Indiana Rabbit Hunting
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
One thing that my dad passed on to me about rabbit hunting was
rabbits and raspberries. If you find briars, odds are, you are going
to find rabbits. We would always hit up the ditch banks and groves
of pine trees. Smaller groves that allow enough light in for briars to
grow is optimal.
Choice of weapon for me is a 22 pump. I know most people use a
12 gauge and number 6 shot since the rabbits are generally on the
move when you shoot them. I just prefer slow stalking them. It is
always nice on a really cold day when the sun comes out and the
rabbits are sitting outside their hole soaking up the sun's rays to
get warm.
It seems that the rabbit population has been on a down turn lately.
Owls raise young in the pine forest on my place, so I am sure they
take their share of rabbits. Then there are the coyotes that are
growing in population as well. A lot of people moan and complain
about these predators eating up their rabbits, but the way I look at
it is they need the rabbits more than I do. We gotta learn to share
with the other animals.
I can remember hunting rabbits as a child with my dad and our
beagle. Just turn the dog loose in a thicket and listen to him bark
on the trail of a rabbit. Our dog was a good dog. He would push
the rabbit to us. Once before season, we had the dog out and he
pushed a rabbit in a circle around us three times before the rabbit
had enough and hit his hole.
I don't think we ever did any kind of official dog training with our
beagles. We pretty much just got them out a lot and let them run
the rabbits as often as we could. Dad had one beagle, pooch, that
would hunt pheasants, quail, squirrel, and anything else we wanted
to go after.
A technique I use now, since I don't hunt with dogs, is to stalk. I
have some overgrown pine groves with a trail wide enough to drive
the pickup down going through the middle of them. In the early
mornings and evenings I like to wait and catch them slowly moving
out. Brush piles are nice too. Walk up to the pile, give it a kick,
and out will pop out a rabbit. They run a few yards and generally
stop.
This method of hunting works best when there is some snow on
the ground. Up here in our area, the rabbit population is low, so
we don't hunt them too hard. A few good meals is about all we are
looking for.
When we did used a shot gun, we always used open choke and low
brass number 6 shot. Used to always use 22 shorts when rabbit
hunting, but now it is cheaper just to go with the long rifle shells.
rabbits and raspberries. If you find briars, odds are, you are going
to find rabbits. We would always hit up the ditch banks and groves
of pine trees. Smaller groves that allow enough light in for briars to
grow is optimal.
Choice of weapon for me is a 22 pump. I know most people use a
12 gauge and number 6 shot since the rabbits are generally on the
move when you shoot them. I just prefer slow stalking them. It is
always nice on a really cold day when the sun comes out and the
rabbits are sitting outside their hole soaking up the sun's rays to
get warm.
It seems that the rabbit population has been on a down turn lately.
Owls raise young in the pine forest on my place, so I am sure they
take their share of rabbits. Then there are the coyotes that are
growing in population as well. A lot of people moan and complain
about these predators eating up their rabbits, but the way I look at
it is they need the rabbits more than I do. We gotta learn to share
with the other animals.
I can remember hunting rabbits as a child with my dad and our
beagle. Just turn the dog loose in a thicket and listen to him bark
on the trail of a rabbit. Our dog was a good dog. He would push
the rabbit to us. Once before season, we had the dog out and he
pushed a rabbit in a circle around us three times before the rabbit
had enough and hit his hole.
I don't think we ever did any kind of official dog training with our
beagles. We pretty much just got them out a lot and let them run
the rabbits as often as we could. Dad had one beagle, pooch, that
would hunt pheasants, quail, squirrel, and anything else we wanted
to go after.
A technique I use now, since I don't hunt with dogs, is to stalk. I
have some overgrown pine groves with a trail wide enough to drive
the pickup down going through the middle of them. In the early
mornings and evenings I like to wait and catch them slowly moving
out. Brush piles are nice too. Walk up to the pile, give it a kick,
and out will pop out a rabbit. They run a few yards and generally
stop.
This method of hunting works best when there is some snow on
the ground. Up here in our area, the rabbit population is low, so
we don't hunt them too hard. A few good meals is about all we are
looking for.
When we did used a shot gun, we always used open choke and low
brass number 6 shot. Used to always use 22 shorts when rabbit
hunting, but now it is cheaper just to go with the long rifle shells.
 | |  | |  |