Have you always wanted to learn how to hunt beavers? Beavers are very innovative and clever. They live in colonies and use their sense of smelling and hearing as defense mechanisms. To increase your chance of hunting beavers, it is important that you learn their behaviors and be disciplined when hunting them. In this article, we discuss how you can hunt beavers like the professionals do.
- Dams & Lodges
When you want to hunt beavers, you will have to scout the area to make sure that they are living in the area. One of the quick ways to determine if beavers are living in an area is to look for the structures they build called dams and lodges.
These are where they dwell and it may look insignificant from the surface but underneath, it is more complicated and a piece of creativity. Additionally, look for fallen trees and tree stumps nearby with teeth marks. - Wind Direction
Beavers have a very good sense of smell. When you are hunting them, always hunt downwind of the beavers. This will prevent your scent from reaching them. If the detect your scent, they will immediately leave the land and get into the water to get to their dams and lodges. - Beavers Are Territorial
Beavers are very territorial as they use a lot of energy to build their dams and lodges where they as a colony live. They aggressively protect their territories and practice a behavioral strategy in which the scents of other beavers in the area are more familiar to them than strangers.
You can observe them and use this behavioral pattern to not hunt down one particular colony entirely. Alternate between hunting a number of different colonies to help preserve some of the beavers of each colony. - Scent Control
Before you go hunting for beavers, make sure you eliminate your odor. This is the same steps you implement when hunting other game animals like deer, elk, and others. As stated earlier, beavers have a very good sense of smell.
Keep your hunting clothing sealed up and away from the odor of food, cigarettes, perfumes, colognes, etc. Additionally, keep your hunting gear and weapons away from any human odor that the beavers may get pick up. When alerted, they quickly leave the ground for the safety of the water. - Set Up Location
When you are hunting beavers, always look for their feeding areas which are usually found on land or very close by land. After identifying these areas, pick an area to set up that is within shooting range with a good line of sight.
If you spot a beaver, take a shot when it is within shooting range. You will have the best chance of taking it when it is on land. Don’t take a shot at a beaver when it is in the water. Your chances of hitting a beaver that is in the water is very slim as they are always moving their heads and if shot, it will go underwater to try and get to its dam or lodge. - State Laws
Always learn the state laws for hunting beavers in the state that you want to hunt them. The laws may be different from one state to another and they may be updated. Therefore, it is always good to learn the hunting laws in the state you want to hunt beavers and keep updated of any changes. You don’t want to do anything that is illegal.
You can research and find out the hunting laws in the state you hunt beavers online by going to this website. - High Quality Optics
When hunting beavers, always use high-quality optics as they are usually nocturnal and very attentive. The optics you use must be designed for poorly lit conditions as you will often be hunting beavers during dawn or dusk.
Beavers evade predators by being active at dawn or dusk which reduces the amount of danger to them. To clearly see the beavers and take good shots when there is not a lot of light, you will need high-quality optics like binoculars, spotting scopes, or riflescopes. How to hunt beavers is not difficult but requires the right equipment and hunting disciplines to be successful as they are very sharp to sense danger and escape to safety in the water.
Conclusion
Beavers are very attentive, have a good sense of smelling and hearing. They will quickly leave the feeding area and escape to the water when they detect you. To hunt them, you have to take all precautions like you do when hunting any other game animal like deer.
In this article, we discussed how to hunt beavers to help you get started with beaver hunting or increase your chances of taking more beavers home. If you would like to learn more about hunting beavers or hunting other game animals, then visit the hunting terrain.
