Hunting Rabbits

Drachenblut

Drachenblut

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Hello all,

I am looking to get into the sport of hunting rabbits, I live in Ontario, and would like to learn how to do it. I have looked on the internet, but, as usual, it offers only a contradictive smattering of loosely hinged information. If there is anyone here who hunts rabbits, I would love to learn everything about it. I plan to be hunting them with a scoped .22

I would like to learn 1. Finding Rabbits 2. Hunting Rabbits 3. Killing/Gutting/Skinning Rabbits 4. Cooking Rabbits and 5. What to do with the Rabbit furr.

My grandfather intended to teach me how to hunt them, sadly he passed away before he could. I am asking on here because I know there are kind and knowledgable gentlemen here who know what they are talking about, are experienced, and are a primary source of information. I am hoping to hunt them this January/February.

I have never hunted before, however I believe that this will prove to be a fun, and challenging way to learn to hunt small game, as that is what I am currently interested in.

Thank you for your time,
Drachenblut
 
Get yourself a shotgun, 12 ga, 20 ga or even a .410. If you plan to hunt cottontails and are jumping brush piles for them a .22 is pretty useless. Beagles help.
 
i like doing it with a .22. find a spot with some low spruce trees, like a christmas tree farm. anywhere with thick low brush should have lots of rabbits.

once the snow hits, check out a few different spots, the tracks are easy to see and should give you an indication if there are alot around.
 
knock some birch alder down on the edge of a clearing, and setup a blind for some evening fun, how far ?, I like 50 meter head shot which is real easy with a good setup that shoots .5 all day @ 50 m.
I wanted to have some fun with my pal rated air rifles which are as accurate , but here in NS, the laws are stupid, just frecken nuts.:bangHead:
 
I've only managed to bag on Snowshoe two years ago, plus witnessed a couple of showshoe's, a cottontail and jackrabbit being taken by hunting partners, but at least I can offer a few suggestions.

I'm not sure where Ridgeway is, but it's been my experience that you'll find the Snowshoes through most of the province, at least in shield country down to around the farm country north of Barrie/Orillia. I've seen cottontails just west of T.O. and gather that they're found in most farm country. The Jackrabbits are found thoughout the farm country, particularly in south west Ontario, though their numbers seem to be fairly low at the moment in the areas west of Toronto where hunters that I'm familiar with go to hunt them.

Ontario Out of Doors had a pretty good article on hunting Snowshoes about a year or so ago, which can probably be dug up at huntontario.com...or is that org? They also had an article about jackrabbits, and I think they might have one about cottontails as well.

Rabbits are hunted in Ontario by stalking with a .22 or shotgun, driving them with groups of hunters, and driving them with dogs (usually beagles). I would probably prefer to use a shotgun, followed by a shotgun rifle combo, and perhaps a .22 if I've had the chance to hunt/scout the area enough beforehand to know that I can have a decent shot with a rifle. Otherwise, I'd hate to travel an hour or two just with a rifle just to spook the sole rabbit of the day before I can shoot at it. For Jackrabbits, heavy shells from a full choke shotgun are best (a good use for those old, full choked shotguns that haven't seen much use since the advent of steel shot), otherwise the more open chokes and lighter loads associated with upland game hunting apply.

Rabbits are easy to clean, and a single snowshoe provides enough meat for a nice rabbit stew.

Driven, European style hunts for showshoes are really fun (I've been on my first one last winter), and are pretty simple in terms of equipment required, though snowshoes can be necessary and radios are helpful. It's a great combo of exercise, outdoors and comraderie. Hunting solo for snowshoes and cottontails is not an unreasonable option though, especially if you've got a couple of good spots.

Good Luck!

Frank
 
blasted_saber said:
Maybe for snowshoes, but cottontail can be easily hunted dogless. Just tromp around brushpiles and hedgerows and wait for them to run out. Not to difficult.
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Do they run like whitetails or mulies when pushing bush? Whitetails seem to run into the next county, but mulies aren't easily spooked and often only run a bit, then stop to look back at whatever it was that spooked them in the first place. I would think that a running shot on a rabbit is a shotgun only proposition. What size shot to use?

I have wanted to take my kids out hunting for rabbits (no season or licence required in Alberta), but wasn't sure how much action we could get without a dog to flush them. Maybe next year we will give it a try and see how it goes.

Mark
 
mmattockx said:
Do they run like whitetails or mulies when pushing bush? Whitetails seem to run into the next county, but mulies aren't easily spooked and often only run a bit, then stop to look back at whatever it was that spooked them in the first place. I would think that a running shot on a rabbit is a shotgun only proposition. What size shot to use?

I have wanted to take my kids out hunting for rabbits (no season or licence required in Alberta), but wasn't sure how much action we could get without a dog to flush them. Maybe next year we will give it a try and see how it goes.

Mark
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Cottontails go like a bat of hell usually. I find Snowshoes stop fairly close though under heavy cover (usually I'll head off after them, do a big circle, then give up and walk back to where I started only to find them almost where I began). I'd take a shotgun.

I have no experience with jacks though
 
Jacks are usually found more out in the open and typically require long shots with a rifle. Its great if a late snowfall puts them in contrast to the surroundings. We have snowshoe hare around here (but not in the city) and they were white before the snow fell, so they stuck out quite prominently. Mostly Eastern cottontail here in the City.
 
It makes sence. Sounds good gents. Heres the situation, it will be myself, my three cousins, and a 4 pair of .22 rifles, mine is scoped, not sure about thiers. We will be hunting up just a bit north of Barrie around some farm fields we have permisson to shoot on. There will be no dogs involved as we have none availiable. Does baiting work for rabbits? Eg. Lettuce and other veggies layed out near scrub brush. We plan to be doing this mid January/Late February... what is the best way to flush them out of the bush? We plan to have two guys waiting for clear shots near a farm field and 2 others bushwhacking any bunnies out towards the field. No idea if it will work. One of my cousins is an ex sniper, he said it would be fun to try to hit a rabbit at 50 yards or more with a .22 going full tilt :)
Advice?
 
The hardest part will be finding the rabbits.

There are more deer around here than there are rabbits, and that not saying much, due to winter-kill the last 2 years.

Should take up coyote hunting....lots of them...but not very tasty. ;)
 
My suggestion is to walk wooded trails, watching carefully for both movement, and still rabbits. They will usually stand still until you get too close for comfort. Watch for the beady little eye. You can often shoot them at 25 feet or less and they just stand there hoping you don't see them.

Skin the first rabbit you get, and make sure they dont have a disease that renders them inedible. Sometimes when the population gets too high, they get a disease where the muscles are all full of watery cysts. You can see it on surface after you pull off the skin. We shotgunned a whole pile of them one year, and after I skinned the first half dozen every one was pocketed like that. I forget what its called, but its communicable to humans if you get a cut. Some kind of osis.

Correction: I believe its called tularemia. Looks like blisters in the surface of the muscle. If you find it, wash your hands and quit.
 
I shot an Eastern Cottontail the other day while duck hunting. I wouldn't recommend using 3" steel on bunnies! lol It was easy to skin and prepare, and tasted delicious. I can't think of a better meal on a cold winter day than braised rabbit!
 
I just finished the last bowl of a big batch of hare soup I made. I shot a few hares while deer hunting last weekend, two of them went to the grill to be slow roasted (yum), and the other went into my soup. Rabbit/hare soup is always delicious ;)
 
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