How To Hunt Beavers

Beavers are some of the most innovative and clever animals. They have a good sense of smell and hearing and will detect vibrations in the water. In this article, we discuss how to hunt beavers and shared a few tips for a successful beaver hunt.

How To Hunt Beavers

1. Scouting

To hunt beavers, study an area for beaver activities. Look for dams and lodges. The lodges are usually in the same area you will find the beaver dam.

The beaver lodges look like a heap of sticks from the exterior appearance but have a complex interior architecture. They will be cluttered with clay and debris. This is one way to distinguish an active inhabited lodge from a deserted lodge.

2. Territorial Rights

Beavers are very territorial. They invest a lot of energy and resources in building lodges and dams for their colonies. Hence, they protect their territories aggressively. Beavers use a substance called castoreum to mark their territories.

Beavers practice a behavioral strategy called the “dear enemy effect” in which scents of close neighbors will be more familiar than that of a foreign beaver. This behavioral pattern can be helpful for a hunter to determine which beaver he is dealing with as you don’t want to hunt one particular group aggressively.

3. Wind Direction

Hunt downwind of beavers at the hunting ground. Hunt with the wind blowing in your face. Beavers have a good sense of smell and if they pick up your scent, they will leave the land for water quickly.

4. Scent Control

Scent control is very important when hunting. Take all precautions to control your scent before you go beaver hunting. Shower with scent-free soap, keep your hunting clothes in scent-free storage bags, make sure your hunting boots and weapons are scent-free, avoid smoking, etc.

5. High-Quality Optics

Beavers are mostly nocturnal and extremely attentive. Use high-quality optics that are designed to work well in poorly lit situations. Dawn and dusk are the best times to hunt beavers.

Quality binoculars and rifle scopes will help you hunt beavers in dark environments. We reviewed the best hunting binoculars and the best hunting riflescopes that you can read from these links.

6. State Laws

Get to know your state’s laws to determine if it is legal to hunt beavers. You can find your state’s hunting laws on this website.

7. Weapon

Beavers are tough and can still reach water and submerge when shot. If a fatally wounded beaver submerges in water, the chances of you finding it are slim. Hunt beavers when they are not in the water.

8. Set Up Location

From your scouting trips, look for feeding areas on land. When you find them, set up. Your best shot will be taken when it isn’t in the water. Don’t shoot beavers when they are swimming in water as your chance of a direct hit is slim.

Additionally, a wounded beaver will go underwater and swim for the entrance of its lodge. It may die in the water while trying to reach it.

Beaver Lodges

Beavers are clever animals and good at construction. There is one area for drying off in the lodge and an elevated sleeping area that is insulated with shredded wood and grass. The lodges are kept cozy with cement-like mud walls and insulating snow.

Hunting Beavers

Hunting beavers may decrease the beaver population and affect the ecosystem. Wolves, bears, and other animals feed on beavers. This may lead to an increase in attacks when they are hungry and can’t find beavers.

Moreover, beaver ponds increase carbon storage by trapping sediments and maintaining open water areas that drain into meadows. This creates habitats for fish, frogs, turtles, and other marine life. Muskrats, minks, and otters benefit from beaver ponds.

Beaver Hunting Equipment

1. Water Resistant Boots

Quality water-resistant boots are essential to hunting beavers as they will keep you warm and comfortable when you hunt beaver. You can read a review of the best hunting boots from this link.

2. Binoculars

Hunting beavers are often done late in the evening or at night. You will need high-quality optics to clearly see beavers in dark and low-light environments.

3. Riflescopes

High-quality riflescopes are also a good option for beaver hunting as they are most active at night or late during the evening.

4. Boat/Water Vessel

You may want to hunt beavers on water and a water vessel or a boat will be needed.

Skinning A Beaver

When skinning a beaver, pay special attention to its special gland called castor sacs. It emits a smelly substance called castoreum which beavers use to mark their territory.

Moreover, don’t damage this gland as the scent from castoreum is difficult to get rid of. Be careful and take precautions when skinning a beaver.

Beaver Hunting Tips

1. Beavers live in family groups called beaver colonies.

2. Beavers can remain submerged in water for up to 15 minutes and will go to the depths at the slightest sign of intruders.

3. The beaver uses its paddle to warn other beavers of danger by striking the surface of the water.

4. Beavers are very territorial. They use a very smelly substance called castoreum from special glands called castor sacs to mark their territories.

5. Beavers are a keystone species within the ecosystem as it has a profound effect on their surrounding natural habitat and the species within it.

6. When scouting an area for signs of beaver activities, look for structures they build called lodges and dams.

7. Beavers have poor eyesight; therefore you really don’t need camouflaged clothing when hunting beavers.

8. Beavers have a good sense of smell. Always hunt downwind of the beavers.

9. Beavers don’t like to travel far on land as they are more vulnerable to predators.

10. Beavers are mostly nocturnal and attentive animals.

11. Beavers are tough animals. A beaver that is fatally shot can still reach water and submerge. If a wounded beaver reaches and submerges in water, you will not find it.

12. Don’t shoot a beaver when it is swimming in water. Your chances of a good hit are very slim. Additionally, even if you made a direct hit, it will submerge and try to swim for the entrance of its lodge.

13. Beavers can pick up vibrations on the shore. Therefore; be very careful and walk lightly as you walk along the shore looking for beavers.

14. Beavers have a good sense of hearing. They can pick up vibrations from land, therefore walk lightly.

15. Avoid stepping in the water along the banks as they will pick up the vibration and disappear.

16. Sadly, one way to lure beavers out is to partially damage their dams and lodges. When they discover the damage, they will work to quickly repair it. You can set up and wait until they have completed the repair and come out of the water to feed.

17. Beavers are also destructive and can cause a lot of damage to properties.  Many states encourage property owners to work with local authorities to remove beavers from near their properties.

The Bottom Line

Beavers are some of the toughest animals. They are challenging to hunt with their good sense of smell and hearing. They are innovative, clever, and innovative animals. In this article, we shared information and knowledge to help you hunt beavers.

If you are interested in hunting groundhogs, read how to hunt groundhogs. You can also read how to hunt javelinas, how to hunt hogs, how to hunt wild sheep, and how to hunt raccoons.