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Bunny Hunt

Pygmy

By Pygmy,
in Small Game and Predator Hunting

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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I did a morning hunt for rabbits this morning with an old friend and his two beagles.

My buddy had a dentist appt, so we only had a couple of hours to hunt, but it was nonstop beagle music..

We jumped the first rabbit about 5 minutes into the hunt. The cover we hunt is extremely thick, which of course, is why the bunnies like it. The first one made 3 circles before I got lucky and somersaulted him with the second barrel of my S/S 20 as he flew across a clearing at about MachIV.

Before I had the first one skinned, disjointed and in my vest, the pups had another one going..The chase lasted about an hour and a half before my partner finally dumped the critter with his weathered old Lefever 16 gauge S/S.

They were both nice big hoppers, fat and free of grubs and tapeworm cysts..

AND we never moved more than 100 yards into the patch of cover for the entire hunt. There should be lots of bunnies there to exercise the little hounds on our next hunt.

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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Yeah I'm looking forward to getting out with my friend and his beagles again soon..I have a lead on another property to hunt, supposedly with lots of rabbits and the owner only hunts deer.

Our goal is not to kill every rabbit we see..We never shoot at them on the jump, preferring to get the dogs on them and let them make at least one circle. In the dense stuff where we hunt, they often make several circles before we can get a shot.

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Two Track Newbie

Two Track

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One of my great-uncles had a pack of six beagles for bunny hunts.  We'd have them start in the old grove of Christmas trees and then hit the woods behind it. Talk about hearing the dogs on a chase...

 

Got my first rabbit on one of those hunts with my grandfather standing by me to mentor me.

 

Miss those days.  Enjoy the rabbit hunts with the dogs.  Its much easier that way.

 

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hunter49 Newbie

hunter49

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Yeah I'm looking forward to getting out with my friend and his beagles again soon..I have a lead on another property to hunt, supposedly with lots of rabbits and the owner only hunts deer.

Our goal is not to kill every rabbit we see..We never shoot at them on the jump, preferring to get the dogs on them and let them make at least one circle. In the dense stuff where we hunt, they often make several circles before we can get a shot.

   Loved to hear the dogs & hunt the bunnies years ago. 

 

We use to  hunt the state land around Birdsall years ago for grouse & rabbits.  We would camp by the old fire tower(gone now) Always had a great time. 

 

  Do you hunt anywhere near there & do you see many grouse ?  We always did well back then, 40 + yrs. ago!  Dam I am getting old!

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wildcat junkie Contributor

wildcat junkie

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I always gauged the success of a bunny hunt over hounds W/the dogs getting to run rabbits & my getting to listen to it. The actual kill was just an added bonus.

I usually didn't bother going hunting until there was adequate snow to makes the bunnies easy to spot.

Edited by wildcat junkie
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