The race is on 2016/2017 rabbit season
- Thread starter dirtysouth36
- Start date
Its new years day. The weather is beautiful and i should be out running rabbits..... today would have been a better hunting day i think
He will retrieve everyone we kill. I cant take credit for training him to do it. Hes just a natural
12-31-16
Well another saturday of bunny chasing is in the books.
Loaded my mutts up and headed south to meet my buddy switched trucks and headed out to woodbury wildlife area. We have hunted there the past few years and do pretty decent there. We decided to hunt a field trial area that has open fields with some thick grass and strips of brush and small bushes. It was quite windy which i thought would trouble the dogs tracking abilities. We all got suited up and started into a brushy area and it wasnt long and we had a rabbit up. Let me tell ya these field trial area rabbits are pretty smart. Theyve been run so much they can out smart the best dogs. Between that and the swirling wind the dogs were having a heck of a time, they ran it about 200 yards down into a hollow and never did pick it back up, may have holed up. So we regroup and try to form a plan to work this area. We decided to work around the field out to a thick hillside. Once spread out through the field we jumped another and got the dogs on it. They ran it out around the field with very few checks in the race and brought him back to the gun and my buddy put a headshot on him with his 1100. Thats one for the game bag, after rewarding the dogs witbe the heart and liver of the rabbit we continued on through the field. The dogs got another one up and moving and ran it out around the field and almost in a full circle till the rabbit slipped into a hole near the road bank. Now onto the hillside that looked like the best spot for a rabbit to hide. We spread out across the the top and started the dogs in and not far in a rabbit ran out from behind me and quickly had the dogs in tow. Out around the hill they go chasing him down into the same big hollow as the first race, then back up out of the hollow and over to another hilltop into thick stand of small trees. The rabbit never returned to the spot where he was jumped so we moved across the hill to the thick stand of trees to try and cut the slick little critter off. Somehow he slipped between us and ran back to the hillside where he was jumped made a quick turn and came back to where we had moved to. I think we all shot at him as he came back through and finally i managed to knock him down ending his run. That ended up being one of our longest runs of the day. We started heading back towards the truck working the brush on our way up. The dogs jumped another about 100 yards from the truck and made a short run back to us and we got him as well.
We loaded up and headed down the road to another spot we have had hunted in the past and has always been a good place. Its very thick and nasty but it sure holds the rabbits. We ran 3 more there but didnt get any shots. The highlight of the day was when we were listening to the dogs run the last rabbit in this thick place we were standing arou d talking and my friends boys hollered up to us that they had bumped a deer up. I look and this doe is comin out thru this field where im standing and she is on line coming right to me. I swear if i wouldnt have moved she woulda flattened my ass lol. I think me and the deer both shit ourselves.
Ended up being not to bad of a day. Never know whats gonna happen in the rabbit woods. The rabbits down at woodbury get lots of pressure because of the cosocton beagle club not being far away but most never get shot, just ran alot which makes them pretty smart to where to hide. Dogs overall performed well and as always we had a good time. Thanks everyone for reading my ramblings....
Well another saturday of bunny chasing is in the books.
Loaded my mutts up and headed south to meet my buddy switched trucks and headed out to woodbury wildlife area. We have hunted there the past few years and do pretty decent there. We decided to hunt a field trial area that has open fields with some thick grass and strips of brush and small bushes. It was quite windy which i thought would trouble the dogs tracking abilities. We all got suited up and started into a brushy area and it wasnt long and we had a rabbit up. Let me tell ya these field trial area rabbits are pretty smart. Theyve been run so much they can out smart the best dogs. Between that and the swirling wind the dogs were having a heck of a time, they ran it about 200 yards down into a hollow and never did pick it back up, may have holed up. So we regroup and try to form a plan to work this area. We decided to work around the field out to a thick hillside. Once spread out through the field we jumped another and got the dogs on it. They ran it out around the field with very few checks in the race and brought him back to the gun and my buddy put a headshot on him with his 1100. Thats one for the game bag, after rewarding the dogs witbe the heart and liver of the rabbit we continued on through the field. The dogs got another one up and moving and ran it out around the field and almost in a full circle till the rabbit slipped into a hole near the road bank. Now onto the hillside that looked like the best spot for a rabbit to hide. We spread out across the the top and started the dogs in and not far in a rabbit ran out from behind me and quickly had the dogs in tow. Out around the hill they go chasing him down into the same big hollow as the first race, then back up out of the hollow and over to another hilltop into thick stand of small trees. The rabbit never returned to the spot where he was jumped so we moved across the hill to the thick stand of trees to try and cut the slick little critter off. Somehow he slipped between us and ran back to the hillside where he was jumped made a quick turn and came back to where we had moved to. I think we all shot at him as he came back through and finally i managed to knock him down ending his run. That ended up being one of our longest runs of the day. We started heading back towards the truck working the brush on our way up. The dogs jumped another about 100 yards from the truck and made a short run back to us and we got him as well.
We loaded up and headed down the road to another spot we have had hunted in the past and has always been a good place. Its very thick and nasty but it sure holds the rabbits. We ran 3 more there but didnt get any shots. The highlight of the day was when we were listening to the dogs run the last rabbit in this thick place we were standing arou d talking and my friends boys hollered up to us that they had bumped a deer up. I look and this doe is comin out thru this field where im standing and she is on line coming right to me. I swear if i wouldnt have moved she woulda flattened my ass lol. I think me and the deer both shit ourselves.
Ended up being not to bad of a day. Never know whats gonna happen in the rabbit woods. The rabbits down at woodbury get lots of pressure because of the cosocton beagle club not being far away but most never get shot, just ran alot which makes them pretty smart to where to hide. Dogs overall performed well and as always we had a good time. Thanks everyone for reading my ramblings....
Sounds like a good day !
Have to start a small job tomorrow hopefully I can make out this weekend.
My hunting partner leases 1500 acres about 1.30 minutes south of Cleveland for deer hunting, we should be aloud to hit it in a couple weeks. Last year we did not try it until the last day of the year. It took 3 hrs to find them but once we did it was rabbit after rabbit until we had are limit.
Is it true late in the year males hold more scent once they start breading ?
Not sure what it was that day but the dogs stayed with every rabbit without many checks.
Have to start a small job tomorrow hopefully I can make out this weekend.
My hunting partner leases 1500 acres about 1.30 minutes south of Cleveland for deer hunting, we should be aloud to hit it in a couple weeks. Last year we did not try it until the last day of the year. It took 3 hrs to find them but once we did it was rabbit after rabbit until we had are limit.
Is it true late in the year males hold more scent once they start breading ?
Not sure what it was that day but the dogs stayed with every rabbit without many checks.
I've never heard about males holding more scent either, but who knows... I've never kept track of good runs being male or female lol
Went out today and hit two properties, one was basically disappointing the other (a good producer) was good...
I'll update here shortly....
Went out today and hit two properties, one was basically disappointing the other (a good producer) was good...
I'll update here shortly....
lung buster
Senior Member
First that I've every heard about males holding more scent but I can add that Hunter ran awesome yesterday and the one I killed was a male. Today he ran really well and Andrew killed another and it was also a male so there may be something to it....lol
I do know late in season when does are nesting the males seem to run crazy far from where they are jumped. Ran 1 last year down at aep in coshocton that took dogs out just shy of 500 yards.
When it gets to the teens I stay out of the rabbit woods with girls... Really never had any good days and didn't want to subject them too the elements...
plus I hate that weather lol
plus I hate that weather lol
Ill have a better update later tonight. Im definitly no fan of the real low temps and i dont like to put the dogs in it alot. But its hard missing a day especially when you work all week and look forward to it........