Ontario rabbit hunting.

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GcG166

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Just moved to Ontario from Newfoundland and am hoping to get out and see what the woods are like around here. I see that the Cottontail and European hare season is still open for another while so theres a chance I may get to give that a try this year.

Just wondering how they are hunted around here. In Newfoundland hare is usually hunted with dogs and without dogs you are unlikely to get anything, you may get lucky some times but not often. Do people use dogs here? What's the chances of getting anything without?
 
When I went it was with just a shotgun in hand and permission to be on the property . I have a customer I deliver to and he uses dogs.
 
How do most go about getting permission? I know I need to do that before anything but where I'm from 99% of land is public so hunting private land is new to me. Are oand owners open to hunters? What are they more likly to let you hunt on their property?
 
have not hunted rabbits since i was a teenager. we use to jump brush piles and got lots using old single barrel shotguns. you would have to read up on game laws for rabbits as i have no idea what the rules are. good luck.
 
Dogs can sure help but I’ve killed a lot jumping brush piles over the years. Permission can be hard but the only way you will get it is knocking on doors. You didn’t say where in Ontario but there are some public places that allow hunting. Although they can be fairly pressured
 
Many, many years ago, my BIL and some buddies took me on an Ontario rabbit hunt with hounds, got me a 25. ticket for hunting rabbits without a license. No such nonsense in Alberta. Of course, there was a ferret the game warden never saw. :redface:

Grizz
 
in Dog We Trust!!!
only time i had better luck was when we brought the beagle
sure jumping on brush pile gets them going
hunting dog .
there is a reason they call them that.
sure makes it easier.
its been years since ive hunted rabbit in southern ontario
nought the wrong type of hunting dog
bought an Argentine Dogo
they hunt wild boar jaguar and cougar
take care brothers
have a blast
keep your powder dry
Sam the Cannon Man
 
Get permission or find crown land with thick patches, ditches scrub, weeds etc.
Stroll around when there is snow on the ground. Perk up when you see concentrations of fresh tracks. Scan ahead periodically to see the ones that keep ahead of you. Semi auto .22 or your favorite shotgun with 4's, 5's or 6's... (maybe smaller shot as the gauge gets smaller). Try to shoot where the bunny is going and not where it is.
 
Grizzly Adams said:
Many, many years ago, my BIL and some buddies took me on an Ontario rabbit hunt with hounds, got me a 25. ticket for hunting rabbits without a license. No such nonsense in Alberta. Of course, there was a ferret the game warden never saw. :redface:

Grizz
Click to expand...

Having a proper license is nonsense?
 
I am in the Ottawa area. Been here for 3 days so I still have a lot to do before getting out just want to take in as much info before hand.
 
I am in the Ottawa area. Been here for 3 days so I still have a lot to do before getting out just want to take in as much info before hand.
 
OK. Im not entirely sure on species present in Ottawa. Generally speaking hares are in the big bush forests of the north and cottontails in the farmland in the south. Ottawa is kind of right on the border of those areas, so you may have both. If I had to hedge my bets I would go with hares being the dominant species. Where I am in Muskoka for instance we only have hares.

As for land to hunt, learn to use the Ontario Crown Land Atlas.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/crown-land-use-policy-atlas

You can of course knock on doors of property owners too.
 
I'm in the Ottawa area too (Almonte), very few rabbits around. Saw 2 the other day and that is the first two I've seen in over a year. Coyotes are overrun here, I take out as many as I can to protect all the other small game. They sure put a #### kickin' on it! Deer too.
 
I remember well back in the 1960's that snowshoe hares were very plentiful. My dad raised beagles, walker, blue tick, black and tan hounds. It was quite common to come home with 50 to 100 hares and the odd cottontail, in a days hunt. Dogs would do all the work, all we had to do was have a lot of fun. Listening to the dogs howl was awesome, closer and louder the howling the more excited I became. There was always running shots, and having only a single shot 410, I made it count, but of course dad shot the most, he had the Ithaca Model 37 and more experienced.............not the good ole days, but the great ole days!!! Our rabbit hunting mostly took place around Apple Hill, Lancaster, Alexandria, St. Andrews, Ontario.
 
Browning_300wsm said:
I'm in the Ottawa area too (Almonte), very few rabbits around. Saw 2 the other day and that is the first two I've seen in over a year. Coyotes are overrun here, I take out as many as I can to protect all the other small game. They sure put a #### kickin' on it! Deer too.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I never got a coyote before. They're scarse in NL is there any bounty on them or just sell the fur? I would love to get coyotes. Would land owners be more open to you on their land cor only coyote?
 
I pretty much have only hunt for rabbits my whole life and I used to go where the hunters went with their dogs and still get my limit. I even got my limit in one day with a 22 cal HW80 pellet gun when I was younger.
With rabbits you have to get right in the thick stuff where dogs won’t even go because of the thorns. I spook them out then reverse circle them and catch them off guard and even take them with my highly modified 25 cal Crosman Mark1 pistol. Now that’s fun.
Sometimes it can be difficult to find a spot that is full of Rabbits, but once you do they will always be there provided no one changes the geography.
 
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