How many of you rabbit hunt

[jt&z's dad]

Jude your cracking me up. I carry a .410 contender for personal protection from those viscious cotton tails here in Michigan. If I go north to where the big footed monsters run I may bump up to a 20 gauge. If I'm really scared I'll tote the 3.5" Benelli super black eagle.

[LR Patch]

Full blooded rabbit hunter , but I'm just as happy listening to a good race now as I am in take'n a big bunch of meat. But I do agree to have a complete rabbit hound you must take game in front of them , the sound of the gun, the taste of fur & blood and the praise with the prize adds to the making of a good rabbit hound. I've trailed some but don't see where run'n with a clock ever told what kinda hound a man has. To each his own I recon but I prefer hunt'n to trail'n.

[weaver240000]

Im 28 years old and I dont see nothing wrong with hunting them, but I havent went out with a gun in 10 years. I dont eat them or have any use for a dead rabbit. The way I look at it is I cant run a dead rabbit. I run 6 days a week all year and Im to stingy on the rabbit population to kill. But like I said I dont see nothing wrong with it as long as you eat them. I see to many shot rabbits just hanging in trees for hawk bait.

[deadeyebeagle]

I LOVE ME SOME RABBIT i was born to hunt... and not startin nothin... lot of senctive people on hear not saying u are or matter of fact i didnt say that any way i find dead rabbits in the feild and hang them in the trees so my dogs dont get them and the ones i find are from them dam yotes and jude u come to ohio and hunt call me my personal rabbit defence gun is the ar15 full free floting barrel 2 30 round clips and cmore tactkal red dot we got some bigens and real mean

[les guynn]

Disabled beagle owner who likes to run as much as i can, I am 60 years old and have owned beagles since i was ten years old or more, i like to hunt and i like to run with my friends as much as i can or they will go with me, i say run as much as you can , the rest will come if you want to trial as i do your dog will be in shape and you no how good your dog is,so win or lose your dog is still the best. GOD BLESS

[rabbitearl]

Thanks yall.Glad to know we have a few rabbit hunters left.

[tkdkraig]

I like to run dogs year round. To hear the dogs and be in the great outdoors is awesome. But come hunting season I'm gonna harvest a few for the meat and the dogs love it. As hard as they work they need to see a dead rabbit every once in a while.

[Dale D]

I like running the dogs all year. Love to hear the dogs run and just to get out in the woods to take my mind off things. I like to eat rabbit, but here lately I'll give some to the dogs and to the neighbors. Would not shoot anything i was not planning on eating or someone else eating. Never been to a trial, but planning on going this year to check things out. Nice post Earl.

[upperlimits]

I eat alot of rabbit so I do alot of gunning,but they better run it good before I shoot.I also like to set a few areas aside for strictly running.

[sgc]

I like Thall's answer best. That really says it all in one sentence!

[tom summers]

It depends on the game in the area that I am running in. If I have an abundance of game I will shoot some rabbits but if game is down I will not. It does not make sense to me t shoot the only game you have to run it is hard enough to compete with other gunners/predators for the rabbit spots why make them worse. I do shoot rabbits I ty to shoot a few every year for the table but I no longer shoot as many as I can like years past. I would rather let them run then try to shoot all the game and try to find new spots.
Tom

[SilverZuk]

When it is gun season, I hunt.
I usually only kill two, because that is all I will eat. One day this season I killed 3, but one was in self defense
If we have some new hunters, I will pass on a shots to give them opportunities.
Somedays I wonder how come I brought a gun, other days I am hunting hard to put some in the pot.

[SilverZuk]

if your dogs dont get that blood in there mouth. why would they run with the intent to catch . i shoot and feed the rabbits to my dogs,and they will all watch me cleen them an cookum up. i alway try to do this with young dogs so that they know what they are running for. the olny bad thing is they might rip it up sometimes

Not true.
I have started many dogs and had them going well before they ever "got fur in their mouth". They ran to catch.
You ever seen a beagle on deer? They pound them like they are glued to the track - Did they ever get deer fur in their mouth?

Now, the important part, where you are correct.
You don't have a rabbit dog unless it has been gunned over.
1. The dog must be tested to make sure it is not gun shy.
2. The dog must realize what it is supposed to do with a dead rabbit. I want the dog to either leave it alone, or retrieve.
I have yet to figure out the magical formula to teach a beagle to retrieve. When I do, I am going to create a DVD and sell it on late night infomercials. I hate a dog that tears up, tries to eat, or does the tug-of-war with a rabbit.
I will not tolerate it and will correct it on the spot. I had one beagle that retrieved. The ones I have now with mouth it some and just stand around waiting for me to get there.

[hounddog]

My thought on this is........ why not do both! I enjoy hunting just as much as anyone but I also love to trial my hounds. The way I see it is, I'm taking full advangage of the SPORT.

hounddog
Jim Umbarger

[Joeyman]

I'm a rabbit hunter. My dogs are used as gun-dogs. I also run during the off season to keep them in shape for the coming season.