Rabbit Season?

Sadosubliminal

Sadosubliminal

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Good day, all! I did some quick searches for information related to hunting rabbits, turned up with a pile of threads that had to do with everything else but rabbit hunting.

First: some background. I've never hunted anything, but I am not squeamish or shy about the idea. I love meat in all its glorious forms. Hell, I'd probably eat your cat if you threw a little parsley on it.

So, being a noob, I decided it would be a good idea to start small. Why not rabbits? Rabbits is practically chickens, y'know? Bugs Bunny references aside, rabbit is tasty, small, and I presume easier to clean than a deer for a first timer.

That said, please save me the torture of trying to navigate government sites. I swear the government web designers are all sadists. I would greatly appreciate opinions and facts on the following questions:

- Do you need a license to hunt rabbits? I mean, some consider them vermin, but all I see is a delicious animal.

braised-rabbit.jpg


- Is there a particular time of year you should NOT hunt rabbits for food?

- Anyone have any links showing how to clean and prepare a rabbit?

- What kind of terrain should I look at? Rabbits are everywhere, I know, but surely there must be certain terrains that have a greater abundance of rabbits. (I'm not asking you to give up your spot, just some guidance)

- What are the chances of finding a decent population of rabbits in the greater Ottawa area?

- Finally, are there any other types of edible game that you do not need a license to hunt? I mean, are there health reasons why you shouldn't eat a forest squirrel or a beaver or a gopher? Obviously if it tastes like crap, I don't want to eat it, but otherwise...

Thanks for your patience.

P.S.: To the guy who PM-d me asking if I'm a troll: No I'm not. I'm a strange guy, I guess, but I'm serious. People make fun of the chick in this video. I think she's awesome:

[youtube]7RlK0Xd4c2c[/youtube]
 
-Mating season pretty much on now and through until July at least
-In Ontario one needs a small game licence for hunting them. Once one crosses the Manitoba-Ontario border one pretty much does not need a licence in the provinces north and west of this border. So you'll probably have to wait until September or thereabouts to hunt them anyways. ( I think! )
-Youtube: "Becks Outdoors" & "Pathfinder" for tutorials
-In the forested parts of Canada, generally they like the thickest, darkest and hardest to move through forest to hide from predators
-In America squirrel hunting is popular with parts of Southern Ontario in this tradition as well. Beavers, yuck! Too oily I bet. Gophers, depression food, with the danger of getting diseases from them. In the USA gophers and prairie dogs can pass bubonic plague onto humans, no thanks.
 
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Yup, I definitely don't want to stick anything in my mouth that'll taste like a can of 5w-30. And diseases? Yeah that's a pretty good reason not to eat certain animals.
 
Some provinces require you to buy a small game licence. Other provinces do not. You'll need to obtain the hunting regs for your province to learn what is what.

Best time to hunt rabbits is after a fresh snow fall, because the fresh tracks will tell you if the rabbits are in the area or not.

Heavy brush, thick thorn tree patches, and even old junk piles of metal cans, wire fence rolls, and old junk cars give rabbits good cover. So that's were they will be.

Rabbits do not like wet areas, and will stay away from there if dry land is available near by.

If you find holes in the ground were rabbit tracks are, then forget it and go look somewhere else. Because rabbits that run into holes in the ground will stay there unless you poke them with a long stick.

Learn, and yes I said learn, to be patient while hunting rabbits. If the tracks are there in fresh snow, and the cover is there, then the rabbits are there too. You'll need to kick the brush, and zig-zag walk the thick grass over and over, but you will get the rabbits. Sometimes they will sit tight until your foot lands beside them to make them get up and run.

If you hunt with a dog, a rabbit will run in a big circle when it's being followed on it's own track. So a dog (or a hunting partner) can run a rabbit right back to you. But I always liked hunting rabbits without a dog.

On a sunny day in winter, rabbits will sit where the sun shines to get warmth.

A hunting partner (even a total of 3 hunters) works best for hunting rabbits in thick brush, because you need to cover the edges and back doors as a rabbit will take up and run from anywhere.

Always check the hunting seasons, because sometimes other game such as grouse, ducks, squrrels, etc can over lap the rabbit season, and you can hunt both and/or all in the same day. But make sure you have purchased the game licenses, and also a township licences that some provinces require (check your local hunting regs, and ask about a township licence at the town building of the area/district you plan to hunt).

All the above I've learned on hand from hunting rabbits for almost 30 years.
 
Snowshoe hares are probably the easiest thing for a beginner to hunt. If you're lucky you get a couple of windows each year where they are white and there isn't any snow. The season is nice and long and there are decent numbers within a short distance of Ottawa.
 
If you have not hunted anything, then i assume you dont have a hunting license.
You will have to get a Hunting version of an "Outdoors Card" by means of a course
and exam by a qualified instructor and examiner.
With that course and exam completed, you can buy the card,
then use it to buy game seals for whatever game you decide to go after.
 
Jackrabbits/hares/rabbits have some similar habits. One of which, is when they are first startled by a predator is to run to safety from thier hiding spot. But, only if they have not been hunted hard, generally they tend to stop within a few steps and look back at what ever startled them. This is a good opportunity to take a standing still shot. But be at the ready with your gun up, as you'll only have a few brief seconds IMO. Otherwise a good scatter gun with light birdshot loads with a more open choke is the best medicine for fast movers in the close confines of the boreal forests I think. Be careful of your backdrop for any shot taken.
Scanners advice is spot on. I'll only add that if you and one or two other partners are hunting them without the help of good dogs (beagles) a staggered line, moving abreast if often successful. With one moving slowly ahead, while the other (s) stands still and listens for movement or looks for familiar shapes & color of game. This could be in any direction to, not just ahead of you and your buddies. You would be surprized how many hares try to double back behind your line of advance. Keep your hunting partner in sight most, if not all of the time, communicate verbally or waving to each other to know where you are situated so safety is paramount.

BTW one sure way to get disoriented in the woods is getting carried away in the excitement of the chase. Try to keep your head around where you've been and where you plan to end up. Which way is north, mindful of the setting sun, blah blah blah. ;)

Rabbit hunting, low pressure task & hunting in the great outdoors in the company of trusted friends while getting some exercise. Maybe the added bonus of a few tasty grouse also. Lovely way to spend the fall/winter day indeed!
 
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leadslinger said:
If you have not hunted anything, then i assume you dont have a hunting license.
You will have to get a Hunting version of an "Outdoors Card" by means of a course
and exam by a qualified instructor and examiner.
With that course and exam completed, you can buy the card,
then use it to buy game seals for whatever game you decide to go after.
Click to expand...

OK, I'll have to do that first.
 
I was going to respond to each of you individually, but that would turn this into a novel. So I will say "thank you" to all of you for your experienced advice. Sounds to me like I really should get into some kind of hunting group/camp, even for small game hunting.

I do not understand the habits of animals in general. So if I went alone it would most likely be a comedy of errors played out as me bumbling my way around the forest with a gun for the better part of a day and coming home empty handed. Assuming I don't get lost.

Anyway, I'm very excited about the idea, I just need to dig around a little more for a group of hunters in my area willing to put up with a noob.
 
Years ago i bought a couple a very good books
on small game and duck and goose hunting.
I still have these books and they are still very relevant.
They are as useful as good reloading manuels are when you are a beginning reloader.
Get your hunting course done as soon as you can to get ready for the Fall.
Dont wait till 2 weeks before like a lot of people do.
(instructors hunt to).
Then post an ad on CGN looking to tag along with some hunters in your area.
 
Quote:
"-In Ontario one needs a small game licence for hunting them. Once one crosses the Manitoba-Ontario border one pretty much does not need a licence in the provinces north and west of this border. "

BC does not have a "small game" license, but a "general hunting license" which covers almost everything smaller than coyote, and rabbits fall in that category. Same kind of license, just a different name. You do need at least that license in BC for anything that Ontario calls "small game." Just semantics. I've lived in both provinces, and out here, for coyote and bigger, you get the specific "species license" for what you're after.
 
Headcase said:
Quote:
"-In Ontario one needs a small game licence for hunting them. Once one crosses the Manitoba-Ontario border one pretty much does not need a licence in the provinces north and west of this border. "

BC does not have a "small game" license, but a "general hunting license" which covers almost everything smaller than coyote, and rabbits fall in that category. Same kind of license, just a different name. You do need at least that license in BC for anything that Ontario calls "small game." Just semantics. I've lived in both provinces, and out here, for coyote and bigger, you get the specific "species license" for what you're after.
Click to expand...
Well, go figure, BC the only western province (with the greatest variety of big game species in North America!) that one needs a license for rabbits. :rolleyes:

I stand corrected.
 
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Yukon small game hunting regs
A small game licence entitles you to hunt snowshoe hare, arctic ground squirrel,
porcupine, grouse and ptarmigan. (You may use snares to catch hares, ground squirrels,
and porcupine.) Marmots, woodchucks and all other small mammals and birds (except
those noted in the migratory bird regulations) are protected. Remember that you may
not hunt or set snares within 1 kilometre of a residence, whether the occupants are
present or not, without permission.
Species Season Dates Bag Limits
Zone 6 and
Subzone 4–03
All other zones Daily Possession
Small game
Snowshoe hare
Arctic ground squirrel Closed Apr 1 – Mar 31 No limit
Porcupine
Game birds
Spruce/Ruffed Grouse
(aggregate limit)
Closed Sept 1 – Nov 30 10 30
Dusky (Blue) Grouse Closed Sept 1 – Nov 30 5 15
Sharptailed Grouse Closed Sept 1 – Nov 30 5* 15*
Ptarmigan Closed Sept 1 – Mar 15 10 30
*except Zone 5: Daily – 2, Possession – 6
 
I haven't yet had a look online at the regs for each province to see that it ain't likely to shoot anything without a license of some sorts. Things have changed a little in the last thirty years. Any response from Manitoba / Sak / Alta residents? Curious minds want to know....
 
Well, my only verifiable facts are that in Saskatchewan & Alberta one does not need a licence of any kind to hunt rabbits. This I know to be true only because I've lived in both provinces. I'm 90% sure this is true also for Manitoba residents. But recently I've been very wrong regarding BC & the Yukon too.
 
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