going back to the same spot to hunt

[lab]

Was wondering how many of you guys will hit a spot more then a couple times a year. I am one that will hunt a spot once and not go back until the next year. I know guys that will go back as much as 3 or 4 times to the same spot. It really is hard on the rabbits to ever make a come back doing that. Some years back we had a draw around us that was full of rabbits and these guys came back every weekend and now when I hunt that draw you will jump maybe a few rabbits but not enough to shoot. Was just wondering if there is many out there that does this.

[Joeyman]

if a spot is really good i'll hunt it twice and leave it alone. but then again i hunt alot of public land and dont really know who has hunted it before or after me. doesnt seem to hurt a thing though. i find rabbits the following season just the same. I have noticed a couple spots not as strong as year before but you hunt a different part of the CA and its loaded with them. But as far as me and my hunting I practice what you are saying..DONT over hunt a spot and you'll find them next season just the same.

[RabbitSlayer40]

I don't know about where your from but in kentucky when rabbit season rolls around every jack leg and their brother gets a dog or two too hunt. So because of that reason it's hard to hunt places that don't get hunted to death. Unless it's a spot that I know only me and my dad are aloud to hunt we kill all we can. Those places we have to ourselves that we run and know the rabbit population we hunt a couple times kill a decent number but always leave plenty so we can continue to have those spots. I love to kill them but unlike the people who just choose to hunt during season and never run in off season I leave some to ensure I can get enjoyment year around.. We kill a good number year after year usually but unlike a lot around here we only hunt our spots and respect the people who allow us too hunt on them, but unfortunately there are people who don't care and will see you hunting go right in behind you and ruin it for everyone..nothing can be done

[rabbitearl]

How many rabbits are there? We went to a place 4 sat hunting till lunch and dress rabbits the rest of the day.We got 125 rabbits in them 4 sat.Never went back hunting there again. The place was full of people in a house.We knew this was coming. If you own the land you can do what you can and lots of place to hunt make a different. But you don t know about next year.Hunt it.Believe me you will not get all the rabbits.You will leave some seed.What will hunt if you donot thin it down something eles will find the rabbits.Thank about it most of the rabbits you see in hunting season will not be there next year anyway.

I hear so many hunters complain about over hunting a place.I have 7 rabbit pens build my first one in 87 and till this day (on wild Rabbits)I will have to put rabbits in them this fall.There gone and not one shot was fire. (in all the pens)

If I was hunting and did not jump may be two or three rabbits and kill them.No I want go back.But If I kill 10 or 12 rabbits and seen sign everywhere. I be back the next hunt.

[Shady Grove Beagles]

Through out 40 years of rabbit and coonhunting I've always kept a notebook in the truck during hunting season and record each kill and a few words about the hunt/dog's performance, conditions,location and # of rabbits or coon killed.Kind of a hunter's journel.I've got them all and it's great to look back and see what dogs you had 20 years ago,who you were hunting with and where you were hunting,etc.
I also use it to keep track of how many rabbits I've taken from each spot during the season and adjust accordingly to the population.
I run year round so never like to hammer any of my spots too hard.

[hlane]

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[Rowco Beagle Kennels]

We have a few places where it is next to impossible to kill the rabbits due to the thick briars. Since I am able to do only a little gun hunting due to health I love these places. I know rabbits will be waiting every week. Last week I followed a path to the middle and sat down with my gun; never got a shot. The 4 hunters scattered around me shot at 5 but killed 2. The dogs caught 3 that we picked up. We don't count them as "caught" unless we are able to collect the DNA. We have a lot of rabbit hogs in our area who will brag that they "cleaned" a place out, often with out permission to hunt there. It's funny though that come Spring Johnny and I go running (our dogs run year round) and there are plenty of rabbits. Wonder where they came from. ROWCO

[Househounds]

We have several spots we hunt repeatedly. Some are private some our public. I run year round and kill all we can during the season. Over the past five years every year we have killed more then the year before. It doesn't seem to hurt the number of rabbits where we run and or hunt. I think the natural cycle of the rabbits has more to do with it then how many we shoot. I keep expecting the numbers ot go down but it has not happened yet in these spots. I do maintain and build brush piles and put out salt tablets every spring, perhaps that helps replenish them some...

[Remmy]

I continually hunt the same spots. I just don't shoot many. Nice thing about hunting with a pistol.

[likeemfast]

Like Rowco (Bobby), we now have hundreds upon hundreds of acres of some of the thickest briars to hunt, basically to ourselves (think ive seen 1 other hunter in past 5 years) and we hunt it hard and take plenty of rabbits. Their always there. If you cover 2000yds jump 10 and shoot 10 your hounds passed by more than they jumped.

A few years back when i had a couple actual JUMP DOGS, (not at same time tho, few years apart) we went to places that we were convinced did not hold many rabbits. Well with them there were rabbits aplenty. Those hounds could go up over a bare dirt hill with no cover there and jump a rabbit and we would just wonder where they would find them. Most hounds go right by those places.

A certain week i always go back to is we hunted a area that we did ok in, got that jump dog and shot 16 rabbits one day, the NEXT day went back to the SAME hill and shot 12, next weekend went to same hill and shot 14. This hill was a spot that we would take 4 to 6 normally, good days 8 rabbits off a day when we didnt have a jump dog. The next year and for years after that, that place with same jump dog still held as many rabbits. When that dog passed we shot 5, 6, 7 a day. Until you have a JUMP dog dont even think your gonna kill all the rabbits, and then if you get one, you wont either.

[warddog]

Through out 40 years of rabbit and coonhunting I've always kept a notebook in the truck during hunting season and record each kill and a few words about the hunt/dog's performance, conditions,location and # of rabbits or coon killed.Kind of a hunter's journel.I've got them all and it's great to look back and see what dogs you had 20 years ago,who you were hunting with and where you were hunting,etc.
I also use it to keep track of how many rabbits I've taken from each spot during the season and adjust accordingly to the population.
I run year round so never like to hammer any of my spots too hard.

Although your years of hunting are many they are still less than the years I have spent following hounds. I find your post very interesting and wished I had done the same over ALL the years. I am curious if you hunt private or state ground and how many of the private properties are not available to you today that was in the past. I can say that here in Indiana, I have seen prime hunting property lost to individual houses, shopping centers, farmers farming right up to the roads and fence rows, posted by non or anti-hunters, sub divisions, and the big thing over the past several years is that the private property available is run by hunting leases. I live real close to much state ground but can honestly say we have NEVER done very good on any of it. The only place that we can go and run rabbits every time there is a place owned by the mine that is closed to hunting but open only to dog running. One other thing that I have also witnessed over these years is when folks think that because they are the only ones with permission to hunt a property they have some lock on the game that is there. I happen to own 106 acres of pretty good deer country, that I absolutely know the numbers of deer on. I as well as my relatives hunt it BUT I am also set up so I can look out of my back windows to see them all year long when not hunting. I wished I had a dollar for every unauthorized person sitting on the adjacent property lines blasting every deer that comes along. I can tell you that 25 years ago we could go out and fill a tag shooting ONLY bucks with a muzzle loader or bow the first weekend BUT the past 10 years we were unable to see a buck worth shooting. If folks believe that hunting pressure has no impact on game numbers than I would suggest they check with their own DNR scientist. What does the state of Indiana do, they allow folks to legally harvest a buck and up to as many does that a county has it's specific limit of. One county may have 8 and the adjacent county may have 4 so a person living close enough to hunt them both can kill one buck and 12 does, legally. So if they do so legally how many of the deer die but yet go unreported because of not being found after being wounded? I know for a FACT that after season we find many carcasses while running our beagles on both my property and the 1500 acres that we belong to a lease. Folks may not kill them all but they do cut the numbers and at times pretty drastically. This state also opens killing on properties that have been traditionally closed to hunting, period such as the state parks to thin down the population but living right across the road from one such park, I notice that once they started to open it to deer hunting it has been open every season there after which is also another reason for then number decrease on my property.
I've seen a lot of changes in so many things in my 50+ years of hunting and the biggest thing I have seen is in the numbers of small game as all of these factors impact them including the states DNR that cater to bigger game hunting and do not much if anything for small game. There was a time that we had plenty of quail and pheasant here but now NEVER see a pheasant and the only reason we see quail is because the bird hunters got together and started releasing them. All this is just my opinion from what I have personally witnessed in this specific area of the country over the years I've tromped it. I will say my tromping times have also dwindled. By the way, I am NOT knocking any of the above, as what is legal is what is legal, just stating my observations about what is legal and it's impact.