Want to try hunting... again. Really want some rabbit stew!

cdnchick

cdnchick

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Sooo... I tried to go hunting once. Didn't work out so well. Went with the bf up near Parry Sound in September and didn't see a damn thing. We had our .22's and decided we'd try our hand at looking for rabbits on some crown land. Absolutely nothing... no rabbits, grouse, partridge... we didn't see s**t (well except for rabbit s**t, we saw a lot of that).

I've done a lot of reading on it but I know nothing beats firsthand experience so I was wondering if you guys could help with tips and techniques on hunting rabbits and small game/upland bird in general. I just got a shotgun for my birthday so I'm itching to try that out too.

Ideally, it would be nice to have friends or know people who hunt so I could learn from them but I don't usually meet many people who have that interest around here. :rolleyes: Any tips would be great. Have a lot to learn... and I really want to cook some rabbit stew. :(
 
Hmmm... should I have posted this in another area of the forum? A lot of lookers but no responses... (I'm going to claim blissful ignorance since I'm still a newb around these parts!)

... tiptoeing away as I try to sneak up on a rabbit and club it with my the butt of my rifle since what I'm doing so far doesn't seem to be working. :ninja: :D
 
Well I've bagged a few where I hunt. But the numbers seem down.

Best tip would be for you to learn how to build bunny habitat. We always try to make a few bush piles so the rabbits have a place to hide and we have a place to find them ;)
 
Hi,

Where around Parry Sound (that's a lot of area)? At any place at any given time, there can be very few hares. For example, the only areas I know well are in Carling Township, and they have not had many hares in a long time.

RG

<><
 
cdngunner said:
Well I've bagged a few where I hunt. But the numbers seem down.

Best tip would be for you to learn how to build bunny habitat. We always try to make a few bush piles so the rabbits have a place to hide and we have a place to find them ;)
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Thanks for the tip! ...gathering materials needed to build a bunny habitat...

Ruffed Grouse said:
Hi,

Where around Parry Sound (that's a lot of area)? At any place at any given time, there can be very few hares. For example, the only areas I know well are in Carling Township, and they have not had many hares in a long time.

RG

<><
Click to expand...

Out near Killbear Provincial Park. There's a bit of crown land there that we went to... there were piles of fresh rabbit poop everywhere but not a single rabbit sighting (and we sat there for quite a while...)

I've also read that farm land is really good for spotting bunnies and I know a family in the Cookstown/Alliston area that has a large farm who might be willing to let me hunt rabbits there.

Is there any information/site on rabbit populations in southern Ontario where I could look to as a resource?
 
My families hunt camp is in Parry Sound area, and I cant say as I ever see that many snowshoes around. Always lots of tracks and scat, but hardly ever see them.

In southern Ontario you'll be dealing with mostly cottontails, but possibly jacks (eurpean hares) as well. A good technique for cottontails is to find anything that a rabbit could hide under (scrap metal, brush piles, piles of wood etc) and have someone kick it or jump on it. be ready with your shotgun cause they come out really fast!
 
Walk around in the thickest brush you can find, so thick that you shouldn't be able to swing your gun 2 inches :D And pause for a few seconds every 20 yards you cover, sometimes the rabbit will think they are spotted when you pause so they will get spooked and dash off.
 
You might want to try going to a range and seeing if the caretakers or long term members know of anyone who would be fine with you tagging along. I've learned way more from hunting with various people than reinventing the wheel by hunting alone and clueless.

Not saying that you shouldn't try it on your own, but if you're having no luck, then maybe someone can help you past whichever issue you're having, and then you'll be good to go.

P.S. if you're ever on the west coast get a carrot and a brick. Rabbits in certain areas are verging on a plague... and you can wash the carrot off and eat it after you've got your rabbits :D
 
Havent seen any rabbits in quite awhile. People are begging my dad to sell some but there so rare he keeps what he snairs. Come to think about it there hasnt been much of anything in the bush lately, except for coyote tracks.
 
same around here. I'm about 30min southwest of alliston and I see more coyote tracks then wabbit tracks. They are around the house but don't see many tracks in the bush.

I know of a few rabbit hunters, they might get one or two each outing. One guy has a top notch beagle and he gets his limit each time. A dog does wonders.
 
cdnchick said:
Sooo... I tried to go hunting once. Didn't work out so well. Went with the bf up near Parry Sound in September and didn't see a damn thing. We had our .22's and decided we'd try our hand at looking for rabbits on some crown land. Absolutely nothing... no rabbits, grouse, partridge... we didn't see s**t (well except for rabbit s**t, we saw a lot of that).

I've done a lot of reading on it but I know nothing beats firsthand experience so I was wondering if you guys could help with tips and techniques on hunting rabbits and small game/upland bird in general. I just got a shotgun for my birthday so I'm itching to try that out too.

Ideally, it would be nice to have friends or know people who hunt so I could learn from them but I don't usually meet many people who have that interest around here. :rolleyes: Any tips would be great. Have a lot to learn... and I really want to cook some rabbit stew. :(
Click to expand...

Rabbit stew is mighty fine eating, for sure.

If I HAD TO get a feed of rabbit stew, I would go to a butcher or specialty meat store, and buy a meat rabbit...........seriously. It is cheaper than hunting your own, and you are guaranteed good eating.

I have not looked at this year's hunting regulations but usually rabbits and hares are open until the end of February in southern Ontario. I have been hunting bunnies for forty years, and never once did I think before I went out that I had a sure thing and could plan on hassenpfeffer for supper..... :rolleyes:

From the sounds of things, your friends with the property in the Cookstown area might be your best bet. But HOPEFULLY you can keep up your enthusiasm, and eventually you will be cooking up some critter that you harvested yourself. GOOD LUCK!

Doug
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback. You guys rock! Asking someone at the range is probably a good idea. I'll have to look into that.

Doug said:
...But HOPEFULLY you can keep up your enthusiasm, and eventually you will be cooking up some critter that you harvested yourself. GOOD LUCK!

Doug
Click to expand...

:D I haven't quite given up yet and it might be some time before I catch my wascally wabbit but catch it, I will! Now if only sheer determination guaranteed a catch...
 
If you are seeing poop, they are there. Go slower and watch closely. Hunting rabbits with a dog is always more productive, but I do it alot on my own and its still fun. Take a good whistle too- if you see a rabbit making a break for it, give a loud blast. They often stop for a second to figure out the noise and you get a better shot! :D
There are good rabbit cleaning videos on youtube that will make your life easier after the hunt too. Good luck!
 
If you are hunting the south you are chasing cottontails. If you have trouble obtaining permission for private property try hunting the ditches and right of ways along railway lines. We used to have great success hunting along track edges. In winter once the ground is frozen we would often kick them out of cattail patches and spots with other good heavy cover that offers protection from predators and weather. On sunny days they would often be sitting in the sumac growing on the banks. And they love the overgrown fence lines along the edges of fields along the right of ways also. Do not overlook any brush piles you find and don't be afriad to get on top of those piles and stomp around to get them out from under them. Sometimes you would think there would be nothing left of the pile in a few seconds and wha-la, out would come a bunny.
Now if you're hunting the north you are after varying (snowshoe) hares and they are completely different in their habits. In winter they are eating bark off moose maple and other various small growth trees. They too like cover but usually they like to hide under spruce trees that have branches hanging low to the ground covered in snow. They will get under them and completely out of view of predators and be impervious to weather. I have not had as much luck getting them out from under brush piles but they will be found under blown down evergreens like pine and spruce. On many days they are out and about just sunning or moving to keep warm and when snow is deep they stick pretty much to their little trails they have made so watch the trails they have made as you move along slowly and with snowshoes just look for a small black dot(the eye) you will be amazed how it suddenly appears when you think nothing is there.

Good luck and by the way, cottontails are far superior table fare to snowshoes!
 
grand river

Google the Grand River Conservation.
I am not sure exactly what it costs per year but as a member you get access to all sorts of different forests.I am almost sure some of the properties fall within Sunday hunting townships.I have only hunted the forest on hyw9 just east of Grand Valley seen 1 very large buck,shot 2 cottontails abd as usual was scared by flushing grouse.Check it out afew of them are within 75 mins of T.O
hope that helps some
 
Brutus said:
I dont know the snaring regulations for rabbits in Ontario.
But you and your bf might try snaring rabbits, in areas you said there was lots of rabbit sign.
Try this:
h ttp://www.thehuntinglife.com/html/sections/articles/ferreting_trapping/snaring-rabbits-part2.html

Make sure you come back the next day, to check your slips, bringing your gun of course. Just in case.
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Unless the law has changed, it is ILLEGAL to snare rabbits south of the French River in Ontario.

Doug
 
I just checked the regulations. It is still illegal to snare rabbits and hares south of the French and Mattawa Rivers.

Doug
 
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