2014-2015 rabbit hunting thread
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Huckleberry Finn
Senior Member
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thanks. Back on track is what this thread needed. Watching the dogs and listening to them is cool.
Fullbore
Senior Member
Always look forward too the updates young lady.... It's been a while.... I lol when the hunten kitty showed up lol....
Buckmaster
Senior Member
Rabbits hunting the correct way. As always very nice and appreciated. Makes me feel like a kid again.
Well another rabbit season has come and gone. February became a very difficult month and kind of monotonous. The first week we had back to back 12" snowfalls. Then the cold. Then more snow here and there. I have to say I burned a lot of calories trying to follow the dogs around and I've made a vow to by some snowshoes before next season. I tried to hunt the pasture one time and was so exhausted from walking through snow that varied from just up to my knees to middle of my thighs. I could barely walk by the time I got back to the house. So the rest of the entire month became hunting the creek bed behind the house and a little spit of woods next to it. There are a ton of rabbits here so there was always some action. Unfortunately a lot of it took place below the surface as the dogs would travel underneath the snow and brush to try and harass a rabbit enough to make it come to the surface.
Feb. 7th I was able to shoot a rabbit that the dogs were pursuing. Only issue was I was on one side of the creek and the rabbit was on the other side. The dogs came past and did their usual sniff and move on. I so miss a beagle I had years ago that would retrieve. As I was trying to get across the creek that was not quite frozen (I unloaded my gun because I knew there would be some scrambling involved), the dogs kicked up another rabbit that ran right over top of the dead rabbit and past me. LOL! I was sitting in the snow with my legs dangling over the edge of the creek bank and like I said my gun was unloaded. The dogs actually got on to a third rabbit that took them in the other direction so I just concentrated on getting across the creek. I ended up with a boot full of water the first place I tried, but finally got across the second place. I then had to cross through some of that thigh deep snow to get to my rabbit. It was a grueling hunt.
Picture of dog finding the dead rabbit
Picture of the dog leaving with me saying "Hey come back and fetch the rabbit.........."
And then post creek crossing successful retrieval of my rabbit!
On Feb. 22nd I shot the last rabbit of the season. We had only be out about 15 minutes. There is a spot where the rabbits love to cross the creek and head the safety of some groundhogs holes. I don't usually shoot rabbits here but I wanted to try and put one more in the freezer. I shot at one here the week before and missed. On this day the dogs went under the snow and a rabbit popped out through the snow on the other side of the brush pile. I waited for the rabbit to cross the creek and shot it when it was on the other side of the creek as it ran toward the groundhog holes. This time the creek was totally frozen so no problems crossing. And my old gal decided she would pick up this rabbit and at least carry it out of the brush for me before she dropped it. It was a much appreciated assist as once again I was wading through mid-thigh deep snow along the creek.
That was the end of the season. As usual, I did not shoot many rabbits off the farm. I never want to shoot them early on and by late season, the conditions get so difficult that it is hard to even get a rabbit up and running. Final tally was 5 rabbits shot and the dogs caught one. We are going into spring with the rabbit population as high as I have ever seen it. That bodes well for a great season of spring and summer rabbit running.
It's been fun and I've enjoyed reading everyone else's tales. I may have some spring/summer runs to share if I decide to take some pictures or video. Next up is early groundhog season and then turkey. Looking forward to all this snow going away.
Feb. 7th I was able to shoot a rabbit that the dogs were pursuing. Only issue was I was on one side of the creek and the rabbit was on the other side. The dogs came past and did their usual sniff and move on. I so miss a beagle I had years ago that would retrieve. As I was trying to get across the creek that was not quite frozen (I unloaded my gun because I knew there would be some scrambling involved), the dogs kicked up another rabbit that ran right over top of the dead rabbit and past me. LOL! I was sitting in the snow with my legs dangling over the edge of the creek bank and like I said my gun was unloaded. The dogs actually got on to a third rabbit that took them in the other direction so I just concentrated on getting across the creek. I ended up with a boot full of water the first place I tried, but finally got across the second place. I then had to cross through some of that thigh deep snow to get to my rabbit. It was a grueling hunt.
Picture of dog finding the dead rabbit
Picture of the dog leaving with me saying "Hey come back and fetch the rabbit.........."
And then post creek crossing successful retrieval of my rabbit!
On Feb. 22nd I shot the last rabbit of the season. We had only be out about 15 minutes. There is a spot where the rabbits love to cross the creek and head the safety of some groundhogs holes. I don't usually shoot rabbits here but I wanted to try and put one more in the freezer. I shot at one here the week before and missed. On this day the dogs went under the snow and a rabbit popped out through the snow on the other side of the brush pile. I waited for the rabbit to cross the creek and shot it when it was on the other side of the creek as it ran toward the groundhog holes. This time the creek was totally frozen so no problems crossing. And my old gal decided she would pick up this rabbit and at least carry it out of the brush for me before she dropped it. It was a much appreciated assist as once again I was wading through mid-thigh deep snow along the creek.
That was the end of the season. As usual, I did not shoot many rabbits off the farm. I never want to shoot them early on and by late season, the conditions get so difficult that it is hard to even get a rabbit up and running. Final tally was 5 rabbits shot and the dogs caught one. We are going into spring with the rabbit population as high as I have ever seen it. That bodes well for a great season of spring and summer rabbit running.
It's been fun and I've enjoyed reading everyone else's tales. I may have some spring/summer runs to share if I decide to take some pictures or video. Next up is early groundhog season and then turkey. Looking forward to all this snow going away.
Nice recap, seems like you had a pretty good season.... Ours were average down here with February being lousy weather and didn't get out much.... Too much snow and then the temps dropped single too below zero which I won't run the girls in..... Then when it started too climb I ended up with an upper respiratory infection which shut me down for a couple of weeks so that was the end of my season lol....
As usual thanks for the recaps of your hunts, at least if I couldn't get out I could read your posts and get my fix lol....
As usual thanks for the recaps of your hunts, at least if I couldn't get out I could read your posts and get my fix lol....
Sorry to hear you couldn't get out much in February J. This year February may have been the toughest month ever but that may be because I ain't getting any younger. One thing that was a positive was that we never had rain on top of snow that then re-froze. That will shut down the season in a hurry. This year it was just really deep snow but the dogs could still dig through to get down underneath. Of course there are still plenty of places a rabbit can get to that are still too small for the dogs to get into. I think we may have some deaf rabbits this year though. The dogs would wiggle down into a hole in the brush and be under there with two feet of snow on top. They would get a rabbit cornered and just bark and bark and bark. Many times it sounded like they were a mile away. LOL! It HAD to be loud under there for the rabbits though.
That's what shut us down mid month was the rain and sub zero temps.... You could get a couple of steps then bust thru knee deep.... Plus a couple of spots we couldn't get too where we could park... One farm has no one living in it during the winter and the only traffic is my and the neighbors trucks.... And if you slide off the lane you're in a pickle lol....
But the weathers changing warming ups some and I've got a couple of free days so he girls will be out running again... I know they're ready lol...
But the weathers changing warming ups some and I've got a couple of free days so he girls will be out running again... I know they're ready lol...
Flatlander
Junior Member
