Rabbit huntin,how many of you hunt rabbits

[GCW]

Hi ,I'm new to this forum.I was just wondering how many people here rabbit hunt during the winter months.To me rabbit hunting is one of my most favorite types of hunting.I have a 6yr old beagle,and my hunting parterner has 2 one year old beagles.I usaully hunt with my 9yr old son and  another guy that has been a good friend of mine since high school.I would also like to know what kind of gun do you use for rabbit hunting,me I use a 20ga Rem 870 Express with Imp choke or a Verona O/U in 20ga choked imp/mod,Thank you

[victorcharlie]

Hi GCW and welcome!  I've hunted rabbits with beagles over 20 years.  Most of my dogs are Del ray Stubby bread and a little slower than what most fellows hunt up your way but we don't have hare.  There are some big cane cutters or swampers, but mostly twisting turning cotton tails.

I bought my first beagles back when my son was about 9 and we spent many days togather in the field.  He's grown and moved off now and has been gone for quite a few years but one of the first questions he asks on the phone is do I still have dogs.  The dogs I have now are great grandson's and daughters of the ones he hunted over and I have to tell him all about them.  He always wants to hunt when he comes home.

I've got 4 young grandsons and a grand daughter with another one in the oven and it'll be another 4 or 5 years before their ready to go with grandpa.

The latest housing boom has taken most of my hunting spots and I'm having to drive farther and farther to hunt.  I hope I'll have a few good spots when the grandson are old enough.

I also hunt with an old friend from my youth.  He keeps beagles as well and we've hunted togather all our lives.  As far a guns, I've used several but bought a Beretta 686 whitewing in a 20 guage a few years ago.  I usually choke it cly bore and improved cyl depending on where we hunt. It's a really nice gun and more expensive than most rabbit hunters want to take in the brambles, but I figure I'll have it the rest of my life so why not have a nice one?  My buddy uses a pump .410.  Lite weight is really what we're after as the big browning and remingtons get heavy late in the day.  My son started with a single shot new england 20 guage.  I still have it and plan to start the grandsons with it.  He killed just as many rabbits with it as any of us did with our auto loaders.  He used less shells!

We hunted rabbits every weekend for years, but now with my son gone I also hunt big game and don't get the dogs out until the big game season is over.  I hope this will change when the grandsons are bigger.

[Jerry Lester]

I love hunting rabbits, but I don't have any dogs. I take my little 870 20 guage, and try to kick one or two up at least a few times each winter.

I also like to sneak along fences, and hedge rows with my 22 Single Six, ans try to catch'em sitting. I actually end up killing more this way than with the shotgun every year.

I'd love to have me a good beagle, but untill I can soften up the lady of the house...

[snicker]

Ahhhhh, Beagles!!!  I remember those days when I lived in Southern Indiana.  Had three 12" - 13" beagles and my friend had three the same size.  Get those six going and it was the best music anyone would ever want to hear.  Used a Remington 870 Wingmaster Special Field 20 ga, the little one with the straight stock, light and easy to handle in the thick stuff.  My friend used a Remington 1100 Special Field 20 ga.  Don't have any dogs now and my friend is no longer around.  Most places I used to hunt are either built up or the new owners won't let you hunt.  Now I only go out and try to kick one up once in awhile without a dog.

[GCW]

victorcharlie.the bagles that we run are of the slower kind.But you are right most people around here like a fast dog to bring the rabbit back around,but I hunt cottontails most of the time so a slow dog suites me just fine

[victorcharlie]

Slow is a relative term.  No dog can be to fast provided the trail is clearly and accurately followed.  The great hounds adjust their speed depending on scenting conditions.  They'll air is out when the scent is high but will slow to a walk when the scent is low.  The really good hounds have a lot of gears and know how to shift, but this is just one trait of a good hound.

[Larry Gibson]

Hi ,I'm new to this forum.I was just wondering how many people here rabbit hunt during the winter months.To me rabbit hunting is one of my most favorite types of hunting.I have a 6yr old beagle,and my hunting parterner has 2 one year old beagles.I usaully hunt with my 9yr old son and  another guy that has been a good friend of mine since high school.I would also like to know what kind of gun do you use for rabbit hunting,me I use a 20ga Rem 870 Express with Imp choke or a Verona O/U in 20ga choked imp/mod,Thank you

I don't hunt them with dogs either. I like to still hunt snowshoe rabbits in the fall after the first snow. I mostly use a handgun, .32 H&R or .38 special to head shoot them or an air rifle as they are very good eating. Same with little brush bunnies out in the high sage country along brushy arroyos or around abandoned homesteads/buildings. I shoot jack rabbits, tried eating a young one once, that was enough. Just enter 'em back into the food chain now. Rifles, handguns or shotguns of just about every caliber or gauge are used for this.

Larry Gibson

[popplecop]

Welcome aboard.  Yes, I hunt rabbits both with and without dogs.  Either way is great.  And they are great eating.

[K.K]

Welcome!  I hunt rabbits (no dog).  My grandfather taught me hunting skills and firearm safety by chasing cottontails when I was a kid.  I still use his old 12-gauge Remington 11-48 shotgun.  I only hunt them a few times a year, but it's always with that gun, and when I want to get out in the woods and remember those great times with my grandfather.