The American Beagler Forum

Posted for Rick G.
Marty Cardamone on left with Sam Serra, 1960 Jack rabbit hunt in Canada.

OH man those Jack's are huge...... Nice pic I like to see how it was in the old days

Thank you Chad!

Im pretty sure that the rabbit to the far right held by Sam Serra, is a cottontail. If I never saw a Jack, I would think this was a photo shop joke picture. Its real guys!

For those of you that want to know the story of this picture, pleas go to "Big thanks from Smokes Creek" on this forum, page 2. This photo means more to me than any first plc ribbon!

Enjoy!

Rick G

Them suckers are huge!

I'll be meeting with "Uncle Ralph" this weekend, to do a interview. im told he even has old 8mm films of these hunts. I cant wait to relive those old hunts and look at his quote "boxes and boxes of old hunt pictures". I'll post some here, and have a feature story for TAB very soon. I hope you all will enjoy them as much as I.

Rick

Im making 2 pounds of "rabbit jerky" for him...bet ya they didnt have that back then!

heard those big boys would turn back and cut ahound all to pieces W/ their back feet.

Sorry I didn't relize there was a story with the pic.
Link to it here

http://americanbeagler.huntingboards.co ... 4&start=15

Hey boys,
Anybody that wants to ge together and hunt jackrabbits, we can. I have a friend in Texas that will let us come rabbit hunt his land and it is full of cottontails and Jackrabbits. It is in North Texas on the Salt Fork River. I just need to make sure he has no quail hunts going on and he will let us come out there and hunt them. I would love to do it but I do not want to drive out there by myself. It is a long haul from Georgia.
let me know if anyoneis interested.
Eddie Ledford
eddieledford@ellijay.com

Hey Rick,
That is a great picture. You need to get that blown up and hang that in Legends Lodge so the next time I visit the bed and breakfast i can see it. Those bunnies are huge they must have been in the same food chain as Big Jack... I really don't know what yetti s eat in the wild but I am sure he wouldn't pass on a couple of those big boys.

By looking at the size of the northern jacks I would say the Texas jack rabbits ears are 3 to 4 times longer, there is not anything better than a pack of 20 beagles stretched out in a dead run trying to catch a jack rabbit.and most of it u can see here in open country.Texas jacks rely only on speed.We caught most in about 2 hours. ya better have something that will get up and go!

This post reminded me of some great hunts with good companions (some of them long gone now). I shot many a Jackrabbit in front of FTCH Dobson's Pet and FTCH McBride's Flyon Snowflake (and other hounds). They're the closest thing to running deer with hounds that you can get. Very often, they'd go out of hearing for 30-45 minutes, and cover many miles. They'd circle, like most game, but it was a huge circle. A hound had to learn to reach out for the next track to keep one going, as they'd jump 12' in a leap. They're much scarcer now in Ont., but they seem to be making a comeback. We see them occasionally, while hunting coyotes. They are more nocturnal than they used to be, and more apt to stay in denser cover than in the past (we always got them up from fence rows and open fields). They're really a European Hare, that went wild here around 1920. Terry McBride

Terry , jacks have been plentiful for many years here in southern ontario, but now seem to be scarce, so many coyotes and farmers , and hunters who hunt 2 times a year going on "Jack drives " killing everyone they see . Jacks usually get out far ahead of the hounds and play many dirty tricks , running down a black top road for 1/4 mile , back tracking etc. You need to have a dog that can keep the pressure on and like terry said that is a little wide in the check . Tons of fun , but terrible to eat .

WE MADE A LOT OF JACK RABBIT CHILI HERE IN TEXAS GOOOOD. TEXAS JACKS LIKE THE BLUE SIDE ARE SO BIG HERE I HAVE SEEN EM MATE WITH SHELTLAND PONIES.LOL.

Terry, this picture was taken in Stevensville, Ont. I have another one with that crew holding about 20 of them. Steve Lacey and I used to talk about hunting them but never did. We missed out! Thanks for the info on them, those things are amazing!

Rick

Daryll; We used to cook them in the oven, then feed them to the hounds (because I didn't know any better). One day, I thought I'd try it, and it was delicious. Baked in the oven, it made a great gravy too. The texture is different from other hare or rabbit, but I think it's similar to beef.