided about guns, gun handling, tactics, training, legal issues, and marksmanship skills on this page is the author’s opinion based on his experience and education. This knowledge, which includes advice and training methods, is applicable only in a given set of conditions that the reader cannot precisely recreate. The author disclaims any liability for improper use or incorrect interpretation of the information on this website. Use of this website as a replacement for training or any information found on this website is not legal advice of any kind.
Beavers are nocturnal animals who are primarily active at night.
Important Note:
Any activity using a firearm has the potential to be harmful and can lead to death, serious injury, permanent disability, or property damage. Only general educational and informational purposes are served by the advice, graphics, photographs, videos, and information found on Ballachy firearm reviews. The knowledge provided about guns, gun handling, tactics, training, legal issues, and marksmanship skills on this page is the author’s opinion based on his experience and education. This knowledge, which includes advice and training methods, is applicable only in a given set of conditions that the reader cannot precisely recreate. The author disclaims any liability for improper use or incorrect interpretation of the information on this website. Use of this website as a replacement for training or any information found on this website is not legal advice of any kind.
Yes, beavers are mostly active at night, they are nocturnal animals.
Conclusion
Hope you enjoyed this detailed article on how to hunt beavers at night? Hunting beavers at night is a tough task. If you’re not careful, they may spot you before you spot them. But there are ways to improve your odds of success. For instance, if the moon is out and it’s bright enough for human eyesight, use that as an advantage by shining light on their burrows or set up traps in areas where they might travel through during evening hours. These tactics will help eliminate some of the risk involved with hunting beaver at night which can make catching these furry little creatures easier than ever. At least now we know how to hunt beavers more efficiently when it’s dark outside.
Author Profile
- Gabriel Tackett
- Gabriel Tackett is an experienced shooter and hunter for over 15 years with a degree in Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He is also a certified National Rifle Association (NRA) officer for 10 years And his passion lies in teaching others how to safely enjoy the hobby by recommending the best practices & products in the gun industry.
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