Cottontails

[Keelebilly]

Anybody still enjoying the lost art of rabbit hunting over hounds? We had a big day yesterday. 16 on the tailgate in a 3 hour afternoon hunt. Had continuous races from the time we dropped the hounds until we called it quits for the day. One heck of a way to spend an afternoon.

 

[Keelebilly]

Took this young man for his first rabbit. He killed two and missed a few

 

[thoma018]

Running rabbits with a good pack of beagles is hard to beat !! Been a long time since I've been. I surely enjoyed the excitement of the chase and hoping for a shot.
You guys had quite a good day. Rabbit hash over toast is pretty good too.

 

[Betterinthebush]

Beagles and bunnies! I love it!

 

[farmer_john]

Ive never done it but it looks like a great time.

 

[JoeA]

Nice way to keep the traditions of small game hunting alive. I get after the squirrels occasionally, but beagles & bunnies…looks like a good time.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Do it all the time.

 

[farmer_john]

Took this young man for his first rabbit. He killed two and missed a few

What in your experience is the density of rabbits per acre? Thats quite a haul.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Probably my biggest regret is not shooting at least one cottontail for my little French Brittany. She has always had a fascination for bunnies. Jackrabbits not so much. But oh those cottontails. They drove her mad. Now "Puppy" has maybe months at most left to live. Maybe only weeks. Hard to say how fast cancer will progress. She almost certainly won't see another season. Wish I'd shot a cottontail this past fall just to see how she reacted. I should have. At age fourteen it was obvious her days in the field were at an end no matter what. At this stage there would be no worries about "ruining" her for future bird hunting. Sorry old girl. She's laying next to me right now dreaming and woofing quietly. Probably chasing a bunny. Get em, Puppy!

 

[Flbt]

I have not hunted them over dogs in a long time. Wish I still could.
My boys do a bit of spot and stalk around the hay field though

 

[Keelebilly]

We were hunting a 16 acre thicket surrounded by row crop fields. I’d say the density would have been 3-4 rabbits per acre. We were trying to only shoot rabbits that the dogs were running. In other words, no shooting rabbits that we kicked up while walking around. In my 40 years of hunting cottontails, it was the best I’ve ever seen.

 

[MS 9x56]

I really miss my beagles running bunnies. I credit hunting bunnies and grouse with making me a good shot on running game. I have taken a lot of big game using the lessons learned while hunting small game. I had a pair of beagles and took over 300 rabbits hunting with them. Any recipe calling for chicken my wife substituted rabbit. Most fun a man can have listening to hound music.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I miss those days.

Back in my younger days growing up in Ohio rabbits were the ultimate hunting critter....ie more meat than squirrels.

While living in North Carolina had a good friend and neighbor who had beagles. Sadly he passed away not long after I moved to Tennessee. We shared a lot of memorable rabbit hunts, and his first deer.... well that I know of.

Here, in my area, in Tennessee, it's ashame, rabbit hunting has been almost non existence because of all the damn coyotes around.

To those that have never rabbit hunted.....well..... you just never really enjoyed a very envigorating hunt.

Okay wild quail and pheasant hunters also share in what it means to hunt rabbits.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

Nothing like a little chair time after a good days work

 

[MS 9x56]

I can almost smell the hassenphepher.

 

[Daryl S]

That would sure be fun. The last cottontails I hunted were in South Western Ontario. I used a pair of white ferrets I had at the time. It took 2, one person with cupped hands over the escape hole. Put the ferret down the other hole and catch the bunny coming out the escape hole. He'll bump your palm with his head, grab, dispatch, then catch the ferret when he comes out after the bunny. Word of caution, if you have bunny blood on your hands, expect to be bitten.

 

[Ridge Runner]

We were hunting a 16 acre thicket surrounded by row crop fields. I’d say the density would have been 3-4 rabbits per acre. We were trying to only shoot rabbits that the dogs were running. In other words, no shooting rabbits that we kicked up while walking around. In my 40 years of hunting cottontails, it was the best I’ve ever seen.

Just me.....I'd rather shoot a rabbit jumped walking than by dogs.

If the dogs can't get on fresh tracks or other atmospheric/weather conditions don't cooperate for the dogs to work.

As youngsters, pre teens, we started out rabbit hunting without dogs using slingshot and recurve bows and cedar arrows with Bear broadheads meant for deer hunting.

 

[Whitworth375]

That would sure be fun. The last cottontails I hunted were in South Western Ontario. I used a pair of white ferrets I had at the time. It took 2, one person with cupped hands over the escape hole. Put the ferret down the other hole and catch the bunny coming out the escape hole. He'll bump your palm with his head, grab, dispatch, then catch the ferret when he comes out after the bunny. Word of caution, if you have bunny blood on your hands, expect to be bitten.

Where in SW Ontario Daryl?

 

[farmer_john]

Just me.....I'd rather shoot a rabbit jumped walking than by dogs.

If the dogs can't get on fresh tracks or other atmospheric/weather conditions don't cooperate for the dogs to work.

As youngsters, pre teens, we started out rabbit hunting without dogs using slingshot and recurve bows and cedar arrows with Bear broadheads meant for deer hunting.

Same ive hunted small game but never seen 20 rabbits in a field. Always got one or two here or there.
My favorite arrows for rabbits and squirrels is a wood shaft sith a 357 magnum case for a blunt head those are indestructible. And really wollop small critters

 

[TnKen]

I used to have a pair of beagles that I hunted a lot. When I moved to TN I didn’t have the access to land to hunt like I did, so I don’t have beagles anymore. I have hunted a couple of times with a friend, and still enjoy it.