northeast and midwest hunters: need advice on rabbits

[Treeman72]

I live in Central NY with primarily maple/ash woods with pockets of hemlock/fir/spruce/pine. I've seen plenty of rabbit tracks but never hunted them.

What is the best tree/cover type to find them in? What is your long arm of choice to hunt them? Any advice is welcome.

Thank you.

[Awsomepossum]

my choice is a cheap bolt action 410

[ollogger]

Years ago in Wis. we hunted snowshoes, it was in the thick timber with a mix of
pine, spruce, hemlock, etc. a 20 ga. was good deal if we used beagles
on a still hunt I used a 22 revolver & watched for that little dark eye tucked back in the snow
its amazing how they blend in


ollogger

[Marvin S]

We have cotton tail rabbits. Thick brush piles and weeds. They will sit tight and let you walk by them so pause often. One of them Savage 22/410 combos would be good. Kick them brush piles.

[Mescalero]

I wrote a good long response, when I went to submit; it disappeared.
Not going to retype.

[BenT]

Thick stuff., pines,down trees . You have to almost step on them. They usually run in a circle. I use a 22 revolver in the past. Over Christmas break I am going over to my neighbors who I noticed had a lot of bunnies during deer season , I will be trying a 32 cal muzzle loader. Just so you know one bunny makes a lot of tracks.

[Blaine]

I think if I were to take rabbit hunting seriously, I'd get a beagle....A .22, or .410 would suffice....

[Mac in Mo]

You have got to hunt them over a good pack of Beagles. Some of the best hunting to be had. I am lucky enough to have two friends with packs of Beagles. It is great to listen to the pack as they work the track. Rabbits naturally circle when pushed and will come back to where they were jumped. Some will make a small circle , while others will take the dogs on a big, wild race. They are sneaky too. You must be quiet and still or they will circle right by and go around again.You might try some local forums and see if there is someone in your area who would let you go along. I have used many different shotguns over the years and finally found my favorite about ten years ago. It is a SxS 16 gauge on a small frame, made by AYA for Sears. #6 heavy loads,with hardened shot.

You can also still hunt with a .22. I like a Ruger 10/22 for quick follow ups on running shots. Look for their eyes. The black, round eye is the easiest thing to spot amongst the brush. Kicking large brush piles has netted me poor results over the years, as they normally just hunker down deeper. If you can find a field with lots of tracks(if there is snow) and lots of small piles or lumps of matted grass, you can have some success working through those. Be ready, they can hold very tight. I have actually stepped on many rabbits, feels weird when they wiggle out from under your boot. If there is no snow, look for their "bunks", little rabbit sized and shaped beds that they hunker down in.

I love hunting over Beagles and if I had a place big enough, would have my own pack. The good ones are very serious, hard working dogs. Tough boogers too.

Kevin

[gamekeeper]

Sounds like a SxS 28 gauge would be a good choice but I'd be happy with any of the above choices too.
All the rabbits in my neck of the woods have died of the Chinese virus that is going around the UK but I used to hunt rabbits with a lever action .22 or my Cooey .410.
Before I gave Shirley my 28 gauge S/B and Jr stole my 870 28 gauge they were my ideal Bunny Bashers.

[SJPrice]

Sounds like a SxS 28 gauge would be a good choice but I'd be happy with any of the above choices too.
All the rabbits in my neck of the woods have died of the Chinese virus that is going around the UK but I used to hunt rabbits with a lever action .22 or my Cooey .410.
Before I gave Shirley my 28 gauge S/B and Jr stole my 870 28 gauge they were my ideal Bunny Bashers.

Is that the same virus that seems to kill all the cats around a Chinese restaurant?

[gundownunder]

I don't know if things are a bit different here in Oz to what they are over there, but I've always thought a .22 levergun and a slow stroll through the bush with your eyes wide open was the perfect way to get a couple bunnies for the pot.
As a young bloke I found a 12g scattergun with a load of #4 or #6 shot was the go if you had to kick 'em out of the tussocks. If I had the time and patience I would train a GSP and buy a scattergun again.
I haven't shot a bunny since the early 90s when I spent some time harvesting them commercially. Back then I used a shooting truck with no windshield and a 9422 Winchester to shoot 100 - 200 rabbits a night 6 nights a week with a spotlight.

[octagon]

If you can learn to whistle like a hawk, it will stop a rabbit running full speed in his tracks, and he will freeze there till you pop his head with a .22. If you can do a really fine whistle, it will stop about 90 percent of rabbits. It is like hunting magic.

[Pete44ru]

I live in Central NY with primarily maple/ash woods with pockets of hemlock/fir/spruce/pine. I've seen plenty of rabbit tracks but never hunted them.

What is the best tree/cover type to find them in ? - #1 = briar patches; #2 = blowdowns and/or brush piles.

What is your long arm of choice to hunt them ? - A smallbore shotgun, or open-sighted .22 (for sitting bunnies).

FWIW, Since the late 70's, no waskely wabbit has yet to make it into my freezer - ever since my Son was old enough to go hunting with me...............

Home-fried fresh rabbit became his favorite meal.

Good Luck - but deep snow's a bummer - unless there's a hard crust to support their weight (not your )

If the snow's deep enough, though, bunnies & squills look like they're scarce - but they're there, just tunnelling through/under the snow. (Look for the tunnel exits/entrance)





.

[cshold]

Vintage SxS 16 ga. one ounce of 7.5's

[Canuck Bob]

I hunted bushy tails in Southern Ontario many years ago. Either a 22 or my 12 gauge double. It was an old Mossberg bought off the neighbor farm for Christmas. The shotgun was best hunting in the woodlots. I hacksawed the barrel of the goosegun to 20 inches and it performed great. Today I would use a short 20 gauge. I'm saving up for a BPS Upland Special in 20 gauge now.

They like brushpiles, thickets, hiding under blowdowns, and the long gone hay stacks and need to be kicked up usually. Like others said walk slow, stop a lot, they get nervous then and move, kinda like still hunting deer. Actually as a kid I realized I saw more deer when I was bunny hunting. Taught me what the oldtimers called still hunting. One trick worked great. I'd hunt the edge of woodlots and winter wheat fields. At dusk a bunny would be seen feeding and offer a rifle shot.

They are tasty critters and unless you live near a nuclear test site don't need dragging to the truck. When you clean them take a look at the inside organs. If they are spotty or look funny feed him to the yotes. Otherwise my Mom would make a casserole out of Mushroom Soup and roast them for supper. My sister would turn up her nose and my Dad would make a big deal out of how good a hunter I was. What a wonderful Christmas memory.

[samb]

Bob hit the nail on the head, the last ten minutes of legal light after filling the wood truck was when Dad let us hunt them.

[Canuck Bob]

Bob hit the nail on the head, the last ten minutes of legal light after filling the wood truck was when Dad let us hunt them.

Bingo!!! we usually used snares as well but that is a different type of hunting.

[Treeman72]

I know that the rabbits obliterate young maple saplings and "witchhobble" bushes. Guess I should look for their browse locations as well as dense hiding spots.

My only 3 suitable fire arms are a scoped target 10/22, 12 gauge pump, and an old stevens pump in 22 short. Of those 3 fire arms, what would you carry?

[gamekeeper]

Sounds like a SxS 28 gauge would be a good choice but I'd be happy with any of the above choices too.
All the rabbits in my neck of the woods have died of the Chinese virus that is going around the UK but I used to hunt rabbits with a lever action .22 or my Cooey .410.
Before I gave Shirley my 28 gauge S/B and Jr stole my 870 28 gauge they were my ideal Bunny Bashers.

Is that the same virus that seems to kill all the cats around a Chinese restaurant?

Could be, we have a Chinese takeaway not far away...

Treeman , I would just have to give that Stevens pump action a go .22 shorts are fine for bunnies..... :wink

[Marlin32]

Dad would never let us shoot them with a shotgun, unless we were bird hunting, and if he sat still and you were close enough, you head shot him. Head shot all our rabbits using 22's. Sometimes sa revolver on our hip.

[Pete44ru]

My only 3 suitable fire arms are a scoped target 10/22, 12 gauge pump, and an old stevens pump in 22 short.
Of those 3 fire arms, what would you carry ?

My 1st choice would be the .22 pumpgun, with the 12ga as a second choice.

The only time I'd bother with a scoped .22 would be if I was in an area where the rabbits habitually sat on the side of dirt roads, etc, in the early AM or late PM hour - where they could be spotted while walking the road. (Exactly the situation, whenever I hunted the Fort Bragg Military Reservation)



.

[RIHMFIRE]

where i grew up in ny, heavy thickets along field edges and power lines were loaded
with wabbits...and i used an 870 12ga and a 22 as well

[Mescalero]

In my youth, in the Chihuahaun desert; we would hunt cottontails after the first good freeze.
They would sit tight in their " hides" under what we called greasewood bushes.
75 % of the time I used an old model Ruger single six .22/.22Mag. with a Thompson Center 1.3x power scope on it.
The rest of the time a .22 rifle.
Shotguns? That was for guys who could not hunt or shoot.

[Mac in Mo]

Mescalero,

Shotguns are for shooting running rabbits being pushed by Beagles. Different style guns for different styles of hunting. But you knew that, stirring up trouble.

Kevin

[Mescalero]

Mac,
I really did not know about that method of hunting rabbits, on the surface; it sounds like it could be hazardous to the dogs.

[Mac in Mo]

Mescalero,

The dogs are tracking on the scent of the rabbit and nearly all the time they are well back from the rabbit. However, you still need to be aware, and ID whatever is moving in the brush, before raising your gun. Shotguns are much safer for the hunters and the dogs in this type of hunting. We also wear plenty of orange and are constantly checking on each others locations. The bunch I hunt with is all friends and family and safety is first and foremost on our minds. When we are in heavy brush, we are constantly updating one another on locations, what area so and so is in, things like that. The safety of the dogs is important too, for they are not only a big investment of time and money, but cherished pets as well. One friend has several generations of running dogs from his prized dog that he has had for many years.

Kevin

[Mescalero]

I bet it would be fun to do that, with the right bunch of guys.

[Pete44ru]

.

BT, DT - Although, ideally, the dogs push the rabbit slowly for the shot, sometimes the rabbits hold a bit.

They then take off faster than a deer - making for a challenging shot.

With the proper dogs, once a rabbit's jumped/spotted, the dogs usually work it in a large circle - so the hunters just spread out & await the completion of the circle (wherever that ends up being, in relation to the start).

That completion location is like a box of chocolates, .........................


.

[Canuck Bob]

My buddie's Dad had a pack of Beagles and was quite well known locally for them and his training ability. They would kick up a rabbit and then you would hear the chorus distancing then starting to close again. Box of chocolates is a great analogy! Just make sure it is a rabbit and not a Beagle. A mistake there could get a guy shot and in some circles it might be considered justifiable!!