You don t need to be killing them rabbits.

[Keith C.]

I do both, just run for fun and hunt.
I mostly run my dogs with a friend's red tail hawk. It is very inefficent compared to a gun, but a lot of fun even when the hawk misses, which it usually does.
I mainly shoot rabbits at the farther away places I have permission to hunt that I only go to a few times a year.
I am very fortunate in having 27,000 acres of private property to hunt.
The places I go most often to run the dogs at I usually do not carry a gun at all.
Keith

[da ridgetop]

How many times have you hunted a young dog the first season and it gets a little fur in its mouth and its like a light comes on everything clicks puts the finishing touches on alot of hard work. whats the point of owning hunting dogs without the hunt buy a collie,im not saying you should kill 2700 everytime in the field im like most everone else on this board run dogs 365 but if you eat what you shoot lay the lead at em just my opinion everybodys got one Donald

[TC]

I usually try to Shoot a few each Rabbit season I dont have that many places to gun hunt and one problem i have is that one of my better spots to Run and train hounds has got tough to find a rabbit..
Here is Why... 4 fellas with 8 dogs (not good ones either) they shoot every rabbit they see the dogs dont even have to be runnin it they Jump Shoot all the time i have watched them hunt...
between the 4 of them they killed over 200 rabbits in a 2 mo period thats 4 a day each..
Ok No Problem they do it legally i asked Do yall eat that many rabbits they say heck no We feed em to the dogs 2 of the guys even Said they didnt even like rabbit!!!
me personally I like having a place to be able to run a few rabbits and only kill what i want to eat so far this year i stand at 5 rabbits in the freezer.
I dont have any problems with folks harvesting rabbits. Just hate seeing them go to waste..
i have a little 5 acre Wood across from the house that Works great for me I can run it just caint hunt it. the owner has been letting these 2 older fellas hunt it for over 10 years now...I HATE it because after rabbit season I caint run a rabbit in there for a few mo..talked to one of the ol fellas here a week or so ago asked him how it was going he said Well not so good we harvested 30 rabbits here first week of season Now caint hardly find one 5+ acre 30 rabbits killed I wonder Why????

[rock pushin rabbit hunter]

I'm like you TC.No use in hunting a place to death.I mostly travel to rattlesnake country to do my gunnin.Can't run it in the warmer months anyway because of the snakes.When I go I'm out for blood.I only get to gun hunt once a week anyway.The main thing is eat what you kill.I know a few guys around her that kill every rabbit they see whether thr dog runs them or not,and they don't even eat rabbits.

[Keystone Kid]

I don’t know any Beaglers that are really against hunting rabbits, but in a lot of parts of this country rabbit populations are falling noticeably for the last 40 years. Beaglers are scared they aren’t going to have any rabbits to run if there all dead soon.

It started back in the late 60’s early 70’s with agriculture practices changing. Rabbit habitat was rapidly being destroyed and pesticides like DDT were discovered to be harmful to wildlife as well as people. In Indiana on public property in my part of the state succession has contributed to rabbit populations decreasing in the last 20 years. It’s a shame activists have contributed to timbering practices being stopped on public properties. This has caused a great lose of rabbit habitat.

Also for the last 30+ years the predator population has been increasing because of the decline in the demands for furs on the fur market. Not vary many people anymore hunt or trap predators, at least not enough to put a dent in their population.

These are the majority of the reason most Beaglers get concerned about people “over killing” or just killing the rabbits in some area's.

[birmi1nr]

I enjoying shooting some rabbits over the dogs as much as anybody, but also really enjoy trialling my dogs as well, and in order for me to stay competitive in trials (yes, I like to win / place) I have to run my dogs minimum 4-5 times per week and sometimes I dont get out to the woods until 8 o'clock at night and I don't really want to be out beating brush in the woods until midnight trying to get a rabbit up, knowing that I have to be up for work the next day at 5am. So for that matter I have places that I elect not to shoot any rabbits to ensure that I always have the best opprotunity to get some running.

[big mike 50]

I want a spot like TC has!!! Seriously though who would even think to ask someone to HUNT a 5 acre parcel?

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

I have been ever sob on the board, i would trespass, kill all i could and trespass some more i have even killed a rabbit in the floral garden of the capital in frankfort as well as been caught gun hunting between the east and west bound lanes of 64.So now that the secerts out, did i tell yall i trespassed? Time cures all and as long as they are getting eat and not throwed away, i say wear em out. As for me i have chilled out alot aver a span of 47 years just glad i made it thru. I will still air em every now and again but darn i hate to kill em sometimes no more than i get to go as of late. But make no mistake about it I still can. I used to climb trees to cut em off.For some reason once ol peter was up.It became personal. Have fun and be safe.



The Valley.

[Anderson Upland Beagles]

I ve been running beagles for bout 25 years I run all summer come hunting season im killing rabbits !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[currdogg]

I was on another board were a guy done a poll.To kill or not to kill.I was in shock to find out that 72 percent don t rabbit hunt.Just run dogs.Who on here hunt the rabbit or just liston to the dogs.Not saying anything is wrong with either one.But I would love to find a board with just rabbit hunters.Were u can put a picture on there and nobody gets upset.I have notice on here and some other boards some get upset about somebody killing rabbits.So are yall rabbit hunters or pleasure hunters?I don t know love to find a board were somebody not saying.You don t need to be killing any rabbits.Thanks yall.

Wild rabbit population?
by rabbitearl on Sun Dec 20, 2009 6:06 pm
Most of the place in NC POOR and its been like this for along time now.

Earl I think if you read your top post it will explain one reason why populations are poor. Its not that folks don't like gun hunting but some see populations going down & cut back to save the sport. The ones who are in it for the hounds do anyways. I would sure like to go out & take a few every trip for my hounds but we don't have em. If you do have em thats another story.
Merry Christmas to everyone & thank the Good Lord we can choose.

[Jack]

I have this one place that is near perfect for running Beagles on the outside, I have talked the farmer in to not allowing one to shoot there. There are a big bunch of rabbits there and are trained to run. Somethings I shoot some there, but not at rabbits. The Yakima Indains have a lot of land here it is full of rabbits and we go there to shoot some and to eat.
I have Beagles that are 5 years old that have never had a rabbit shot off of them and I will turn loose with anyone and get my part of the race.

[rabbitearl]

Currdogg I have 7 rabbit pens and been catching rabbit for 39 years and there are places around here that looks good.Thick Thick but never never any rabbits.Build my first pen in 87, In my pens i will have rabbits everywere till augs and sept and then there about gone.Catch more and put in there.Now nobody has shot a rabbit with a gun in these two month.Now can you tell me what happen to them.I have been looking at this for along time and trying to find out whats going on with these rabbits.I ve talk to the wildlife people and they told me to keep up the good work.I have to narrow it down to ticks and fleas are the biggest killer around here anyway that get our rabbit.I have found rabbits with tick all over the back of there neck.carrie one in a z lock bag and when I got to the vet.Ticks and thousand of thousand of fleas on that rabbit.Dr. weeks said it was the worst case he has seen.I have notice that we have anothe killer.Fire ants.They will find the little one and kill all right there.I know your thinking I m crazy.But to find dead rabbits and nothing has eating them and nobody has shot them.What happen to them rabbit in sept and augs.Not just in my pens but the outside to.I have notice this.A place that has been burn off.The next two or three years.This new plant an growing,Pleanty of rabbits.Nobody does this anymore like in the old days.Burn the woods off.I can tell you this currdogg,Rabbit Earl does not hurt the rabbit population.I do more than the wildlife people trying to find out whats wrong.

I believe in 1919 a man started buying rabbits catch in rabbit boxes here i NC.I believe 1919 around 14 thousand he bought.till the last year 1928 around 28 thousand he got.now why did they have so many rabbits back then.
Now if your thinking I in to just killing rabbits with my dog.No No I can kill all I want in my rabbit boxes and Don t need a dog.But I don t do that.I ve even try to find out.Will a rabbit go back in a rabbit box.Yes they will catch one 7 times.I ve been two times this years with my dogs and got 5 rabbits.There is one thing that I do when running rabbit beside of looking at the dogs.I look around and see what going on with the rabbits.Because a rabbit to me is more imported than the dog.Witout the rabbit.No dogs.So when my dogs has done there job of finding the rabbit and running it.BANG.I love to eat one when my dogs has done there job..

[Shotgun John]

So when my dogs has done there job of finding the rabbit and running it.BANG.I love to eat one when my dogs has done there job..

That's how I feel about it.

[currdogg]

Case & point, it don't matter how they got gone but that they are gone. I do belive you on the fleas & ticks & others. I have raised rabbits for well over 20 years & one way to combat the fleas & ticks on your pen rabbits is to place a large plastic storage box out with both ends cut out and put Seven Dust in it. The rabbits will dust in it & it does help. You are right, there many other things than just us hunters...worst I have seen is what you described,hawks,owls,
cats & yotes. Its a uphill battle but we have to manage ourselfs as well as the other predators if we expect to have anything.

[bluerunner43]

if you want the best of both worlds, shooting at the rabbits and letting the dogs run, use a .22 pistol. between me and my dad last year we shoot about 2000 rounds at rabbits, got 2. we only shoot when they are running and out there a little bit, its a blast you get to do alot of shooting and not much cleaning. i got both of them last year and the first one was on the very first shot of the season the second one was three months later.