You don t need to be killing them rabbits.

[wildcatfan0309]

i pleasure run most of the time and field trial
i love to gun hunt but im not crazy about eating rabbit
so i just kill usally around 10 a year to my young dogs and give the rabbits away
i got my own private running grounds and i dont allow gun hunting to preserve my rabbits for pleasure running
if i liked to eat them i would probally kill more (outside of my private grounds) ,but id love to go to iowa or kansas gun hunting because ive heard storys and it sounds like a blast
as long as ya leave some for seed no matter how many ya kill is how i see it

[wvduece]

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.

Earl the sevin dust sounds like a great idea you probally wouldnt have to put it in a plastic box as you probally know rabbits dust themselfs often just find some of the dusting aeras and spread the sevin dust on it anything beats doing nothing those ticks n fleas will destroy a dog sooooo just think what they do to something as small as a rabbit

[PREACHERS,KENNEL]

i kill about 10 a yr off my dogs ,might be more if i;d stop missing lol.but always let them run them a while 1st. thats why i got dogs and why i cant stand jump shooters.
it just good sportsmanship ,i dont eat them either but do give them to elderly that do ,,plus if i have pups that time of yr like i do this yr i let them take one or two ..
those that brag about killing 200 a yr i wish their gun would tare up lol.. or they would show where there is so many rabbits .we got several around here but we woudnt if i shot everything the dogs got up.

[Chuck Terry]

A Georgia DNR biologist, Haven Barnhill spoke at a "Young Farmers" meeting I attended regarding game management issue. He backed up the post from the first page of this thread. We (Humans) are a "secondary preditor" and have near zero affect on rabbit population in the big picture! Rabbits live up to their reputation as reproducers. They can and will breed up to half the year is warm locales. Even in the colder climates, they can have multiple litters during a breeding season. Even if only a small percentage survive until the next breeding season, the population can be maintained. In fact, the carrying capacity limits and disease become issues if we significantly limit predation as many of us have witnessed in high density enclosures. As far as hunting goes, only a small percentage of the total habitat will be hunted in a given season. I know it is tempting to see the low rabbit density on a heavily hunted WMA (with marginal habitat to begin with in some cases?) as an indication that we are "over-harvesting". However, this is not a true indicator of the big picture. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with taking rabbits (legally during open season and in a sporting manner of course) as long as the meat is consumed and the habitat is respected so that the rabbit population can regenerate. Neither do I see anything wrong with choosing to let one run another day. I gun hunt alone a dozen or so times in the early season to "gun break" my first season beagles. I only shoot after a good run and when I think the pups would benefit from a kill. I take only a few rabbits during this time. Once deer season is closes, I hunt with a group of good friends who are true "old time rabbit hunters" who like the meat. We try to hunt a spot only once per season. Since we have only 7 weekends to hunt, there are numerous places that we never get around to going. When we return to a "honey hole" the next season (assuming the habitat is still good), there seem to be as many rabbits as the year before which leads me to conclude we are not hurting the resource. In fact, one could argue that the lower population density going into breeding season is a good thing. From March through October, I run only. So, technically, I RUN 75% of the time and GUN only 25%. If you count the time, folks like us spend on habitat improvement for rabbits on our "running grounds", many of us are probably "net rabbit producers" - not consumers. Gunning or just running should not be an issue to divide us! The "anti's" are our true and common enemy as they see the "running" aspect as being MORE cruel than killing rabbits. Good running/hunting to all in the upcoming year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Casey Harner]

A Georgia DNR biologist, Haven Barnhill spoke at a "Young Farmers" meeting I attended regarding game management issue. He backed up the post from the first page of this thread. We (Humans) are a "secondary preditor" and have near zero affect on rabbit population in the big picture! Rabbits live up to their reputation as reproducers. They can and will breed up to half the year is warm locales. Even in the colder climates, they can have multiple litters during a breeding season. Even if only a small percentage survive until the next breeding season, the population can be maintained. In fact, the carrying capacity limits and disease become issues if we significantly limit predation as many of us have witnessed in high density enclosures. As far as hunting goes, only a small percentage of the total habitat will be hunted in a given season. I know it is tempting to see the low rabbit density on a heavily hunted WMA (with marginal habitat to begin with in some cases?) as an indication that we are "over-harvesting". However, this is not a true indicator of the big picture. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with taking rabbits (legally during open season and in a sporting manner of course) as long as the meat is consumed and the habitat is respected so that the rabbit population can regenerate. Neither do I see anything wrong with choosing to let one run another day. I gun hunt alone a dozen or so times in the early season to "gun break" my first season beagles. I only shoot after a good run and when I think the pups would benefit from a kill. I take only a few rabbits during this time. Once deer season is closes, I hunt with a group of good friends who are true "old time rabbit hunters" who like the meat. We try to hunt a spot only once per season. Since we have only 7 weekends to hunt, there are numerous places that we never get around to going. When we return to a "honey hole" the next season (assuming the habitat is still good), there seem to be as many rabbits as the year before which leads me to conclude we are not hurting the resource. In fact, one could argue that the lower population density going into breeding season is a good thing. From March through October, I run only. So, technically, I RUN 75% of the time and GUN only 25%. If you count the time, folks like us spend on habitat improvement for rabbits on our "running grounds", many of us are probably "net rabbit producers" - not consumers. Gunning or just running should not be an issue to divide us! The "anti's" are our true and common enemy as they see the "running" aspect as being MORE cruel than killing rabbits. Good running/hunting to all in the upcoming year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was a great read and I totally agree 100%.

[Moore Beagles]

I hunt and run several places in NKY and Southern Ohio, If I go to a place and there are plenty of Rabbits, I'll shoot a few. Theres spots I hunt, that I'm pretty sure I'm running the same rabbit almost everytime out, So I just let em run. You got to leave some seed. I almost always have a younger dog along, and if I'm in an area with a healthy population I want that dog to see why we came. The Beagles get a whole new appreciation that you are there.
I know guys that shoot 3D archery all spring and summer long then put thier bow away during archery season? That has always made me scratch my head, and wonder why these guys aren't Golfing instead throwing arrows?
To me I shoot to get ready to hunt, and I run dogs to get ready to hunt, but you have to use our own good judgement and not overharvest a piece of land for the sake of saying that you limited out today!
Now I know there are several guys on here that have some exceptional hunting in thier area,(More Power to them) and there shouldn't be anybody being critical without knowing how many rabbits are in thier area.
I know for a fact there are parts of the Midwest that are Teaming with game, in fact many have so many rabbits you don't really need a dog, but I want to see the dogs go, I have rabbit hunted without dogs!(Boring) It just wasn't the same. Joeyman and others on here have Millions and Millions of acres of state land in Missouri they could hunt another spot everday and never hit them all. So if they want to do some shooting that whats its supposed to be about anyway! Lets see your harvest guys your not gonna hurt my feelings, and if you happen to over harvest your favorite spot with legal hunting, I guess its a lesson that person will have to learn himself. Good Huntin!
~Gregg

[rabbitsmoker]

PERSONALLY I DONT KILL VERY FEW RABBITS AND DONT MIND FOR OTHERS KILLING RABBITS IF THATS WHAT THEY WANT TO DO BUT I WAS DOING NUMBERS ON HOW LONG SOME HAS POSTED THEY HUNTED AND HOW MANY RABBITS THEY KILLED SOME FIGURES WAS A RABBIT EVERY 6 MINUTES SOME WAS SAYING 2 GOT THERE LIMITS BUT THEY ONLY HUNTED 5-6 HOURS THERE COULD NO WAY THER WAS ANY LONG RACES WHAT CONCERNS ME ABOUT SOME PLACES WE HUNT HOW MANY TIMES IS THAT SAME PLACE IS HIT BY OTHER HUNTERS WHOSE OUT TO GET THERE LIMIT I KNOW THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS YOUR OWN LAND ECT.IVE SEEN PLACES THE RABBITS POPULATION WAS GOOD BY THE END OF SEASON YOU COULDNT EVEN JUMP ONE

[Jeremy Mapes]

I hunt and run several places in NKY and Southern Ohio, If I go to a place and there are plenty of Rabbits, I'll shoot a few. Theres spots I hunt, that I'm pretty sure I'm running the same rabbit almost everytime out, So I just let em run. You got to leave some seed. I almost always have a younger dog along, and if I'm in an area with a healthy population I want that dog to see why we came. The Beagles get a whole new appreciation that you are there.
I know guys that shoot 3D archery all spring and summer long then put thier bow away during archery season? That has always made me scratch my head, and wonder why these guys aren't Golfing instead throwing arrows?
To me I shoot to get ready to hunt, and I run dogs to get ready to hunt, but you have to use our own good judgement and not overharvest a piece of land for the sake of saying that you limited out today!
Now I know there are several guys on here that have some exceptional hunting in thier area,(More Power to them) and there shouldn't be anybody being critical without knowing how many rabbits are in thier area.
I know for a fact there are parts of the Midwest that are Teaming with game, in fact many have so many rabbits you don't really need a dog, but I want to see the dogs go, I have rabbit hunted without dogs!(Boring) It just wasn't the same. Joeyman and others on here have Millions and Millions of acres of state land in Missouri they could hunt another spot everday and never hit them all. So if they want to do some shooting that whats its supposed to be about anyway! Lets see your harvest guys your not gonna hurt my feelings, and if you happen to over harvest your favorite spot with legal hunting, I guess its a lesson that person will have to learn himself. Good Huntin!
~Gregg

I agree! We use to hunt really hard up here. We killed 100-150 a year. We only gun on state property and save our private ground for year round running. I don't kill quite that many anymore, but that's just because I don't feel like cleaning a bunch of rabbits. I try to kill the bulk of my rabbits over the young dogs. It seems to help them young dogs get to that next level. If you have the spots to shoot em, I say go for it. Don't be afraid to post your pics on here. I'd like to see em.

[TallPaul]

I do a lot of running just for the sake of running. I look at it as prepartion for when I go gunning with friends. Wanting the dogs to be at their best. There are times when we do limit what we shoot, and times when we look to fill the bag.

[ricky murphy]

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.

Maybe,one day there will be a board Just for rabbit Hunters!I can see the need for it badly.Who knows it might even be named rabbitHUNTERonline.com------MERRY CHRISTMAS

[JUDE]

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.

[rabbitsmoker]

I LOOK AT DEER PICTURES LOVE WATCHING VIEDO OF DOGS RUNNING AND EVEN SHOOTING A RABBIT ON VIEDO AND A PICTURE OF A EXCEPTIONAL BIG SWAMPER BUT A TAIL GATE FULL OF DEAD RABBITS YOU SEEN 1 DEAD RABBIT YOUVE SEEN THEM ALL THE RABBITS MY BUDDY AND HAVE KILLED WE HAVENT HAD TIME TO TAKE THEM HOME AND TAKE PICS WE CLEAN THEM IN THE FIELD THOSE SUCKERS ARE HARD TO CLEAN STIFF AS A BOARD THEY GET STIFF FAST

[big mike 50]

We were talking about rabbit population on our trip to the U.P. with my dad and a few old timers and we were talking about the way it used to be with rabbits everywhere. I am only 28 but remember when I was a kid rabbits were everywhere. I know DDT was used as a pesticide everywhere and it was produced here in Mid-Michigan. It is now banned because of the effects it had on shell production of birds of prey. It almost made the Bald Eagle extinct. However it made the rabbit population boom and the late 70's and all through the 80's there were very few raptors and lots of rabbits. This coupled with the fact that there were a lot of abandoned farms that created ideal habitat that is now too overgrown to hold rabbits well. Either way I don't think that we as hunters are making that big of an impact on rabbit population as long as we harvest responsibly. Keep posting your pics and videos and running your hounds and get involved with local legislation to make sure it stays that way.

[cheatmountainman]

Nothing wrong with rewarding the dogs after a good chase if you have plenty of game to run again another day.

[eddywilliams]

I get angry when I hear of people slaughtering a large amount of rabbits ,my buddies say we killed 18 ,12 ,14 ,then in the spring they are saying we cant find any rabbits to run .Why would any one want to go into a nice place that has this many rabbits and just start shooting ,jump shooting ,squat shooting ,half circle shooting ,this is what they do ,and I guarantee half or more that get on here bragging of these large kills do this .Are the rabbits that good to eat that you would want to slaughter 100 to 150 or more a year ?I think its disgusting and anyone who does hunt this way doesnt appreciate the sport for the real reason to drop a beagle down into a thicket ,THE THRILL OF THE CHASE I know the hounds need a few and some people like to eat a few but YOU REALLY DONT NEED TO BE KILLING THAT MANY RABBITS