Who else loves hunting rabbits?

[dand883]

Now that i've got a deer in the freezer is anyone else excited to get out after some rabbits? More specifically snowshoe hare in our neck of the woods.

I know lots of people who don't even consider going after them, but after sitting still freezing in a tree for the last month i find i look forward to it more than i do deer season.

You get to go out and explore, scout around, see what's out there. It's more social, with less expectations and less disappointment. Even if you get skunked it doesn't wear on you like a day of not seeing any deer, and unlike early bird season you rarely run into anyone else, they all hang their gear up when it gets cold.

I also admittedly have a thing for 20ga's and 20ga/22lr o/u's and will be testing out a chiappa double badger this year to see if i like it over my shorty Ricol from Corwin.

I know i am by far not an expert at it, so any tips for me, or anyone else wanting to get a little more into it would be appreciated.

My biggest challenge has been finding where they are at, it always seems that what i think would be a good rabbit cover doesn't seem to have much in it, then i see a ton of tracks in places that don't seem to make sense. What are things you look for and have success with?


For anyone else new/unskilled i went back and found some old threads that cover some things already, if anyone else has some, maybe we could start a sticky that's easy to find.

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1176046-Hunting-Rabbits-(edit-Hares)-in-the-Snow

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1662820-Advice-for-Rabbit-Hunting-Northern-Ontario

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1746802-Rabbits!-Field-dressing-butchering-cooking-etc

 

[IvoB]

I hunt cotton tail with my pump 12 gauge - when the Coyotes moved in the Jack Rabbits left - I find sunny days are good - if the snow crunches under your boots time to go home - they hear you before you see them - i reload #5/6 shot it seems to work well.

 

[45ACPKING]

this is the "only" time you will read a comment like this from me..... it only pertains to rabbits so I afford my wife this one thing.

I love rabbits and rabbit hunting...… but my wife won't let me hahahaha

 

[triggerman42]

The easiest way to hunt snowshoes with no beagle or other canine buddy , is once they have turned white , just wait for a mild spell , and go when the snow is gone. You will have guilt feelings because it's so easy. They sit perfectly still , waiting for you to walk right by them , and don't seem to be aware they look like rolls of toilet paper sitting in the brush. Just take a couple for the stew pot. Leave the others for breeding stock . It's not about numbers. It's about a nice rabbit stew.

 

[mbogo3]

A brown November leaves snowshoes white and sticking out like a sore thumb.Adult pellet rifle and headshots.

 

[IvoB]

The easiest way to hunt snowshoes with no beagle or other canine buddy , is once they have turned white , just wait for a mild spell , and go when the snow is gone. You will have guilt feelings because it's so easy. They sit perfectly still , waiting for you to walk right by them , and don't seem to be aware they look like rolls of toilet paper sitting in the brush. Just take a couple for the stew pot. Leave the others for breeding stock . It's not about numbers. It's about a nice rabbit stew.

nicely said - we do the same with cotton tails - we take 1 or 2 then leave - we also set up for yotes to help the rabbits out

 

[DangerDave91]

Awesome! Thanks for the links to the other posts. I'm a new hunter/outdoorsman starting a bit later in life (28), and I've been looking for something to hunt that isn't deer since I only have a Savage B22. This looks like its right up my alley! One thing that I have a hard time with is know where I can hunt in NB...I pretty much just look on google maps and reference the crown land map. Gotta get out there and look for some good spots before the snow flies!

 

[hoytcanon]

Just take a couple for the stew pot. Leave the others for breeding stock . It's not about numbers. It's about a nice rabbit stew.

We have snow from October to May... when things come together to have white hares on brown ground, which may happen every 5-6 years if we are lucky, I shoot whatever I see... have you ever heard the saying "breed like rabbits?" A dozen or two that you may shoot will not have any significant impact on the population... there are many other cyclical factors that will supercede your small part... nobody should feel badly about harvesting within the rules.

 

[triggerman42]

Awesome! Thanks for the links to the other posts. I'm a new hunter/outdoorsman starting a bit later in life (28), and I've been looking for something to hunt that isn't deer since I only have a Savage B22. This looks like its right up my alley! One thing that I have a hard time with is know where I can hunt in NB...I pretty much just look on google maps and reference the crown land map. Gotta get out there and look for some good spots before the snow flies!

It never hurts to just go for a drive , stop in , and ask a few farmers for permission to rabbit hunt. Lots of farms are kind of off limits for deer, just because they hunt themselves , but rabbits is a different story. Be polite , and ask if you could thank him , with a rabbit or two. Good manners goes a long way with these guys! Good luck with your hunting adventures !

 

[Butcherbill]

OP, I love hunting rabbits. Last year was the first year I had any success with it around here, nothing more enjoyable than hiking around hunting rabbits exploring old logging roads and trails. As soon as my second deer tag was cut all I could think of was going for leisurely walks looking for grouse and snowshoe hares lol. Hoping for a relatively mild winter so I can get into a couple higher up spots that paid off last spring. Aside from stews we’ve made some dynamite rabbit breakfast sausages and I’ve been making killer burgers out of them.

this is the "only" time you will read a comment like this from me..... it only pertains to rabbits so I afford my wife this one thing.

I love rabbits and rabbit hunting...… but my wife won't let me hahahaha

Hahaha, I was out checking my one firewood spot with the wife last week. It’s lower down and has no snow currently, on the way out I saw a hare that had turned white already. Stopped the truck and asked the wife if she wanted to shoot it, she said no it’s too cute lol. I got out and and shot it, she doesn’t seem to care if I blast them thankfully and in all honesty I think she just enjoys being out for ride while I shoot at roadside grouse and hares.

 

[Lotro]

. I'm a new hunter/outdoorsman starting a bit later in life (28), and I've been looking for something to hunt that isn't deer since I only have a Savage B22.

If you’re starting late, I’m ancient! just starting now at 38, tons of fun so far. Try and get some friends to take you out. I’ve had lots of fun chasing grouse in the bushes with friends. There should be some crown land maps available to you online or locally. Pop into your local hunting shop, buy an orange hat and ask for some advice. Have fun!

 

[mrgoat]

Cut my teeth back in the 60's hunting jack rabbits and cotton tails with my grandfather in King Township around the Schomberg area north of Toronto. In the 70's we used beagles in the Huronia area for snowshoes. Many a Sat 4 fellas could fetch home around 30 rabbits. Haven't actively hunted them in years. DDT took there toll on the jacks. When all the a$$hole anti hunting tree huggers from Toronto starting buying up property in our area many good spots were lost. Then the rabbit population declined. Our interests changed, and then the coyote population exploded. Ground hogs, rabbits, and partridge in the area virtually disappeared to the point it was a waste of time. We started hunting coyotes but that irritated the a$$holes from Toronto as well.
Where I live now the area is very abundant in snowshoe rabbits and partridge. I leave them all for the Lynx and foxes as I like to see them around. It is nice to sit with a coffee in the am and watch a fox or Lynx trotting up the river meadow. I maybe snare one rabbit a winter for a stew but that's about it.

 

[Brutus]

I am lucky enough to have a friend that lets me rabbit hunt on his mostly forested property.

They seem to prefer the heaviest cover of evergreens. I think it's because the spruce trees offer lots of overhead cover from an airborne attack.
This is close range shooting with most opportunities at around or just over 10 yards. It's seems more productive with two hunters spaced a few yards apart so you can see each other most of the time. Each in turn advancing forward paralleling each other. It seems to confuse them for a few moments as they take some extra seconds to figure out thier chosen escape route.
On great days you have sitters hoping you will not see thier eyeball staring right at you.
Other days often when there is more hunting pressure from humans or wild predators thier instinct to run at first sign of danger is paramount.
Don't despair and don't risk a low percentage shot.
Remember this spot and come back to it with a sweep from another direction.
They prefer thier known territory and will return to it forthwith. This often affords a second chance for a shot.
Hunting them alone is fine as well. Just be more patient choose days when the forest walking is less noisy but always always take your time and look everywhere around you 360 degrees ensuring to stoop down when required to get a better view.
Slower walking often translates to a heavier game bag, one shot per harvest.
If you have the patience do this exercise and see if it works for you: when I was more heavily into archery, the drill was 3 step 3. Three quiet steps, wait three minutes while observing. Repeat as required.
Good luck folks!

 

[kjohn]

As a prairie kid, I hunted bush rabbits. My Dad would take me out in the country, drop me off after dinner and pick me up just before supper. Jack rabbits don't really require hunting. They used to be all over the place, but coyotes and human activity have seemed to chase them away.

 

[lone ranger]

Back in the 80's ,a Buddy I had in Helena Montana,..took me shooting at his place with hand guns. He had a couple older 38 revolvers.
It was a blast !! we seen 2 rabbits sitting about 30 feet in front of us hiding in a small bush. He opened fired.....the 2 rabbits hopped away, LOL

I sooo wished we could use hand guns here.

 

[dand883]

I hunt cotton tail with my pump 12 gauge - when the Coyotes moved in the Jack Rabbits left - I find sunny days are good - if the snow crunches under your boots time to go home - they hear you before you see them - i reload #5/6 shot it seems to work well.

I've moved to heavier shot, usually #4 because i see it more often, i rarely see #5 sold around here. Anything smaller i find tends to not pass completely through and you end up eating pellets.

The easiest way to hunt snowshoes with no beagle or other canine buddy , is once they have turned white , just wait for a mild spell , and go when the snow is gone. You will have guilt feelings because it's so easy. They sit perfectly still , waiting for you to walk right by them , and don't seem to be aware they look like rolls of toilet paper sitting in the brush. Just take a couple for the stew pot. Leave the others for breeding stock . It's not about numbers. It's about a nice rabbit stew.

I always hope for warm weather, but it always seems to warm up tuesday/wednesday/thursday when i am working and then get cold and snowy just in time for the weekend when i can actually get out.

Awesome! Thanks for the links to the other posts. I'm a new hunter/outdoorsman starting a bit later in life (28), and I've been looking for something to hunt that isn't deer since I only have a Savage B22. This looks like its right up my alley! One thing that I have a hard time with is know where I can hunt in NB...I pretty much just look on google maps and reference the crown land map. Gotta get out there and look for some good spots before the snow flies!

It can be hard finding good crown land, but most of the time the privately owned clearcuts and logging roads aren't closed to hunting, in NB you need to post your land with yellow or red disks as per the hunting regs if you don't want people hunting on your land.

Not sure what part of the province you're in, but another option is CFB gagetown, you're allowed to hunt on the base, you just need to register with the guard on your way in and get the daily permit. I usually end up doing half of my rabbit hunting there each year.

 

[Killbillc68]

I love hunting things that hunt rabbits. Predator hunting is much funner.

 

[Brutus]

Myself I rarely use number 4 unless I desire extreme range with my turkey shotgun.
Mostly I use the sub gauges with #6 and 7.5 lead birdshot. And if I decide to use the 28 gauge or 410 it's full choke as a choice.
If I use rimfire it's 22 LR with CCI mini mags.
This is only because I have a plethora of gopher bullets lying around.
But anything of adequate accuracy will work, I only avoid match 22 because it tends to be externally lubricated. Not so great in sub zero weather.
I strive for head shots only shotgun or rifle, however the sub gauges rule the roost here.

 

[bogozzo]

Back in the 80's ,a Buddy I had in Helena Montana,..took me shooting at his place with hand guns. He had a couple older 38 revolvers.
It was a blast !! we seen 2 rabbits sitting about 30 feet in front of us hiding in a small bush. He opened fired.....the 2 rabbits hopped away, LOL

I sooo wished we could use hand guns here.

phwef .. I was afraid that I was the only one who would go to "Why of course .. Elmer Fudd".. thanks for your post.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I love hunting snowshoes after my deer season. A buddy and I carry our 22s and push the pines. Sometimes I enjoy the small game hunting more than chasing elk and whitetails.