Rabbits hiding?

[Paula]

The property I go for rabbit is also used by someone else during night for coyote. I have seen rabbits and that is where I got one. I see tracks, this morning there was a lot of tracks and droppings. He ran around almost two hrs but didn't hit on one.

Do you think the night time hunter is using a call or scent that is scaring the rabbits down the hole? Or maybe my dog sucks?

[Pygmy]

I doubt that someone night hunting the property would have much effect on rabbit behavior.

The three most important factors in rabbit hunting are cover, cover, and cover.

Although they do sometimes use woodchuck dens for refuge, they don't live in them. If the rabbits are present, there will always be some above ground. They will be in the densest, thickest cover available.. Multiflora rose clumps...Brushpiles... Deadfalls...Thick, nasty stuff that keeps the predators from finding them. Either you or your dog need to get into that stuff and kick the rabbits out.

Some dogs, especially those that do not have a history/parentage of hunting stock, don't seem to have the instincts to get in there and root the bunnies out. When I was a teenager ( just after the last Ice Age) my Dad had a beagle named George. George was dumb as a box of rocks. He never figured out how to find rabbits. Two of us could be working a strip of cover surrounded by plowed fields and George would be out in the plowed ground looking for rabbits while we thrashed the brush. If he crossed a fresh track, he could do a pretty fair job of running it. Nearly all the rabbits that I ever shot ahead of him were ones that I kicked out and called him over to the track..

Wait a minute..Maybe George wasn't so dunb after all..He let ME do all the hard work busting the brush..LOL..

Edited January 25, 2015 by Pygmy

[wildcat junkie]

Wait a minute..Maybe George wasn't so dunb after all..He let ME do all the hard work busting the brush..LOL..

Seems that George had his human trained very well & was adept at handling him!

[Paula]

He does go in, under and through the thick stuff and piles, even some holes. Scary 

Maybe i am too impatient 

[Pygmy]

Paitience is DEFINITELY a virtue when hunting rabbits with a dog, Paula...<<smile>>...

[Huntscreek]

What you are seeing as rabbit sign is night time feeding activity. One rabbit can make a lot of tracks that will look like many. The other thing is if the rabbits are pressured they will hole, there are small spots that looks great but there hole sitters, rabbits who during the day if snows on will sit very close to the hole makes for good hunting but not with the dogs. The other thing is the most important is your dog any good,most trained dogs with a fair nose can run a rabbit when its spring or early fall. Not all hounds are snowhounds, they just hunt but can't smell the rabbit in tuff NY winter conditions on snow. Next time your out if you see a rabbit and you see your dog hunting, work him to the hot (fresh track)if he can't run it you know its him.

Edited January 25, 2015 by Huntscreek

[CharlieNY]

Paula- your dog does not suck! I have 3 beagles that are all top notch hunters and on some days we run into similar situations. On some days the rabbits are just not out of their holes or as Huntscreek noted, they will just sit next to their holes and duck in when approached. I have found that on windy days they tend to do this and that on days following moonlit nights that this sometimes occurs. I saw a picture of your beagle on one of your previous posts and you have a nice looking dog. The fact that he ran around looking for almost 2 hrs. indicates to me a dog with a strong drive to hunt. Don't blame the dog if he did not put up any rabbits- he can't find bunnies if they are not out, and neither can any other dogs. Remember that we go out hunting, not shooting, and with any type of hunting there will be good days and bad days. But please don't blame it on your dog. It's not his fault. Just keep taking him out and you will run into some good days eventually. Be patient.

Edited January 25, 2015 by CharlieNY

[Paula]

Thanks guys. I will continue to take him because he has such a drive to go.

I believe I found a hole the other day, but wasn't sure because there was also fox tracks. Do the holes smell?

[growalot]

Want to barrow Angel?...she kicks 1-2 out every day we walk...I could never shoot them though....she'd have a heart attack....afraid of guns...lightening and high winds...she has been raising hay with the voles though caught 2 yesterday and one a little while ago...

[wildcat junkie]

What were the wether conditions? That can have a lot to do with whether the rabbits are above ground & active during the day.

[Paula]

morning with a slight breeze and maybe 26

[landtracdeerhunter]

Noticed quite a few rabbit,  on my shed hunting quest yesterday.  Bunnies started to show about 9 ish when the sky clouded. Snow started to fall and the little buggers hid quickly.

[wildcat junkie]

One thing I learned about (my) Beagles.

 

Never feed them before the hunt. They will hunt W/more determination when they are hungry.

 

Besides, feeding a dog right before physical activity can be dangerous.

[wildcat junkie]

morning with a slight breeze and maybe 26

I always had my best luck after brutally cold nights that where followed by calm, sunny mornings. Wait until mid-morning for the sun to get high & hunt on the sunny edges of thick cover.

 

Also, to increase your odds of seeing the little rascals, send the dogs into the tickest cover 1st, working your way towards thinner cover. You will be herding the rabbits to areas that will allow better chances of getting a shot.