Brock and Mason ‘19-‘20
- Thread starter brock ratcliff
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Yes I did. Deboned, we have a bit over 20 lbs. That’s a lot of rabbit.
Great hunt Brock. Rabbit is hands down my favorite game meat thats not venison
Yes it is. I used too can between 75-125 a season back when I was young and dumb. Wife had a lot of different recipes when the kids were young and we did t have a whole lot. Venison and squirrels and rabbits were the majority of our table fare. They bitched about it some back then, especially since their friends did t eat a lot of game meat. But now listening too them talk about it, makes me smile....
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I went through a period of years where I didn’t kill many I only carried a 22 Mag revolver for many years. I killed more than enough rabbits to fill our desires, didn’t have to fool with a huge mess, and always felt like I left enough behind to run the next day. It’s a tough time to be a rabbit in front of our dogs right now. Mason is right in the middle of the “shoot em” stage and unfortunately he’s also pretty skilled. His friends are the same way. Last year when we got the pups it was a learning process for them. But the last month of season we killed 37 in front of them. This thing today was just a whole new ball game. Caleb insisted we go to his house. He tried to bet me 10 bucks that we wouldn’t walk 100 yards before we would jump the first rabbit. I’m glad I didn’t take the bet. We didn’t go 20 yards from the truck before the first one bolted. And it never stopped. The pups probably only accounted for six or eight of the bunnies. The boys would shoot them on the jump. We did let them have several really good runs though. And the pups found a couple the boys had wounded. It was just a blast and I’m super glad they all handle guns well or it could have gotten a little too wild and downright dangerous.
Awesome, Brock.... around the 2000 mark we put our foot down and made the rule known, the jump and first go around is a free pass.... after that they’re fair game... Couple kids lost their privileges too Hunt with us as they couldn’t get that through their heads.... The rest signed on and had no issues...
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I doubt we will encounter a day like today again anytime soon. It was absolutely nuts. On one chase, the boys shot a rabbit moving into their positions to wait on the running rabbit. It was that way all afternoon honestly. You could not walk through any cover without rabbits jumping. I’d guess the big rain we had played a roll in that along with the fact that Caleb’s dad is an organic farmer and the habitat is as good as any I’ve ever seen. An old guy like me, alone with his hounds, could enjoy the music all day there. With those boys along, I enjoyed the gunfire. 
It’s a day you could of almost left the hounds at home.... Almost.... 
Sounds amazing. Wish my son had a little less Xbox and a little more redneck in him. You are raising a fine outdoorsman. Sounds like it has been contagious.
lung buster
Senior Member
You guys have more rabbits on the tailgate than we have in our entire county, lol! Congrats on an absolutely epic day chasing cottontails!!
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Yes well I certainly would not classify it as a normal day. Some farms are freakishly good but even with that, some days are just better. I’ve been sitting here at the shop talking with one of our local veterinarians. His kids are my age. I showed him a pic of yesterday’s hunt and gave him a little praise since he just did some work on the beagles. He said in 1981, in Christmas Day, his boys and he joined a couple other fellas for a rabbit hunt They killed 24 rabbits in two hours They never had another day like that and he remembered it like it was yesterday. He said to cherish the day because there will probably never be another like it. I’d say he is probably right.
It’s more of a give the dog the chance too bring it around. Gives time for the rest of the hunting party time too set up and calm down.
I’ve had a beagle shot and wounded and a few years later she was shot and killed (2 different assholes) so it’s not a given it won’t happen. You just have too let the folks knows it’s only a fuggin rabbit and not a competition.
Too many times over the years with people in a hurry too be the first one too drop the first one outta the gate. Those folks don’t last long around me.
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I took Ruger and Peanut to the field today. Both dogs pointed birds. Saw three roosters and half a dozen hens. Inexcusable that I missed two roosters... all the fun and the dogs didn’t cuss me for long.
If you wanted to disappoint the dogs, I could’ve gone.
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Mason bought a tag this afternoon at 330. He filled it around 5.
He had chummed the hole a few days ago with 350 lbs of corn. His “friend”, Raegan was supposed to go to that stand tonight to try for her first deer. She backed out. Knowing there would be deer in there this evening, Mason talked his buddy Josh, Raegan’s older brother, into tagging along to video tape They squeezed into the same stand Mason and I shot the two does from a couple weeks ago. How Mason managed to get in position and make the shot from that stand is beyond my imagination, but he did. Josh did a fantastic job with the camera, Mason performed flawlessly with his bow. The deer ran about 30 yards before collapsing, shot perfectly through the top of the heart and lungs. There were 7 deer within 30 yards of the boys when he shot.
And thus another deer season comes to an end with our freezer and those of several friends well supplied.
He had chummed the hole a few days ago with 350 lbs of corn. His “friend”, Raegan was supposed to go to that stand tonight to try for her first deer. She backed out. Knowing there would be deer in there this evening, Mason talked his buddy Josh, Raegan’s older brother, into tagging along to video tape They squeezed into the same stand Mason and I shot the two does from a couple weeks ago. How Mason managed to get in position and make the shot from that stand is beyond my imagination, but he did. Josh did a fantastic job with the camera, Mason performed flawlessly with his bow. The deer ran about 30 yards before collapsing, shot perfectly through the top of the heart and lungs. There were 7 deer within 30 yards of the boys when he shot.
And thus another deer season comes to an end with our freezer and those of several friends well supplied.