I have loads of doves on my property so I expect it will be a good year for doves. I do not understand having a squirrel season at all, they are more numerous than chiggas in my area. Rabbits however are a different matter. What happens to the multitude of rabbits between Summer and hunting season? I see them all the time in July, especailly after rain. Come November they are rarer than hens teeth, do they migrate somewhere lese for the Winter?
Having raised Beagles for 20 years or more, I'd agree with you about rabbits.
Loss of habitat, restrictive predator hunting laws, birds of prey, and fescue are a few reasons, fence row to fence row farming is another one.
The state doesn't seem to think there's any money in small game, and chooses to spend it's efforts on deer and turkey rather than rabbits and quail.
Talk about a loss, quail are seldom seen around here. When I was a kid I'd walk up several coveys a day. Now, I don't see more than a couple of coveys a season.